Tax Lawyers Urge FBR to Fix IRIS With Filing Deadline Just Weeks Away

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) has pressed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to urgently fix delays, bugs and technical difficulties affecting the IRIS portal, warning that the problems are making it challenging for taxpayers and tax practitioners to file.

Key points

• The PTBA additionally pointed out what it described as unequal treatment of minimum tax attribution under Sections 148 and 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
• The reservations were raised during a training session on August 25 at the RTO Lahore Auditorium, organised by the Lahore Tax Bar Association.
• While a similar facility is not available under Section 153, it remarked taxpayers can record income attribution themselves in cases covered by Section 148.
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• PTBA pressed FBR to take immediate corrective measures so taxpayers can complete their Tax Year 2026 returns without further technical hurdles.

Meanwhile, the association remarked the Tax Year 2026 return was uploaded on the IRIS portal on July 27, despite the timeline prescribed under Rule 34A of the Income Tax Rules, 2002.

According to PTBA, the delayed launch left taxpayers and practitioners with limited time to complete their statutory filing requirements. The difficulty was compounded by technical glitches and operational matters on the portal. NADRA, PTA Fight After U-Turn on PakID App Facial SIM Verification.

For context, the reservations were raised during a training session on August 25 at the RTO Lahore Auditorium, organised by the Lahore Tax Bar Association. The session focused on Tax Year 2026 return filing and the Asaan Small Traders Fixed Tax Scheme.

PTBA remarked participants highlighted multiple difficulties with the IRIS system and cautioned that the matters could cause unnecessary hardship during the already-short compliance period.

Notably, the tax bar has called on FBR to ensure that tax returns are uploaded within the prescribed timeline, systems are properly tested before deployment and technical challenges are resolved without delay.

PTBA additionally objected to the detailed structural information being sought for immovable properties through the IRIS portal.

Meanwhile, the association remarked collecting and entering extensive property details was time-consuming, particularly given the late availability of the return.

For Tax Year 2026, it proposed limiting the mandatory structural information requirement to property purchased or acquired during the year, capital gains from the sale of immovable property and property income declared during the tax year.

It suggested that details of other properties already owned by taxpayers should be provided in the after tax year, giving taxpayers more time to compile the information.

In practice, the PTBA additionally pointed out what it described as unequal treatment of minimum tax attribution under Sections 148 and 153 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

For context, the association pressed FBR to review the difference and introduce a uniform mechanism where legally and technically feasible.

Another major matter flagged by the tax bar was the removal of the auto-save facility from the IRIS return-filing system.

PTBA remarked taxpayers could lose entered or uploaded information as of session interruptions, connectivity challenges, system errors or heavy portal traffic. FBR Ends Unnecessary Checks of Registered Shopkeepers.

This can force taxpayers and practitioners to enter the same information again, increasing the time and effort required to complete returns.

For context, the association has therefore pressed the immediate restoration of auto-save, preferably with the system automatically saving information at regular intervals and retaining it in the taxpayer's draft return until final submission.

PTBA pressed FBR to take immediate corrective measures so taxpayers can complete their Tax Year 2026 returns without further technical hurdles. Stay Connected with ProPakistani.

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Taken together, the developments around tax Lawyers Urge FBR to Fix IRIS With Filing Deadline Just Weeks point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.