New FBR Filing Rules Slammed by LCCI Over Operational Strain
— May 4, 2025
LAHORE (AIA) The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to review SRO 578(I)/2025, citing serious operational challenges for industries—particularly cement dealers and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).
Speaking to a delegation of the All Pakistan Cement Dealers Association (APCDA) on Sunday, LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad acknowledged the government’s intent to enhance tax documentation but warned that the abrupt implementation and complex compliance requirements of SRO 578(I)/2025, dated 8 April 2025, could severely disrupt business operations.
Former LCCI presidents Mian Anjum Nisar and Muhammad Ali Mian, and former vice president Fahim ur Rehman Saigol, also addressed the meeting. The delegation, led by Muneer Chaudhry, included Abdul Majeed Sheikh, Zohaib Nasir Butt, Ashraf Saeed Malik, Chaudhry Sajid Ali, Nauman Ahmad, Malik Waheed, Muhammad Asif Saeed, Rana Shair Ali, Asim Muneer, Tahir Hameed, Tariq Mahmood, and Azhar Abbas, who also shared their concerns.
The LCCI president noted that under the revised regulations, businesses are now required to submit detailed information on domestic purchases and sales through Annex-A and Annex-C. A newly introduced Annex-Cl further mandates taxpayers to reconcile each sales invoice with its corresponding payment—a clause especially burdensome for SMEs lacking digital accounting infrastructure.
Shad added that the business community is already facing persistent issues with the FBR’s electronic filing system, including frequent system crashes that result in data loss during return filings, mismatched HS Codes and fixed Units of Measurement (UOM) causing input errors, failed uploads in Annexure-C, inconsistencies across annexures, and unresolved technical issues dating back to February 2025’s sales tax return cycle.