• Extension granted on requests from trade bodies and tax bars
• Gives retailers one month to comply or face action
• Penalties to be imposed in stages: initially Rs10,000, then Rs25,000, and finally Rs50,000

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns by 15 days to Oct 15, 2026.

According to a circular issued by the FBR, the deadline has been extended in view of requests received from various trade bodies and tax bar associations. The extension has been granted under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, the circular said.

The FBR said the extension applies to persons required to file their income tax returns for tax year 2026 by September 30.

The board received 5.767 million returns until midnight on Sept 30, compared with 3.980m filed during the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of 45 per cent.

Total tax paid with returns up to Sept 30 stood at Rs77.3 billion, about 7pc below last year’s Rs83.3bn, despite the surge in filers. Tax paid with returns by individuals rose by 11pc to Rs34.5bn and by associations of persons by 16pc to Rs3.7bn. However, tax paid with corporate returns fell from Rs49bn to Rs39.1bn.

Meanwhile, FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial on Wednesday cautioned that retailers failing to file tax returns under the Tax Asaan Scheme would face enforcement action within a month.

Briefing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, Mr Langrial said traders would be monitored for four weeks to assess compliance. “Even after a month, the situation may remain unchanged,” he remarked, warning that enforcement would follow if registration targets were not met.

He noted that the scheme had been designed in consultation with traders and was intended to be the simplest framework ever offered to retailers. “Retailers believe nothing happens if they do not file returns. Until this perception changes, compliance will not improve,” he observed.

Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani told the committee that 2,195 retailers had registered through the application within two months, covering traders with annual sales of up to Rs200m.

So far, 10,338 shops have registered, including 2,337 new entrants, though only 787 are filers. Mr Kayani said the government had given traders the scheme they themselves had demanded, but cautioned that the FBR would intervene directly in markets if registration did not increase.

FBR Member Hamid Atiq Sarwar informed the committee that, out of 4.3m retailers nationwide, only 600,000 were filers.

The committee was told that penalties would be imposed in stages — Rs10,000 initially, Rs25,000 at the second stage and Rs50,000 at the third — before stricter enforcement measures were taken against persistent defaulters.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2026