The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched a comprehensive five-page income tax return form for traders for the 2025 tax year, fulfilling prior commitments to simplify the paperwork. The new form, however, has drawn criticism from traders who say it remains overly complex and lacks the promised Urdu version.
The electronic form requires detailed disclosures including cost of sales, gross and net profits, taxable income, taxes paid, and capital assets listed under Section 7E of the Income Tax Ordinance. A dedicated page is also included for personal expenditures. Traders have raised concerns that the form’s complexity forces many to rely on costly tax consultants to complete the filing.
Despite earlier assurances, the Urdu-language version of the form, which would aid wider comprehension, remains unavailable—prompting complaints from the business community.
Under the previous tax framework, traders filing returns under Sections 236G and 236H benefited from reduced rates of 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively, with adjustable monthly advance tax that supported automatic calculations and direct refunds.
Parallelly, under the FBR’s Tajir Dost Scheme aimed at simplifying trader registration, over 58,000 small traders and new shopkeepers were registered by September 2024—well below the target of 3.2 million. The FBR had expected to generate approximately Rs 50 billion in revenue under this segment for FY 2024-25.
