FBR proposes IRIS-only filing of company financial statements
Draft rules issued through SRO 1912(I)/2026 would require electronically readable statements from tax year 2026, with objections open for seven days.
The Federal Board of Revenue has proposed that companies submit financial statements with their income tax returns only in an electronically readable format through the IRIS portal from tax year 2026 onwards.
The proposal was issued through SRO 1912(I)/2026, published on Tuesday, according to a report by TechJuice. The notification inserts a new sub-rule (2F) in Rule 73 of the Income Tax Rules, 2002. Profit also reported the move, headlining that the FBR had proposed new digital filing rules for companies.
Under the draft sub-rule, the financial statements accompanying a company's return must be filed electronically through IRIS in a format defined under clause (19DA) of Section 2 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. They must conform to the data scheme, taxonomy, file structure, field mapping, validation rules and other technical specifications set by the Board and made available through IRIS or its web portal.
The Board would be able to prescribe different schemes, taxonomies or specifications for different classes of companies, depending on the financial reporting framework that applies to them.
The draft also substitutes sub-rule (3) of Rule 73. Returns, statements, financial statements, certificates, applications and other documents filed through IRIS would have to be verified by the person concerned or, where permitted, by their e-intermediary. Verification would be through a digital signature or another secure electronic authentication method linked to the person's registered credentials, as specified by the FBR.
Once a document is successfully transmitted and validated, IRIS would issue an electronic acknowledgement carrying a unique reference number. The acknowledgement would serve as evidence of electronic filing under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and the relevant rules.
The amendments have been proposed under Section 237(1), read with Section 114(2A) of the ordinance.
The FBR has invited objections and suggestions from affected persons within seven days of the notification's publication in the official Gazette, and said it would consider all submissions received in that period before finalising the amendments. The TechJuice report did not say how many companies would be covered by the change.
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