Taxpayers who missed the October 31 deadline for submitting their annual income tax return can still reach the Active Taxpayer List (ATL) without paying the usual Rs. 25,000 penalty, because the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has opened a relief route for eligible late filers.
Under standard tax rules, a person who misses the filing cutoff and ends up with non-filer status must pay a surcharge of Rs. 25,000 before their name can be entered on the ATL and their filer standing restored. The new measure removes that payment requirement for taxpayers who complete a specific legal step instead.
The waiver comes from Section 182A, subsection (3), of the regulatory framework under the Finance Act, effective from July 1. This provision allows a taxpayer to avoid the mandatory Rs. 25,000 surcharge by furnishing a formal undertaking or affidavit addressed directly to the Commissioner. It is aimed at ordinary citizens, late filers, and newly registered National Tax Number (NTN) holders, including anyone whose NTN registration was delayed, for whom the surcharge would be a prohibitive cost.
The exemption carries one binding condition. In return for the waiver, the taxpayer must declare that they will not purchase any immovable property for the next six months. Immovable property covers residential houses, commercial buildings, and vacant plots of land.
The declaration must be drafted and printed on Rs. 300 stamp paper, in which the individual formally commits to the Commissioner that they will not acquire any plot, home, or other immovable real estate for a full six months. Once the undertaking is tendered and approved, the person's name is added to the ATL, along with all statutory benefits and protections of recognized active filer status.
Breaking the promise carries direct enforcement consequences. If the taxpayer buys a house, plot, or any immovable property within the six-month window, the purchase violates the sworn affidavit. The undertaking is immediately negated and becomes void from the exact date the transaction is executed. The temporary exemption is then revoked, and the full Rs. 25,000 surcharge becomes payable at once.
The entire process runs digitally through the Iris tax portal, so no complex offline administrative procedure is required. Iris offers a dedicated feature labeled "ATL-U" (Active Taxpayer List – Undertaking), reachable from the taxpayer's dashboard. The applicant prepares the declaration on Rs. 300 stamp paper, scans the executed document, and uploads the electronic copy through the ATL-U interface.
After submission, Iris routes the document electronically to the relevant Commissioner for review and regulatory verification. Once the Commissioner formally approves the undertaking, the system automatically updates the applicant's record and enters their name on the ATL with no payment of the Rs. 25,000 penalty.
For anyone holding non-filer status because of the missed October 31 filing deadline, using the ATL-U feature on Iris offers a viable, direct, and legally sanctioned route to active filer recognition.
Contact information
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