Hyderabad Chamber of Small Trade and Small Industry (HCSTSI) Urges Govt to Extend Tax Filing Deadline
The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Trade and Small Industry (HCSTSI) has urged the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue and the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the last date for filing Income Tax Returns for 2026 till October 31.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, chamber's President Muhammad Saleem Memon said the extension would provide taxpayers, the business community and tax consultants with sufficient time to address the difficulties arising from the new return forms.
He highlighted that the new form required additional information and disclosure as well as technical issues were also being faced on the IRIS portal. Memon stated that the process of filing income tax returns had become more complicated compared with the previous years.
Rule 34A of the Income Tax Rules provides a prescribed procedure and timeline for the preparation, review and finalization of return forms, under which the final return forms were required to be available on the IRIS portal by January 31.
Memon argued that when the final return forms become available close to the end of the filing period instead of within the prescribed time frame, expecting taxpayers to complete full, accurate and verifiable returns in accordance with the revised requirements was an uphill task.
He strongly urged the federal government to immediately extend the last date for filing the income tax returns to October 31.