Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that December 8, 2020 was the deadline for the filing of income tax returns 2020, but the FBR system was not working properly, due to which many taxpayers had to face great problems in filing their tax returns and this situation necessitated the further extension in the last date for filing of income tax return.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that due to the spike in the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, most of the tax consultants were unable to provide their services to the taxpayers in preparing income tax returns, therefore, it was the need of the hour that FBR should consider on date extension to facilitate maximum taxpayers in filing of income tax returns. He said that the lockdowns in the past had destroyed many businesses due to which great number of the business community was facing difficulty in paying electricity bills, rents of shops and the salaries of the workers. In these circumstances, extending the deadline for filing tax returns was an important necessity.
ICCI President further said that out of a population of 206 million, about 1.7 million income tax returns were filed till December 8 as compared to 2.7 million last year. Thus, about 37% less tax returns have been filed this year. He said that the economic condition of the country would not improve unless the number of filers was increased. He said that there were about 8 million commercial electricity connections in the country and advance tax was also deducted from the electricity bills but filing of only 1.7 million income tax returns should be a matter of concern for the government. He said that the government has a record of power connections so every effort should be made to take advantage of it in order to expand the tax base of the country.
Ms. Fatma Azim, Senior Vice President and Abdul Rehman Khan, Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that in view of the difficulties faced by the business community, it was necessary to take trade associations into confidence for making decisions on tax matters. They said that the date for filing of income tax returns should be extended to provide an opportunity to the business community to file its tax returns.