Received an FBR Notice? What to Do First

A notice from the Federal Board of Revenue arrives without warning, usually as an email or text alert that something has landed in your IRIS inbox. This guide is for salaried individuals, professionals, traders and company officers in Lahore who have received one and want to know what it means, how much time they have, and what to do in the first week. It deals with notices under the Income Tax Ordinance 2001; sales tax notices follow a similar logic.

First, read the notice properly

Five things on the face of the notice decide everything that follows: the section under which it is issued, the tax year it concerns, the officer and office issuing it, the date by which you must comply, and the specific queries or figures put to you. Notices are served electronically through IRIS and are treated as served on the date they are posted there, whether or not you opened the email. If you doubt that a notice is genuine, log in to IRIS and check the inbox directly. The FBR does not ask for payment into personal accounts or over WhatsApp.

Which FBR notice have you received: sections and deadlines

The law also puts a clock on the Commissioner. An amended assessment under section 122 has to be passed within a fixed period from the show-cause notice, and the years that can be reopened are limited. Whether that clock has already run is one of the first things an advocate checks.

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The worst reply to an FBR notice is no reply. The second worst is a reply written in a hurry, without the documents.

What to do in the first week

Day one: verify and calendar the deadline

Download the notice from IRIS, write the compliance date in two places, and count the days. If the date is unrealistic for the documents asked, note that now: an adjournment request is far more persuasive when filed early than the night before.

Days two to four: gather the record

Most notices are built on data the FBR already holds: bank credits, property transactions, vehicle registrations, withholding statements filed by employers and banks, and your own returns and wealth statements. Your reply must reconcile that data with your declared income. Collect the returns and wealth statements for the year in question and the two years before it, the bank statements for every account, and the documents behind each large transaction.

Days five to seven: draft the reply

A good reply answers each query in the order it was put, gives the explanation in plain words, and attaches the document that proves it. It does not argue about matters the notice did not raise, and it does not concede figures that have not been verified.

How to reply to an FBR notice on IRIS: step by step

1. 1

   Open the notice in IRIS and note the compliance date

   Download the PDF and save it with the tax year in the file name. The compliance date, not the date you read the email, is the deadline.

2. 2

   Reconcile the figures

   Compare each figure alleged in the notice against your return, your wealth statement and your bank statements. For each difference, identify the explanation: an exempt receipt, a loan, a sale of an asset already declared, a family transfer, or a genuine omission.

3. 3

   Prepare a point-by-point written reply with annexures

   Number the paragraphs to match the notice. Index the annexures. Where an item is a genuine omission, say so and state its tax effect rather than leaving the officer to compute it.

4. 4

   Submit on IRIS before the deadline

   File the reply through the IRIS reply function against the notice, attach the annexures, and keep the acknowledgement. If more time is needed, file an adjournment application before the deadline, not after.

5. 5

   Attend the hearing

   If a hearing is fixed, appear through your advocate or authorised representative under a power of attorney, with the original documents available.

6. 6

   Read the order and start the appeal clock

   If an order is passed against you, note the date of service. The 30-day period for appeal runs from that date, and recovery can begin once the demand is due.

If the order goes against you: the appeal ladder

An appeal against an assessment or amendment order lies to the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 127 within 30 days of service. From there an appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue under section 131, and from the Tribunal a reference on a question of law lies to the Lahore High Court under section 133. The 2024 amendments changed which forum hears an appeal, depending on the amount in dispute, and shortened some of the limitation periods, so treat every limit as urgent and have the operative date confirmed the day the order is served.

Filing an appeal does not automatically stop recovery. A stay application should accompany the appeal, and the Tribunal can grant a stay for a limited period. Alternative dispute resolution under section 134A is available in suitable cases.

Documents you will need

• The notice, downloaded from IRIS, with the compliance date
• Returns and wealth statements for the year in question and the two preceding years
• Bank statements for every account for the period
• Withholding tax certificates and challans: salary, bank profit, contracts, property, vehicles
• Sale and purchase deeds, allotment letters and rent agreements for property
• Ledgers, invoices and sales tax returns, for businesses
• NTN certificate, CNIC, and a power of attorney for your representative

Timelines and costs

A reply to a show-cause or information notice is usually due within 15 to 30 days. A section 122 proceeding from show cause to order commonly takes two to six months; an audit takes longer. An appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) is generally decided within a few months, and an appeal before the Tribunal within several months to a year depending on the bench and the workload. Costs depend on the forum and the stage, and professional fees are confirmed in writing before the reply is drafted.

Common mistakes with FBR notices

• Not checking the IRIS inbox. The deadline runs from posting, not from reading.
• Replying with a general denial and no documents.
• Conceding figures in a hurry that are later treated as admissions.
• Missing the 30-day appeal period after the order.
• Assuming that an appeal stops recovery.
• Making a voluntary payment without a written record of what it settles.
• Relying on an unregistered consultant who files nothing and keeps the acknowledgement to himself.

When to speak to an advocate

Speak to an advocate as soon as the notice is under section 122(9), section 177 or any of the recovery sections, or whenever the figures alleged exceed what you can explain from your own records. An advocate reads the notice against the limitation periods, drafts the reply so that nothing in it becomes a concession, and appears before the officer and, if needed, the appellate forums. Read more about our taxation and FBR practice, or book a consultation and bring the notice with you. Company officers facing parallel regulatory queries can also read about our corporate and SECP work.