KARACHI: The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has requested the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to include corporate taxpayers who filed tax returns on January 01, 2024 in the Active Taxpayers List (ATL) 2024.

In a letter to FBR’s Member Inland Revenue Policy, the KTBA said the last date for filing tax returns for corporate taxpayers was extended to January 01, 2024 as December 31, 2023 fell on a Sunday.

As per income tax law and General Clauses Act, the deadline gets extended to the next working day if the last day is a public holiday. Hence, taxpayers filing returns on January 01 submitted it within the legal deadline.

FBR’s online portal: KTBA seeks availability of key tax compliance form

The FBR publishes the ATL on March 01 every year based on filings for the tax year ending December 31. The KTBA argued that taxpayers meeting the January 01 deadline should not miss out on being included in ATL 2024.

“The FBR portal needs to align with this legal position, else it will cause massive inconvenience and litigation,” said the association’s letter. They requested the FBR Member to issue suitable instructions to synchronise the portal and include January 01 filers in ATL 2024 to uphold the extended deadline.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024