IT has become an annual routine that whenever the tax return filing season begins, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) suddenly decides to introduce changes to its portal, return forms and filing procedures. Instead of making improve-

ments well before the filing season, these experiments are carried out when the taxpayers are ready to submit their returns. As a result, the system becomes unstable, technical issues arise, and the filing process gets delayed and cumbersome.

This year is no different. We are already in August, but thousands of taxpayers and tax practitioners are unable to file income tax returns because the filing system remains incomplete or unavailable due to ongoing modifications. Valuable time has already been wasted, creating anxiety among taxpayers, while the filing deadline continues to hover around.

The FBR should understand that taxpayers expect a stable, fully functional and tested system at the beginning of the filing season. What they do not want is continuous experimentation. Any changes or upgrades should be completed months in advance so that taxpayers may file their returns without unnecessary obstacles.

The FBR should improve its planning, complete all technical updates before the commencement of the filing season, and extend the filing deadline to compensate taxpayers for the time lost in delays.

Ahsan ul Haque
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026