IRIS in Pakistan blocks entry of opening wealth balance — The Express Tribune
In Pakistan, citizens who regained tax resident status after a period of living abroad cannot enter the opening balance of their wealth in declarations for the 2026 tax year because of restrictions on the IRIS portal. This was reported by The Express Tribune.
The problem emerged a week before the end of the twice-extended deadline for filing income tax returns. The system automatically carries over wealth data from the last submitted declaration for the period when a person was a tax resident and does not allow this figure to be edited.
Problem with the opening balance
Under tax rules, a Pakistani may acquire non-resident status for tax purposes if they spend a certain number of days abroad during a year. During interim years of non-residency, such persons are not required to file wealth statements under Article 116(2) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
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After returning to resident status, taxpayers must submit a wealth statement and a wealth reconciliation statement. However, IRIS pulls the balance recorded before the non-residency period into a field that cannot be edited. As a result, users cannot specify the proper opening balance for the 2026 tax year and reconcile changes in their wealth during that period.
Appeal by tax lawyers
The Karachi Tax Bar Association appealed to the Member Operations of Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), asking for the technical restriction to be removed. In the association's view, under the self-assessment system, taxpayers should be able to independently declare the opening balance based on available documents and information.
The association asked the FBR to change the relevant validation in IRIS so that people who returned to Pakistan could enter the proper opening balance for the relevant tax year. This would make it possible to reconcile changes in wealth without having to carry out calculations for years of non-residency.
