KARACHI: Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) President Sheikh Umer Rehan has called on the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the deadline for income tax return filing by an additional month. Persistent technical glitches and slow processing on the FBR's online IRIS portal have impeded many traders and industrialists from submitting their returns, he noted.
According to Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, Sheikh Umer Rehan highlighted that despite a previous 15-day extension granted by the government to facilitate return filing, a considerable number of taxpayers remain unable to complete the process due to ongoing technical issues. These problems include system freezes, data upload difficulties, and challenges in generating payment challans, which have contributed to the taxpayers' difficulties and frustrations.
Sheikh Umer Rehan emphasized that while the business and industrial community is committed to cooperating with the government in fostering economic growth and expanding the tax base, an efficient and user-friendly tax filing system is critical to achieving these goals. He urged that maintaining taxpayer confidence and addressing technical shortcomings in the system should be key priorities for the government.
He also advocated for practical measures to protect businesses from undue pressure and penalties due to the technical issues with the IRIS portal. The KATI president further urged the FBR to prioritize enhancements to the system's capacity and technical support to prevent future disruptions.
In addition to requesting an extension of the tax filing deadline, Sheikh Umer Rehan called for the waiver of late-filing fees and penalties for those affected by the IRIS system's technical faults. He stressed that granting more time would provide necessary relief to the business community and support better compliance through accurate and complete returns.
He appealed to the prime minister and the finance minister to urgently address the matter and instruct the FBR to alleviate the challenges faced by industrialists and traders.