AS per the existing procedure, a citizen files income tax return on a yearly basis, and once the return is successfully admitted by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) system, the filer receives an automated acknowledgement under Section 114(1), which confirms submission of income tax return filed voluntarily for a complete year.
The said return also contains the amount of ‘refundable income tax’ in addition to information bits regarding net assets, tax chargeable as well as taxable income.
Subsequently, the said income tax return is validated through an order passed by an authorised income tax official of assistant commissioner or deputy commissioner level under Section 120 which validates contents of the said return submitted by the filer. This order also contains the amount of refundable income tax.
However, subsequent to the issuance of a valid order by the FBR, the filer is required to file a separate request for the amount of refundable income tax under Section 170 which pertains to ‘application for refund of tax paid in excess’.
The story does not end here. To get the refundable tax back, some competent authority issues another order under Section 170(4) which pertains to order to grant/refuse refund of tax paid in excess on application. Believe me, despite the grant of refund order, the refund is not credited to the account of the filer for a considerable time.
Using undesirable practices is often the only recourse left to the filer. Those who try not to take that route only suffer. The issuance of my final refund order for 2024-25 is still pending despite the issuance of the validation order more than a year ago on Aug 13, 2025, under Section 120, and submission of my reminder on April 25 this year.
The FBR slogan — Say No To Corruption — is just that; a slogan. The cumbersome procedure is apparently aimed at forcing the filer to explore the ‘alternatives’. The refund process needs to be simplified.
Once the validation order is issued under Section 120, the FBR should be liable to credit the refundable amount without further submission of any application by the filer prior to the next tax filing date.
Or, the filer should be allowed to adjust the refundable tax amount in the forth- coming year against the overall tax liability.
Khawaja Tajammul Hussain
Karachi
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026
