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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday rejected reports of an extension in deadline to file income tax returns for fiscal year 2024-25, saying Sept. 30 is final date for all Pakistanis to submit their wealth statements.

The statement came after some reports suggested the revenue watchdog had extended the deadline in view of the recent floods that killed more than 1,000 Pakistanis, uprooted nearly 3 million people and submerged standing crops on vast tracts of lands.

In a statement issued on Monday, the FBR said that all these reports were false, baseless and misleading and the deadline for filing income tax returns for Tax Year 2025 will not be extended.

“It is pointed out that a vast majority of taxpayers reside in areas unaffected by floods and have had ample time to discharge their national obligation of filing returns,” it said.

“Taxpayers are also cautioned that failure to file returns by the due date will result in late-filer status and imposition of penalties under the law.”

The South Asian country has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the region, despite a population of more than 240 million, and has often failed to meet its collection targets.

In June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government set a record-high tax collection target of Rs14.13 trillion ($47.4 billion) for the fiscal year 2025–26, marking a 9 percent increase from the previous year.

Officials say meeting this goal is essential to reducing reliance on external debt and ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability.

“FBR urges all eligible taxpayers to act responsibly and file their Income Tax Returns with accuracy and honesty before the deadline of 30th September, 2025 to avoid any legal consequences,” the FBR said, denying reports about a slowdown of its tax returns filing platform, IRIS.

“In case of extreme hardship, the taxpayers can avail extension of return up to fifteen days with payment of due taxes by 30th September subject to approval by the relevant committee as per law.”

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its momentum and gained 1,590 to breach the 163,000-point mark for the first time ever, with market analysts saying aggressive institutional buying was behind the bullish trend.

The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 0.98 percent to close at 163,847 points as compared to the weekend close of 162,257 points, according to the PSX website.

Maaz Mulla, vice president for equity sales at Karachi-based Topline Securities, said the rally was largely driven by aggressive buying from local mutual funds.

“NCCPL (National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited) data shows that mutual funds were hefty net buyers on Friday and the momentum carried through to today’s session, giving the market a solid lift,” he said.

The market gained nearly 3,000 points to close the week at an all-time high on Friday as warming United States-Pakistan relations and hopes of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan tranche release boosted investor confidence.

Ties have improved between the US and Pakistan as Washington’s relationship with New Delhi has soured over India’s increased purchases of discounted Russian oil amid Ukraine war. President Donald Trump this year raised tariffs on India for those oil purchases, while the US and Pakistan reached a landmark trade deal in July to allow Washington to help develop Pakistan’s largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for Islamabad.

Separately, an IMF mission is currently holding talks with Pakistani officials for the second review of Islamabad’s $7 billion External Fund Facility (EFF) and first review of the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) programs.

But despite the positive, the Pakistani stock market slightly slowed down on Monday as compared to the previous session, with volumes recorded at 1,282 million shares and traded value climbing to Rs65.7 billion ($231 million).

“Institutional inflows and improved sentiment ensured the bulls stayed firmly in command, pushing the market higher into new territory,” he said.