The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday extended the final date for filing income tax returns for a second time, this time allowing citizens until Oct. 31 to submit their declarations.
Previously, the FBR had similarly extended the deadline for filing income tax returns by two weeks, until Oct. 14, claiming it was done at the request of trade bodies and various citizens.
In a statement issued on Monday night, the tax collection body said it was extending the deadline in exercise of “powers conferred under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.” It said the decision was a result of requests from various trade bodies, tax bar association and in the wake of the banking holidays announced in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The federal government, last week, announced a three-day public holiday in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to ensure security for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s Council of Heads of Government meeting, occurring in the federal capital from Oct. 15-16.
It is commonplace for the FBR to extend the tax return submission deadline annually in a bid to maximize the number of filers. Last year, it had similarly extended the date for filing of tax returns until Oct. 31.