The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to provide taxpayers with sufficient time to prepare and electronically file their income tax returns.

A KTBA delegation raised the issue during a meeting with FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial and senior officials in Karachi on September 9.

The delegation said FBR’s efforts to collect more detailed information through tax returns had made the filing process more time-consuming. It supported improved tax compliance but stressed that taxpayers should also be given adequate facilitation.

The meeting also covered technical problems with FBR’s IRIS portal. FBR officials said around 2.2 million income tax returns had been filed by the time of the meeting, compared with 1.724 million during the same period last year.

Both sides agreed to continue coordination to keep the IRIS system running smoothly and resolve technical problems faced by taxpayers.

The two sides also discussed refunds of tax collected under Section 7E of the Income Tax Ordinance. FBR said it was developing a mechanism to ensure timely processing of valid refunds and would issue instructions to prioritize genuine claims.

Other issues discussed included digital integration, electronic invoicing, faceless audits, artificial intelligence-based assessments, and the Small Shopkeeper Scheme.