Federal Ombudsman Takes Action Against FBR Despite Board’s Denial

The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has taken immediate notice of an alleged illegal move by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to amend the Wealth Statement section of the Income Tax Return Form for Tax Year 2025, requiring taxpayers to declare the market value of their moveable and immovable assets. In response to a complaint filed by prominent tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt, the FTO has issued notices to the Secretary, Revenue Division, Member (Operations-IR), Member (Policy), Member (Legal), and DG (IT & DT) of the FBR. These officials have been summoned for a hearing on Monday, September 29, 2025, and are directed to appear with para-wise comments on the issue. There is a strong likelihood that the FBR may withdraw the amendment to the wealth statement following the FTO’s intervention. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recently issued a clarification regarding misinformation circulating on social media about the Income Tax Return 2025. According to an official press release, the FBR has not introduced any amendments or changes to the Income Tax Return Form 2025 through a new SRO. The return form, released on the FBR’s website on July 7, 2025, requires taxpayers to declare the market value of their assets on page 66. A review of returns filed so far revealed that many individuals were entering “zero” in the column for the market value of assets. To address this, the system now restricts such entries to ensure taxpayers provide accurate information, the statement added. FBR further clarified that the declaration of property market value is entirely at the discretion of taxpayers and does not require any research or formal valuation, except for high-net-worth individuals who are already required to provide this information under Section 7E. For other taxpayers, these values are not used in tax calculation, and no notices will be issued for mistakes in this declaration. However, taxpayers are expected to declare asset values as close to market rates as possible. The tax authority also confirmed that taxpayers who have already filed their returns will not be asked to revise or re-file, since the asset market value entries are neither used for tax calculation nor for reconciliation of wealth statements.