ISLAMABAD: Almost all tax bar associations, chambers/ federations and trade bodies have requested the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial to extend the deadline for filing of income tax return forms by one month for Tax Year 2026, following failure of the system to accept returns on Sunday, delayed notification of the return form, technical glitches in the IRIS portal and extensive additional disclosure requirements.

The requests have been made by Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA), Gujrat Tax Bar Association, Lahore Tax Bar Association, Rawalpindi Tax Bar Association, Multan Tax Bar Association and other associations and bodies across the country.

When contacted, Asif S Kasbati, Senior Member of the ICAP Fiscal Laws Committee, told Business Recorder that the current filing number of around 3 million is far less than the expected non-traders returns of 8 million or more keeping in view history.

READ MORE: Income tax returns, wealth statements: PM urged to extend deadline

He suggested that NTN holder should be given an opportunity to file their returns during an extended period of at least one month, which the FBR may announce on 30 September morning to avoid millions of extension applications.

Individuals, Associations of Persons (AOPs), and certain companies with year-ends between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, are required to file Tax Year (TY) 2025 returns on or before September 30, 2026. Owing to several reasons, Kasbati argued that an extension in the filing deadline till October 31, 2025 is inevitable. He appreciated the role of Tax Bars in highlighting glitches in the return forms and IRIS issues.

Waheed Shahzad Butt, a leading tax lawyer warned that the issue may be taken up with the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), adding: “With new change from today (Sunday) in the wealth statement, the system is asking to provide the exemption reason for capital gain tax.”

Taxpayers are receiving messages: IRIS is not working, account temporarily locked due to exceeded login attempts. Please try again later,” Waheed Butt added.

The PTBA has urged Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial to extend the deadline for filing returns for Tax Year 2026 up to December 3, 2026, citing delayed notification of the return form, technical glitches in the IRIS portal and extensive additional disclosure requirements. PTBA Letter for extension of time to submit Return, 2026.

In a letter dated September 26, 2026, addressed to the FBR chairman, PTBA President Sheikh Ahsan Ul Haq and General Secretary Tahir Mahmood Butt said the prescribed format of the Return of Total Income for Tax Year 2026 was required under Rule 34A of the Income Tax Rules, 2002, to be uploaded on the IRIS portal by January 7, 2026 for inviting suggestions and observations, with the final return to be notified by January 31, 2026.

However, they pointed out that the prescribed return format was uploaded on the IRIS portal only on July 27, 2026, considerably after the statutory timeline.

According to PTBA, the return form also contained numerous bugs, glitches and technical issues that materially affected taxpayers and tax practitioners in preparing and filing returns. It particularly highlighted the Wealth Statement, which introduced substantive and additional disclosure requirements, including updating details of immovable properties and furnishing IBANs of bank accounts.

The association said updating particulars of immovable properties was an extensive, cumbersome and time-consuming exercise, requiring taxpayers to compile, verify and reconcile detailed information before accurately preparing and filing their returns.

PTBA further stated that the technical difficulties on the IRIS portal, coupled with substantive changes in the return requirements, had caused considerable hardship and materially curtailed the time available to taxpayers for meaningful and accurate compliance with their statutory obligations.

The tax bar said it, along with its affiliated District Tax Bar Associations, had played an active role in bringing the technical difficulties to the attention of the concerned authorities, including the PRAL team through the Director General, Domain Team, FBR, with a view to facilitating timely rectification of the glitches.

PTBA also pointed out that the Gazette notification prescribing the Return of Total Income for Tax Year 2026 was ultimately issued on September 2, 2026 instead of July 1, 2026, as required under the statutory provisions.

It further referred to Section 118 (2) (b) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, under which the return is ordinarily required to be furnished by September 30, 2026. The association argued that, read with the requirement relating to the period available to taxpayers following notification of the return form, the statutory scheme warrants providing taxpayers the requisite 92-day period for compliance.

The PTBA said that since the Gazette notification was issued on September 2, 2026, the 92-day statutory period would culminate on December 3, 2026. Requiring taxpayers to furnish returns by September 30, 2026, it argued, would curtail the period contemplated under the statutory framework.

The association requested the FBR chairman to extend the due date for filing Tax Year 2026 returns to December, 2026, to provide taxpayers and tax practitioners a reasonable and lawful opportunity to comply with their statutory obligations.