The President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, has made a direct appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, asking for urgent attention to ongoing technical malfunctions within the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) IRIS tax portal. Mr. Bilwani stated that these system failures are creating significant disruptions and hardships for businesses across Pakistan attempting to meet their tax obligations.
In a formal communication to the Prime Minister, the KCCI President detailed how thousands of businesses aiming to comply with tax laws are unable to file their sales tax returns correctly due to critical flaws in the IRIS system. A major issue identified is the portal’s arbitrary restriction limiting the Unit of Measurement (UOM) selection solely to “Kilograms.” This limitation is entirely impractical for numerous sectors, including bulk manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and footwear producers, which operate using units like pieces, liters, or meters.
“This technical limitation reveals a concerning lack of understanding about the varied nature of our industries,” Bilwani remarked. “It represents technical incompetence and is indefensible from an administrative standpoint, resulting in businesses facing penalties for problems not of their making.”
He further noted that despite the FBR acknowledging the issue on March 20, 2025, and promising corrective action, the problem remains unresolved. “Businesses continue to suffer serious consequences merely for trying to navigate a defective system,” Bilwani added.
The KCCI President also conveyed deep dissatisfaction with the lack of engagement from senior FBR officials. He recounted a recent experience at the FBR Head Office in Islamabad where, despite arriving promptly for a 9 am meeting with the Member (Sales Tax), the official failed to appear even after an hour’s wait. During that same visit, the Chief Sales Tax Officer reportedly admitted receiving similar complaints from others but confirmed no remedial steps had been taken.
Bilwani lamented that KCCI’s numerous attempts to engage the FBR Chairman, Member (Sales Tax), and other senior figures through letters and phone calls have been met with silence. “This ongoing lack of response suggests a broader institutional indifference, not just to KCCI, but to the entire business community grappling with these systemic flaws,” he asserted.
Highlighting the potential negative economic impact, Bilwani warned that the combination of technical glitches and bureaucratic unresponsiveness is undermining business confidence, acting as a disincentive for economic documentation, and exacerbating the trust gap between taxpayers and the government. “Such inefficiencies are detrimental to Pakistan’s economy, particularly when fostering ease of doing business and rebuilding trust in state institutions should be key priorities,” he emphasized.
In his appeal, the KCCI President called for several immediate actions: fixing the technical problems in the IRIS portal, holding the responsible FBR officials accountable, and developing stakeholder-informed reforms to prevent recurrence. He also stressed the need for a reliable and professional system for engagement between the FBR and the business community.
“The nation’s economic progress relies on the government’s capacity to listen and act decisively. We are hopeful the Prime Minister will intervene to ensure this matter is addressed without further delay,” Bilwani concluded.
