Pakistan FBR moves to mandate electronic financial statements for company tax returns

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Pakistan electronic tax statements

Highlights

Pakistan Federal Board of Revenue proposes mandatory electronic submission of company financial statements via IRIS portal from tax year 2026 under notification SRO 1912(I)/2026.
Financial statements must comply with FBR-specified technical requirements on data scheme, taxonomy, file structure, and validation, accommodating different frameworks for different company classes.
All electronically filed documents will require digital signature or secure authentication, with acknowledged filings receiving a unique IRIS reference number as official evidence under tax law.

Proposed filing changes for tax year 2026

As reported by Business Recorder, citing the Federal Board of Revenue notification SRO 1912(I)/2026, companies would be required to submit financial statements with their income tax returns electronically through the IRIS portal in an electronically readable file format from tax year 2026 onward.

The draft amendment proposes inserting a new sub-rule (2F) into Rule 73 of the Income Tax Rules, 2002. Under the proposed language, financial statements accompanying company income tax returns must meet electronic filing requirements within the meaning of clause (l9DA) of section 2.

The proposed rules state that submitted financial statements must conform to the data scheme, taxonomy, file structure, field mapping, validation rules and other technical specifications specified by the FBR and made available through IRIS or its web portal. The tax authority may prescribe different technical specifications for different classes of companies, depending on the financial reporting framework that applies to them.

Compliance and business impact

The draft notification also proposes replacing sub-rule (3) of Rule 73 so that returns, statements, financial statements, certificates, applications and other documents filed electronically through IRIS must be verified by the relevant person, or where allowed an e-intermediary, using a digital signature or another secure electronic authentication method linked to registered credentials specified by the FBR.

Once a filing is successfully transmitted and validated, IRIS would issue an electronic acknowledgement with a unique reference number. That acknowledgement would serve as evidence of electronic filing for the purposes of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and the relevant rules.

The proposed amendments have been issued under sub-section (1) of Section 237, read with sub-section (2A) of Section 114 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The FBR has invited objections and suggestions from affected persons within seven days of publication of the notification in the official Gazette before the amendments are finalised.

Our earlier coverage of Tax Year 2026 income tax return filing deadline extension calls in Pakistan outlined how tax experts and business groups pressed the FBR to allow more time for submissions after the final return form notification and ongoing IRIS portal issues. It also highlighted pending extension applications and concerns that glitches and additional reporting requirements were making timely compliance difficult for taxpayers and companies.

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