President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh, has formally requested the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns by one month, proposing a new deadline of October 31, 2024. This extension aims to allow more taxpayers the opportunity to submit their returns. Sheikh highlighted that many members of the business community were preoccupied with electoral activities for chambers of commerce and other trade organizations throughout September. As a result, they could not complete the necessary documentation for their income tax returns ahead of the current deadline, which is set to end on September 30, 2024.
Sheikh noted complaints from KCCI members regarding the IRIS portal’s functionality. Many reported that the portal experienced significant downtime on Wednesday morning, and even when it became partially accessible, it operated slowly. This malfunction caused considerable frustration among taxpayers who were unable to update their information in the system. Sheikh emphasized that the recurring issues with the IRIS portal as the filing deadline approaches necessitate enhancements to its capacity to accommodate the increased user load.
