{
  "id": 10429245,
  "title": "FPCCI seeks one-month extension to the income tax return deadline",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/fpcci-seeks-one-month-extension-to-the-income-tax-return-deadline",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-28T10:51:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40441611/fpcci-seeks-one-month-extension-to-the-income-tax-return-deadline"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the FPCCI, has formally requested the Pakistani government and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to grant a one-month extension to the income tax return deadline, pushing it to October 31, 2026. In a statement on Monday, the trade body argued that this extension is essential for ensuring maximum tax compliance, expanding the tax base, and easing the immense pressure currently faced by businesses, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and individual taxpayers. Sheikh noted that as the September 30 deadline approached, taxpayers and tax professionals were encountering significant systemic bottlenecks. The FBR's IRIS portal has been experiencing frequent slowdowns, glitches, and downtime due to heavy national traffic, preventing thousands of taxpayers from submitting their returns and wealth statements accurately and on time. Sheikh emphasized that while Pakistan's business community is committed to fulfilling its national duty, penalizing them for systemic inefficiencies and a limited digital infrastructure is unfair. The FPCCI detailed several reasons for the requested extension, including the severe instability of the FBR's digital infrastructure, where the IRIS system frequently lags and crashes during peak hours, making it nearly impossible for tax lawyers, chartered accountants, and business owners to process filings efficiently. The recent complex amendments in tax laws and reporting requirements have also created widespread confusion, necessitating additional time for taxpayers to comprehend these technicalities and avoid errors. Sheikh pointed out that ongoing macroeconomic challenges, such as high inflation and rising operational costs, have severely strained the administrative capacities of SMEs, making it difficult for many businesses to finalize their financial audits and gather necessary documentation within the tight timeframe. The FPCCI argued that granting this extension directly supports the government's primary objective of increasing the number of active filers. Hastening the process would likely result in fewer submissions, whereas an extended window would lead to higher revenue collection and more accurate compliance. Sheikh urged the Prime Minister, the Minister for Finance and Revenue, and the Chairman of the FBR to consider the current ground realities and implement the requested extension to prevent many legitimate businesses from being classified as non-filers, facing unwarranted penalties, and disrupting commercial activities amid fragile economic conditions.",
  "summary": "Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), has formally urged the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns by one month – moving the cutoff date to October 31, 2026 – to facilitate trade, industry, and other tax filers. According to a statement released on Monday, the apex trade…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}