Islamabad: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has voiced serious concerns about ongoing technical issues with the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) IRIS portal, which have hindered thousands of taxpayers, including small and medium enterprises, from filing their Sales Tax and Income Tax returns on time. The problems, which include login failures, slow loading times, and outages, come at a critical time as the filing deadline for Tax Year 2026 approaches.

According to Union of Small and Medium Enterprises, President Zulfikar Thaver reported that the association has been inundated with complaints from member businesses and tax consultants facing significant challenges due to the portal's unreliability. He emphasized the unfairness of penalizing taxpayers when the system intended to support compliance is malfunctioning.

UNISAME acknowledged FBR's admission of the portal issues and the ongoing efforts to resolve them, but urged FBR to address the situation with urgency. The association has called on FBR to fully restore the IRIS portal, upgrade its IT infrastructure, and extend the filing deadline to accommodate the time lost to technical failures.

Additionally, UNISAME emphasized the need for transparent communication from FBR about the portal's status and expected restoration timelines to prevent misinformation. The association reaffirmed its commitment to improving the business environment in Pakistan and urged FBR's leadership to respond promptly to restore confidence in the tax filing system.