KARACHI: As the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has advised using the IRIS portal to file returns and verify tax deductions, the business community still faces difficulty filing their tax returns.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Iftikhar Ahmed Shaikh said several traders have approached the chamber complaining that the FBR’s portal for filing tax returns is not working.

There are limitations to the FBR’s online system. As a result, the tax filing system remains cumbersome for the common man.

Considering the system’s problems, the KCCI chief urged the FBR to extend the returns filing date by one month.

He said traders have also shared screenshots regarding errors in the IRIS portal and the unavailability of FBR’s server.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh also highlighted the technical difficulties and delays in filing income tax returns and sought a month’s extension as a special case scenario to enable the system to handle the enormous volume and flux.

Mr Atif said FPCCI has been urging the FBR to simplify the taxation system in general and income tax return forms, in particular, to facilitate the process. It is in the national interest to assist as many citizens as possible in filing their returns. He added that the more Pakistan’s economy is inclusive, formal and documented, the more it will be acceptable for external financing from international financial institutions and lenders.

He said FBR needs to expedite digitalisation for many reasons like minimising human involvement, saving time and resources of the return filers, reducing documentation errors, improving systemic and procedural efficiency and curtailing complaints, anomalies and discrepancies.

The FPCCI chief said that the FBR and Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd missed important deadlines vis-a-vis issuance of return forms as given in rule 34A(2)(e), (3), and (4) where, it is mandated that the draft electronic and manual return forms were to be released and made available by Jan 1, 2024. However, the same were issued on June 21.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2024