The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns for the 2025 tax year by 15 days, setting Oct. 15 as the final date.
In a statement, the FBR said the deadline was being extended in light of requests from various trade bodies, taxpayers, and tax bar associations. It noted the decision was made under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The announcement comes mere hours after the tax body had issued a statement denying reports of any extension to the deadline for filing income tax returns, urging all eligible taxpayers to submit their returns by midnight of Sept. 30.
Over the past month, the FBR has come under significant criticism over issues with the IRIS portal and the requirement of an “estimated market value” for fixed assets. As the concerns mounted, the tax body announced it was removing the “estimated market value column” from the income tax return form entirely on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the facilitation of taxpayers.
Target missed
Separately, provisional figures released on Tuesday showed the FBR had fallen short of its revenue collection target by Rs. 199 billion in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year. It attributed the deficiency to lower domestic sales tax receipts and reduced revenue from utility bills.
According to the released figures, the FBR collected Rs. 2.884 trillion in the first quarter against a target of Rs. 3.083 trillion. However, they show, the collection was still 13% higher than the Rs. 2.558 trillion collected during the same period last year.