If you received a text asking you to file your Tax Year 2025 return before September 30, 2025, after that deadline had passed, FBR says it did not authorize the later reminder. In a December 8, 2025 clarification, FBR said the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) traced the messages to a technical glitch at telecom service providers.
Why did the late FBR tax reminder arrive?
FBR said it routinely asks PTA to send customized tax-filing reminders in September. For Tax Year 2025, FBR says it made that request on September 15, 2025, ahead of the September 30 filing deadline, and that the planned reminders went out before the deadline.
FBR later received complaints about telecom-provider texts repeating the expired September 30 date. The agency stated: “Upon inquiry, it has been confirmed that FBR has not authorized issuance of these messages.” PTA informed FBR that a technical glitch on telecom service providers’ part caused the later messages. Read FBR’s December 8, 2025 clarification.
What FBR’s clarification does—and does not—mean
The statement addresses the specific late messages referring to the Tax Year 2025 deadline. It does not say that all tax-related SMS messages are false, nor does it identify the affected telecom operator or operators. It also does not describe the technical cause in detail, say how many subscribers received the texts, or report a final operator-level fix.
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So, the late reminder described in the clarification was not authorized by FBR, but the notice is not a blanket warning against every tax SMS. Assess a message on its own and verify tax matters through FBR’s official channels rather than relying on a text alone.
How to handle a suspicious tax text
FBR’s general SMS safety guidance advises recipients not to call numbers supplied in suspicious messages or disclose bank details, PINs, passwords, or similar financial-access information. The late reminder was attributed to a telecom glitch; FBR’s clarification does not identify it as a phishing attempt. For broader guidance, see FBR’s advice on fraudulent SMS.
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- Check tax questions independently through FBR’s official channels.
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Separate update: Tax Year 2026 deadline
In a separate update, Radio Pakistan reported on October 1, 2026 that FBR extended the Tax Year 2026 filing deadline to October 15, 2026, for people who had been required to file by September 30. This later deadline concerns Tax Year 2026; it does not change the Tax Year 2025 SMS incident. Read Radio Pakistan’s report.
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