Islamabad, November 4, 2025 – In a surprising and controversial move, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed making electronic filing of income tax returns mandatory for all individuals, effectively phasing out manual filing completely.
According to a notification issued on November 3, 2025 (SRO 2070(I)/2025), the FBR has introduced draft amendments to the Income Tax Rules, 2002, seeking public feedback within seven days. The proposed amendment to sub-rule (2DD) states:
“In case of an individual, electronic filing of income tax return and withholding statement shall be mandatory.”
This proposal contradicts the FBR’s earlier statement issued just a day before, in which an FBR spokesperson claimed that manual return filing had already been legally discontinued. However, the new SRO clearly shows that the law is still under proposal stage, exposing a major communication blunder within the tax authority.
Under the existing law, only individuals with taxable income exceeding one million rupees or with turnover above fifty million rupees were required to file returns electronically. The FBR’s latest proposal would extend this requirement to all taxpayers, regardless of income level.
Tax experts have raised questions over how FBR could prematurely announce the discontinuation of manual return forms before the proposed amendment becomes law. Critics say the move has created unnecessary confusion among taxpayers and highlighted serious procedural lapses within the organization.
If approved, the decision would mark a major step toward complete digitalization of Pakistan’s tax system, ending decades of manual return filing.