ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced an electronic system to scrutinize sales tax returns and flag discrepancies before launching legal proceedings, according to reports.
The Federal Board of Revenue issued S.R.O. 1655(I)/2026 on Saturday, amending the Sales Tax Rules, 2006 to add a new Chapter XII-A titled "Procedure for Electronic Scrutiny and Intimation of Issues Detected by the Computerised System."
Under the new procedure, the computerized system may issue online advice or advance notice through IRIS, identifying factual or legal mistakes and discrepancies. The system gives registered taxpayers an opportunity to clarify issues, correct errors or take corrective action before legal or penal proceedings begin.
An Officer of Inland Revenue with jurisdiction over the registered person may also issue the advance intimation.
Taxpayers will have at least seven days to respond, rectify discrepancies or take other corrective action. If no response is received within that period, a reminder will be issued, with another response window of no less than seven days.
The new chapter covers automated scrutiny, analysis and cross-matching of sales tax returns and other available data on registered persons through the FBR's computerized system.
Records of detected discrepancies, notices issued and responses received will be shared with the relevant Inland Revenue officer and maintained on the system dashboard. The automated scrutiny and electronic communication process will be implemented through Change Request Forms.
The Inland Revenue officer will review the taxpayer's response and take appropriate action where required under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and related rules.
