What does my FBR notice actually mean?
Type the section number printed on your notice. You will get a plain explanation of what the department wants, how long you have, and what happens if it goes unanswered. Nothing you type is stored.
The section is printed near the top of the notice, usually as “u/s 114(4)” or “under section 122”. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
- 114(4)Act this week
Notice to file a return of income
A notice under section 114(4) orders you to file an income tax return for a year the FBR believes you were required to file but did not.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 122(9)Act now
Show cause before amending your assessment
A notice under section 122(9) is the show cause the officer must issue before he amends your assessment, meaning he intends to increase the income you declared.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 122(5A)Act now
Amendment by the Commissioner where the assessment is erroneous
A notice under section 122(5A) is issued when the Commissioner considers your assessment both erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of revenue, and intends to amend it.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 176Answerable
Notice to furnish information or documents
A notice under section 176 requires you to produce specified information, accounts or documents, and is often the first step before an audit or an amendment.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 177Act this week
Selection for audit of income tax affairs
A notice under section 177 means your income tax affairs have been selected for audit and the officer will examine your books and records for that year in detail.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 182Act this week
Penalty for failure to comply
A notice under section 182 proposes a penalty for a default such as late filing, failure to produce records, or failure to respond to an earlier notice.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 161Act this week
Failure to withhold or deposit tax
A notice under section 161 says you failed to deduct withholding tax from a payment, or deducted it and did not deposit it, and proposes to recover that amount from you.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 121Act now
Best judgement assessment
An order under section 121 is a best judgement assessment, meaning the officer has estimated your income himself because you did not file or did not comply.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 205Answerable
Default surcharge on unpaid tax
Section 205 imposes default surcharge, which is the interest charged on tax that was paid late or not paid at all.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 138Act now
Recovery of tax from the taxpayer
A notice under section 138 is a recovery notice requiring you to pay an outstanding demand, and it is the step immediately before coercive recovery.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 140Act now
Attachment of bank account or recovery from a third party
A notice under section 140 is served on your bank or your debtor, requiring them to pay your money to the Commissioner instead of to you.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 111Act now
Unexplained income or assets
Section 111 lets the officer add to your income any asset, expenditure or bank credit whose source you cannot explain, and tax it in the year discovered.
Income Tax Ordinance 2001 - 25Act this week
Access to records and sales tax audit
A notice under section 25 of the Sales Tax Act requires you to produce your sales tax records for audit of a specified period.
Sales Tax Act 1990 - 11Act now
Assessment of sales tax and recovery
A notice under section 11 of the Sales Tax Act proposes an assessment of sales tax you are said to have short paid or wrongly claimed, and recovery of that amount.
Sales Tax Act 1990
Common questions
- Where is the section number on my FBR notice?
- It appears near the top of the notice, usually written as “u/s 114(4)” or “under section 122(9)”. That number determines the deadline and what you must do.
- What happens if I ignore an FBR notice?
- The officer proceeds without you and passes a best judgement assessment based on his own estimate, which is almost always higher than the truth. Once that order is final your bank account can be attached to recover the demand.
- Can I reply to a notice myself?
- You can, and for a simple information notice that is often enough. For anything that proposes to amend your assessment or impose a penalty, a reply drafted without knowing the case law usually makes the position worse.
- How much time do I have to respond?
- The notice states its own deadline, commonly fifteen or thirty days from the date of service. An extension can be requested but only before the original date passes.
Want us to handle it instead?
A calculator gives you the number. Filing it correctly, on time, and defending it if the FBR asks questions is the part we do.