Karachi Chamber seeks a targeted IRIS portal update to help eligible returning residents file Wealth Statements for Tax Year 2026 without reconciling years in which they were not legally required to file.
Karachi, October 26, 2026: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to remove a technical restriction in its IRIS portal that is creating difficulties for individuals who have resumed tax residency in Pakistan after a period of non-residence.
In a letter to Zubair Bilal, Member (Inland Revenue–Operations) at the FBR, KCCI President Talat Mahmood called for a targeted modification of the Wealth Reconciliation module for Tax Year 2026.
He said the system automatically carries forward the opening wealth balance from the last Wealth Statement filed and does not allow taxpayers to amend it. This creates difficulties for individuals who were non-residents during intervening tax years and were not legally required to submit Wealth Statements.
For example, an individual who filed a Wealth Statement for Tax Year 2023, remained a non-resident in Tax Years 2024 and 2025, and regained resident status in Tax Year 2026 may be required to submit a new statement. However, the IRIS portal continues to display the earlier wealth balance without allowing an appropriate opening balance for 2026.
According to KCCI, this technical limitation creates unnecessary reconciliation problems and could hinder the accurate and timely submission of tax returns.
Mahmood emphasised that the proposed facility should be restricted to taxpayers who were not legally required to file Wealth Statements during the intervening years. It should not provide a general exemption from wealth declaration requirements or relax existing statutory obligations.
He urged the FBR to direct its technical team, including Pakistan Revenue Automation (Pvt.) Limited (PRAL), to modify the IRIS validation mechanism and allow eligible returning residents to enter an appropriate opening wealth balance, subject to applicable legal requirements and verification.
KCCI maintained that the change would facilitate compliance with Section 116(2) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, while preventing taxpayers from being compelled to reconcile wealth movements for years in which they had no legal filing obligation.
The chamber called for priority action ahead of the ongoing Tax Year 2026 filing requirements, saying the proposed correction would improve the efficiency of the online tax filing system and ease compliance for affected taxpayers.