The Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) has urged Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns for Tax Year 2025 until December 31.
In a letter addressed to the minister, LTBA President Muhammad Asif Rana pointed out persistent technical and procedural issues on the FBR’s IRIS portal that are hampering the filing process. These include errors in tax credit calculations, complications in the application of Section 4AB for exempt shares from Associations of Persons (AOPs), challenges in minimum tax apportionment, as well as frequent system downtime and internet disruptions.
“These glitches have resulted in delays, incorrect computations, and widespread frustration for taxpayers and practitioners, making timely compliance nearly impossible,” Rana noted.
He further argued that while Section 118 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 provides a 92-day period from the close of the financial year for filing returns, the notification for Tax Year 2025 was only issued on August 18 — nearly 49 days after the statutory period had already lapsed. With the ongoing portal issues, the effective filing time has been drastically reduced, leaving many taxpayers unable to meet the deadline.
The LTBA president stressed that extending the deadline is essential to allow fair compliance and to safeguard revenue collection.
