The on-going sit-in at The Mall Road has hampered filing of tax returns and tax practitioners may request the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for another extension in the last date of returns. Talking to Business Recorder, President Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) Ch Qamar-uz-Zaman said a sit-in by the workers of Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasoolillah (TLYR) about a week before the deadline has caused a slowdown in filing of returns.

"No internet was available over the last three days and no tax practitioner had access to the IRIS of FBR," he said. The FBR officials are adamant not to extend deadline beyond 30th of November. According to another tax consultant, most of the markets were also closed down over the last three days which has also contributed to slowdown in filing of returns.

It may be noted that the LTBA was already demanding another extension in the final date of returns to 31st December. The Association sources said the LTBA is likely to make a formal request for extension in the last date for filing of returns. The FBR has instructed the filers to file returns online, however, a malfunctioning in the online access of IRIS has brought the filing of returns to a standstill, particularly in the provincial metropolis. The possibility of normalization of situation is yet a farfetched idea, as the protestors are holding sit-in at the Chairing Cross till filing of this report. They are demanding release of their workers from police custody before calling off their sit-in.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017