Think tank highlights tax-return filing issues

A Think Tank - Prime Institute on Wednesday disclosed that taxpayers who have been manually filing the tax returns primarily due to lack of digital literacy or access of technology, are facing administrative issues. According to a paper of the said think tank, the government must ensure that all valid manual filings have been recognised. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has denied the “Active Taxpayer” status of the manual income tax filers for the tax year 2024, despite the existence of FBR’s circular no.6 2025-26, that specifically recognises the legal status of manual return filers. Although these taxpayers submitted their returns within the extended deadline of 30th November 2025, the FBR field offices have blocked their active status, completely ignoring the directives of Federal Tax Ombudsman’s (FTO) and FBR’s own circular.