Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to make a final decision on a possible extension on Monday as a crippling technical crisis grips the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) IRIS system.

The current deadline, September 30th, 2024, is proving insurmountable for a large number of taxpayers due to persistent and widespread malfunctions within the IRIS online tax filing portal.

The problems, which have been escalating for days, are not merely minor glitches. Tax bar associations nationwide have lodged urgent complaints, painting a picture of a system overwhelmed and largely unusable. The Rawalpindi Islamabad Tax Bar Association president, Faraz Fazal Sheikh, highlighted that while simpler returns (like those for salaried individuals) are being processed, returns containing substantial data are consistently failing to upload. This issue, he explains, has persisted for at least two days, creating a significant backlog.

The core problems with IRIS are multifaceted and severe according to a report in Business Recorder.

System Shutdowns: The system experiences daily shutdowns, often lasting several hours (e.g., 12 AM to 4 AM). This intermittent unavailability severely hampers progress for taxpayers.

Processing Speed: Even when operational, IRIS is plagued by extremely slow processing speeds, making it incredibly difficult to navigate and submit returns efficiently.

Calculation Errors: The system is making incorrect calculations, particularly regarding minimum tax liabilities. It’s failing to properly account for income already taxed under other schemes (like Association of Persons, AOP, exempt income), leading to inflated tax bills. This issue, according to the Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA), has persisted for two years.

Data Loss: Taxpayers report instances of data disappearing after input, forcing them to re-enter information, wasting significant time and effort.

Challans and CPRs: The system isn’t correctly registering paid challans (tax payment receipts), and the Computerized Property Registry (CPR) information is frequently missing from the Management Information System (MIS).

Non-Resident Data: Last year’s wealth data for non-resident taxpayers is still appearing in the system and cannot be edited.

Inconsistent Requirements: The system is imposing contradictory requirements; for instance, it’s demanding profit & loss accounts and balance sheets from individuals with salary income and a single service receipt.

These technical failures are compounded by the short timeframe given for filing (only 32 days after the release of the electronic return form via SRO 1321(I)/2024 on August 28th, 2024), the complexity of the new tax return forms, and the sheer volume of returns to be processed.

The PTBA argues that even if IRIS functioned perfectly, an additional 45 days would be needed to complete all filings. They, along with other tax bar associations, contend that the current situation violates taxpayers’ fundamental rights to a fair and reasonable opportunity to comply with their tax obligations.

They’ve formally requested a 45-day extension, pushing the deadline to November 15th, 2024, to alleviate the burden on taxpayers and allow the FBR sufficient time to resolve the IRIS issues. The FBR Chairman has received this urgent request. The collective voice of the nation’s tax professionals is calling for an extension to ensure compliance without undue hardship or penalties.