KARACHI: Taxpayers in Karachi are unable to pay provincial sales tax as the tax filing portal of Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) remains inaccessible due to an unexpected maintenance delay.

The issue was highlighted by the Karachi Customs Agents Association (KCAA), which revealed that the SRB portal for filing Sindh sales tax returns has been offline since August 9, 2023, causing significant hardships for taxpayers and service providers.

The disruption has been attributed to maintenance work being carried out by Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL), under the directive of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). This unforeseen delay has paralyzed the monthly tax filing activities of Customs Agents and other service providers who rely on the SRB portal for the accurate and timely submission of their sales tax returns.

The KCAA promptly brought this issue to the attention of SRB authorities, requesting an extension in the tax filing deadline until the SRB web portal is fully restored. As a result of their efforts, a temporary reprieve has been granted. Taxpayers can now electronically deposit their Sindh sales tax for the month of July 2023 until August 17, 2023, while the e-filing of sales tax returns has been extended until August 21, 2023.

Despite these extensions, the SRB e-portal (https://e.srb.gos.pk/) remains stubbornly offline, leaving taxpayers in a state of uncertainty.

In a bid to alleviate the concerns of taxpayers, the KCAA has requested both PRAL and the FBR to take swift action for the restoration of the SRB e-portal.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023