LAHORE: The Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) has raised serious concerns over what it calls systematic failures within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), warning that these issues threaten Pakistan’s economy and the credibility of its main tax authority.
In a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, LTBA leaders Rana M Asif and Mian Asad Hanif highlighted delays in income tax notifications, unlawful recoveries, arbitrary raids, embargoes, and operational failures in the IRIS system. They also pointed to delayed refunds, hurdles in filing sales tax returns, poor assessment orders, and wrongful suspensions or blacklisting of taxpayers, which are eroding public confidence.
The letter noted that weak governance at FBR is hurting investor confidence, international rankings, and ease-of-doing-business perceptions, discouraging both domestic and foreign investment. The LTBA urged the government to prioritize reform, compliance, and transparency, instead of an enforcement-heavy approach that undermines economic growth and long-term revenue sustainability.
