Last date: FBR receives 1.47m income tax returns

ISLAMABAD: As the last day for filing tax returns passed, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced that it has received more than 1.7 million income tax returns along with Rs19.5 billion in taxes till the night of December 8.

According to The News, the statistics indicated that less than 1% of the population opted to file their income tax returns.

The publication also reported that the country has 6.4 million National Tax Number (NTN) holders, out of which 4.7 million did not bother to file their tax returns. 

It added that the country’s tax authority is now planning to take strict action against those who have an NTN but did not file their returns in the last three consecutive years.

However, the FBR has decided to grant an extension to those individuals who will seek extension through online or manual applications.

Read more: Pakistan Tax Bar Association appeals FBR to extend deadline for filing income tax returns

“We have received 112,000 online requests for granting extensions along with reasons and the concerned chief commissioners will generously allow required extension keeping in view COVID-19 pandemic,” a top official told The News. The FBR has issued instructions to all the chief commissioners to grant an extension if someone had filed online or manual applications.

The FBR spokesman made it clear that there would be no further extension for the filing of income tax returns.

The country’s tax authority also called a letter circulating on social media, that was claimed that the filing of tax returns has been extended till January 31, 2021, as fake. The FBR stated that it was a fake letter and the Board did not grant any extension.

The FBR had received a total of 2.7 million income tax returns in the last fiscal year ended on June 30, 2020. For the current fiscal year, the FBR has so far received over 1.7 million returns and it was expecting over one million returns would be filed through individual requests.