KCCI President Urges PM to Address IRIS Portal Issues

Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, the President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), has appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to promptly address the ongoing technical problems within the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) IRIS portal. These issues are significantly impeding tax compliance and causing considerable hardship for businesses nationwide.

In a formal communication to the Prime Minister, the KCCI president emphasized that numerous tax-abiding businesses are currently unable to submit their sales tax returns due to substantial defects in the IRIS system. Specifically, the portal is reportedly restricting the Unit of Measurement (UOM) to “Kilograms” exclusively, which is unsuitable for various sectors that depend on units such as pieces (pcs), liters, or meters.

“This technical shortcoming demonstrates a concerning deficiency in understanding the varied nature of our industries, including manufacturers of bulk goods, pharmaceuticals, and footwear,” Bilwani remarked.

“Such technical incompetence is unjustifiable, leading to undeserved penalties for businesses trying to comply with a defective system.”

Despite the FBR’s assurances on March 20, 2025, that the problem was being resolved, tangible progress has not been observed. Bilwani added, “The matter is still unresolved, and businesses continue to experience severe repercussions for simply attempting to comply with a flawed system.”

The KCCI president voiced dismay over the lack of responsiveness from senior FBR officials. He described a recent visit to the FBR Head Office in Islamabad, where he arrived on time at 9 am to meet with the Member (Sales Tax). He was made to wait for an hour without any communication, as the official did not appear. During the visit, Dr. Ali Adnan Zaidi, the Chief Sales Tax Officer, acknowledged that similar complaints had been received from other stakeholders but confirmed that no corrective measures had been implemented.

Bilwani regretted that repeated attempts to engage with the chairman of the FBR, Member (Sales Tax), and other high-ranking officials through letters and phone calls have gone unanswered.

“This consistent negligence indicates a broader institutional indifference, not only towards the KCCI but also towards the entire business community grappling with these systemic failures,” he stated.

Bilwani cautioned that these technical failures and bureaucratic inertia are diminishing business confidence, discouraging documentation, and widening the gap between taxpayers and the government.

“Pakistan’s economy cannot sustain such inefficiencies, especially when enhancing the ease of doing business and rebuilding trust in institutions should be national priorities,” he stressed.

The KCCI president advocated for immediate rectification of the IRIS portal’s technical errors, accountability for the responsible FBR officials, and implementation of stakeholder-driven reforms to avert similar problems moving forward. He also called for a professional and responsive engagement mechanism between the FBR and the business community.

“The future of our economy relies on the government’s ability to listen, respond, and take action. We hope the PM will intervene to ensure this issue is resolved without further delay,” Bilwani concluded.