The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday refuted a notification circulating in the media claiming that it had extended its deadline to file income tax returns for 2026, terming it “fake”.

“No such circular has been issued by the FBR,” the board’s spokesperson said on X.

A notification circulating on social media on Wednesday claimed that the deadline had been extended until Oct 15, as it had been last year.

It stated that the extension was decided on “in view of the requests from various trade bodies, taxpayers and tax bar associations”.

However, the FBR clarified that the deadline for income tax return submission for the tax year 2026 (TY26) remains Sept 30.

Trade bodies and professionals have sought an extension of the deadline, citing delays in the issuance of return forms and heavy online traffic as major hurdles in timely filing.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Atif Ikram Sheikh had also formally urged the government to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns to Oct 31 to facilitate trade, industry, and other tax filers.

The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) had submitted a five-page letter to the Member Inland Revenue (operations), highlighting several issues, including delays in the issuance of draft notifications and persistent technical glitches in the IRIS portal, which hinder the smooth filing of tax returns.

In the previous cycle, the FBR reported an overwhelming response, with overall tax return filings rising from 3.553 million in TY25 to 5.181m in TY26 until Sept 29 — an increase of 45.8 per cent.

The statutory deadline for filing tax returns is Sept 30 each year. However, historically, the date has been extended two to three times, often until the end of October.

In recent years, extensions were granted with only minor penalties, but the latest budget has substantially increased these charges, making compliance costlier for late filers.

Under the Finance Act 2026-27, the penalty for returning to the active taxpayers list (ATL) has been raised fivefold for companies to Rs100,000 from Rs20,000. It was also increased from Rs10,000 to Rs50,000 for associations of persons, and from Rs1,000 to Rs25,000 for individuals.

Last year, the FBR extended the deadline twice from Sept 30 to Oct 15 and subsequently to Oct 31 despite earlier saying it would not do so. These extensions were granted in response to requests made by various trade bodies, tax bar associations, and the general public.