The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recently apologised to citizens and acknowledged technical glitches on its portal. In an update post today, however, FBR informed the public that the portal is working fine.
Users are having difficulty using the portal, and the deadline for filing income tax returns for 2026 in Pakistan is approaching.
What technical glitches is the FBR portal IRIS facing?
The FBR recently admitted to severe technical issues and service disruptions affecting its online portal, ‘IRIS’.
In a statement issued on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the FBR stated that its technical teams are working continuously to resolve the issues and sluggish performance affecting the portal.
The statement added that the taxpayers will be informed once the system is fully restored.
The FBR acknowledged that the filing deadline is imminent and fully recognises the importance of the IRIS portal functioning smoothly during this critical period.
The FBR also expressed regret for the difficulties faced by taxpayers and tax bar associations due to the ongoing technical faults and complications with the online portal.
Is the FBR IRIS portal working?
In a later update tweet today, the FBR informed that the IRIS portal is functioning as usual. “On both Wednesday and Thursday, more than fifty thousand forms were received,” it read.
“Thank you for your cooperation. In case of any difficulty, please inform us here,” the post read.
What do netizens say?
Netizens are still complaining of facing issues while using the portal. Some said that the sales tax portal is not working, while another complained that they were unable to ‘update property details’; hence, submitting is not allowed.
Will FBR extend the deadline due to glitches?
This official statement from the FBR follows persistent complaints from tax experts and citizens about the portal being down.
As a result, there are expectations for an extension of the deadline. However, there has been no formal confirmation regarding this matter.
What changes were made to the tax return form?
FBR has made major changes to the income tax return form for tax year 2026.
The changes were made only a few weeks before the legal deadline for filing tax returns.
According to the FBR, the changes were introduced through SRO 1495(I)/2026. The notification has made changes to the Income Tax Rules, 2002.
Under the changes, new sections have been added to different parts of the Second Schedule. These include Part-II-ZE, Part-II-ZF, Part-II-ZG and Part-II-ZH.
The FBR said the changes will apply to the income tax return system for tax year 2026.
