Have no need to pay any fee to register with IRIS, it only takes a few minutes to Register on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Iris portal. You will require a Mobile Sim Card (you do not need to have its name in your name), a Valid e-mail Address and your CNIC.

Register on IRIS (Important Steps)

1. Access the Portal
2. Start Registration
3. Fill Out the Form
4. Ensure that Your Contact Info is verified.
5. Receive Credentials
6. Log In & File Form

To register or E-enroll on official FBR IRIS portal, fill out the CNIC, mobile number, email ID and personal information, verify the codes sent by FBR and enter the codes, create or receive your login details, and log into your taxpayer profile. The 13 digit CNIC is used as a NTN or registration number for individuals in general. Once registered you can proceed to file your income tax return, submit a wealth statement and update your taxpayer profile and check your ATL status.

How to Register on IRIS FBR (Complete Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Open the Official FBR IRIS Portal

All the transactions must be made from the official FBR IRIS portal. Do not click on links you receive in WhatsApp groups that you don’t know, through social media or unofficial agents. Ensure that you have your CNIC, mobile phone and email access available with you.

If a user wants an in-depth explanation on how they should create their FBR IRIS account in Pakistan, they can follow another resource to register their account in detail, particularly when they’re registering for the first time.

2. Start Registration or E-Enrollment

Select “Registration” or “e-enrollment” based on your taxpayer type. People will tend to go ahead with CNIC. Additional details of NTN and other registration might be required by AOPs and companies. Care needs to be taken when selecting the category of the taxpayer as the choice of taxpayer category may lead to problems with correcting the profile later on.

3. Enter Personal and Contact Details

Fill in your name, CNIC, cell number, e-mail and home address correctly. If you are a business, please enter your business address and your business activity. If the mobile number or email is incorrect, then it will give rise to IRIS password not received, IRIS PIN not received or FBR verification code not received errors.

4. Verify Mobile Number and Email

FBR can provide verification codes, PIN or password information via SMS and e-mail. Don’t use another person’s cell phone number because you may have a hard time getting a password in the future. Mobile number may not be verified in IRIS and email may not be verified in IRIS, thus not registering properly.

5. Create or Receive IRIS Login Credentials

Once verified you will be given access to IRIS via your NTN or Registration number and password. Securely store login information. Some users who opt in for the Portal may not be familiar with the login screen or feel uncertain about accessing the portal after registering may find it useful to have a separate FBR IRIS Login Guide.

6. Access Your Income Tax Profile

After logging in verify taxpayer identity, address, business information, registration information and bank information. If any of the information is wrong, update or correct prior to registration. In a few cases, some personal information needs to be modified in FBR, which can be done through IRIS, and in some cases, the help of a Regional Tax Office or Tax Facilitation Center.

7. Check NTN or Registration Number

In a particular case, CNIC is normally the NTN or registration number of the person. The normal NTN that is issued following e-enrollment is used by AOP’s and companies. Once registered, check your NTN online and if necessary download the certificate of your NTN.

8. File Income Tax Return and Wealth Statement

There is much more to be done after IRIS registration. Generally, these are the two documents that need to be submitted to become a filer in Pakistan: wealth statement and income tax return with regards to the tax year in question. Your active taxpayer status might not be reflected if you don’t properly file your return.

What Is IRIS FBR?

IRIS is the web portal of tax related matters of Federal Board of Revenue. FBR is the tax department, and IRIS is the digital platform on which the tax payers register their income tax, file income tax returns, file wealth statements, update the registration etc. and do other compliance actions.

Who Needs to Register on IRIS?

Salaried Persons

Salaried individuals might require IRIS registration for salaried persons, income tax filing, refunds, becoming active taxpayer, status check or to meet the employer/bank’s requirement. It’s also crucial where a person would like lower withholding tax therapy from some transactions.

It is possible for an employee, who had tax deducted from his/her salary, to not file a return and still not be part of the ATL. This is the reason why no only businessmen need to register for income tax Pakistan and file taxes as tax filers.

Freelancers and Online Earners

Some freelancers, consultants, or online earners may require FBR registration to fulfill the tax compliance requirements, maintain banking documents and provide explanations of their income. For instance, if a freelancer earns foreign remittances, he/she may need to provide information on the income source to the bank or the tax authority at a later time. Being registered in IRIS, Pakistan freelancer with NTN, regular income tax return filing can facilitate in establishing the proper tax record.

Business Owners and Sole Proprietors

The business owners need to have correct registration with FBR, business activity details, updating registered business address and taxpayer profile with FBR. Companies can use CNIC as NTN but the CNIC information should be entered correctly in IRIS.

Businesses that include the nature of their business as a shop, agency, consultancy, e-commerce or service business, may require to add the business details in IRIS and ensure the tax jurisdiction is added in their FBR taxpayer profile.

AOPs and Companies

Generally, associations of persons and companies must be e-enrolled, have an NTN and address for their businesses, include a principal officer information and supporting documents. Care needs to be taken in both company NTN registration and AOP NTN registration, as errors will impact on the returns filed in the future, compliance with notice and opening bank account.

Documents and Details Required for IRIS Registration

The typical information that is required for a person would be CNIC, mobile number which is registered in his/her name, an active e-mail address, residential address, source of income, employer information (if employed), business address (if he/she is doing business), bank account details (where applicable), and utility bill / rent details (where applicable).

If you are a business owner, maintain details of the business name, registered business address, business activity, bank account information, lease details/ownership details, sales tax details if applicable. You might require NTN / incorporation / formation documents, Principal Officer information, Business address, Contact information and authorization documents for an AOP / company.

Please ensure mobile number and email is accessible before starting. The reasons why taxpayers have problems with IRIS registration include using a different taxpayer’s number, or an old email address that won’t be accepted in the future.

How to Become a Filer After IRIS Registration

Only if the returns are filed and are included in the ATP list, the filer becomes a status, access to FBR records is gained by IRIS registration. Active Taxpayer List (ATL) is a list of taxpayers who have participated in the program in the past. It is the list of taxpayers, who have submitted their income tax returns for previous tax year concerned.

To check the ATL status after filing use official FBR tools by CNIC or NTN. Some of the common reasons are that the return may not have been filed for the correct year, the return may not have been filed under the correct profile, return may have been filed with an outdated update, the name may have not appeared in the CNIC/NTN due to some other reason.

Common IRIS Registration Errors and Their Solutions

CNIC Already Registered in IRIS

Typical mistakes that are made when registering with IRIS and what to do about them.
The CNIC has been already registered in IRIS.

There is a possibility that your IRIS account already is in existence. Attempt to recover the password. In case your old mobile number or email is not reachable, then you might have to go to the respective FBR helpdesk or RTO. Don’t duplicate profiles as this can be a problem with tax records.

FBR Verification Code Not Received

This occurs due to an incorrect mobile number, SIM ownership, network delay, spam email folder delay or portal delay. Repeat and wait for a few minutes and try again for your mobile number & email ID. If this problem cannot be resolved, make updates using the appropriate FBR procedure.

Unable to Login After Registration

After successful registration, if you are unable to login in IRIS then it may be due to following reasons: Wrong password, Account not activated, Browser cache issue, IRIS server error or Incorrect CNIC/NTN format. Do reset password, delete browser history, use other browser and carefully review credentials. Those who are looking for help on IRIS login not working generally encounter with these two issues.

NTN Not Showing After Registration

If you haven’t been registered and have not been registered as a full member, then NTN may not be visible after registration, it may be pending verification, or there is a problem with your profile, which causes it to not be visible. Ensure that the person is registered and verify registration particulars with official instruments or tools and correct if necessary.

Wrong Mobile Number or Email in IRIS

When the wrong mobile number or wrong e-mail is entered in the IRIS account, it could be challenging to recover the password or receive a FBR notice in the future. Fill and submit the CNIC & supporting documents on the official process for getting them updated. If the old contact information is unavailable, it might be helpful to seek the assistance of a professional. There are resources, like the IRIS Password Reset Guide For Taxpayers, to assist users in understanding the recovery side.

Jurisdiction or Business Activity Error

Inability to return or sales tax register correctly due to wrong jurisdiction and/or missing business activity may cause issues in relation to future compliance. Check the address, activity & jurisdiction of your registered company. If you have several branches – sales tax is exposed or provincial services tax is registered – please seek advice first before changing.

Fees, Charges and Expected Costs

The basic FBR IRIS registration, which is done via the official online system, is usually free. But if you employ a tax consultant or a tax lawyer for the registration of NTN, correction of your business profile, filing of income tax return, filing of a wealth statement, resolution of issues related to ATL or sales tax registration, then you will be charged professional fees.

There are some hidden costs, too. ATL status could be impacted if a late filing. If the filing is incorrect, FBR may issue a notice or audit risk or may issue a demand for taxes. Failure to comply with the sales tax or services tax requirements may result in default surcharge or penalties based on the facts and the sales tax/ services tax applicable.

Legal References for IRIS, NTN, ATL and Tax Registration

IRIS registration is associated primarily to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, which raises the registration for taxpayers, the concept of NTN, filing of returns, the concept of a wealth statement and Active Taxpayer List. The Commissioner Inland Revenue may be called upon in instances of notices, audit or tax demand.

This is sales tax act, 1990 that applies when a taxpayer supplies taxable goods, or meets federal sales tax registration conditions. Simple income tax registration is not sufficient for STRN registration Pakistan and Sales Tax Registration Number (STN).

The provincial government can apply for services tax. The Registration of PRA in Punjab, SRB registration in Sindh, KPRA registration and BRA registration in Balochistan is based on the province and nature of taxable services. It is not advisable for the service provider to assume that registering for FBR income tax will mean that they are also registered in other provinces.

This topic is largely procedural so the article should stick with case law where it is relevant to the topic and not force case law that has no relevance to this topic into the article by the FBR or provincial portal guidance. Depending on the case, the assessment/penalty/audit/tax demand notice may be processed through Commissioner Inland Revenue, Commissioner Appeals or Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue.

Advocate Shahid’s Practical Experience Notes

Taxpayers who have registered the business but entered the mobile number incorrectly, the address of the business or incomplete business activity are the types of taxpayers that Advocate Shahid sees regularly. The following are minor errors which do not necessarily cause a short term difficulty but can prove serious when the taxpayer needs to obtain ATL status, bank compliance, property transfer or register for sales tax or respond to an FBR notice.

It is still fine if the individual is a simple salary holder and has a correct CNIC, email and mobile number, no business activity, no prior notice from FBR and no registration notice.

Where CNIC is already registered on the database, old mobile number is not found, the business activity is to be corrected, there is a mismatch in NTN and ATL, sales tax or NT/ATL issues have arisen, or FBR notice has been received by the taxpayer, getting professional assistance is better. Supportive resources like How to reply FBR IRIS Notice in Pakistan can assist the users to understand the procedure of responding to the IRIS before the deadlines pass.

Common Mistakes to Avoid During IRIS Registration

Avoid dialing another person’s cell phone number. Don’t enter an email address to which you have no access. Don’t disregard any business activity information. Please note, IRIS registration does not imply that you are a filer. Please be aware of NTN and ATL post registration and post return. Also, do not leave your IRIS login, password, PIN and email to another agent who you haven’t made a note of.

Official Portal, Department and Contact Guidance

Register, log in to and file income tax returns, access wealth statement and profile on the official FBR IRIS portal. Official FBR NTN/ATL verification tools to be used. Your Regional Tax Office or Tax Facilitation Center may help make corrections to your profile or provide updates to your contact details if your profile needs correction or if your contact details cannot be updated online.

Services tax has to be filed through respective provincial portal such as PRA (Punjab), SRB (Sindh), KPRA (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and BRA (Balochistan). The types of services and business location determines provincial registration.

Final Checklist Before You Register on IRIS

Prior to starting, make sure to have your CNIC on hand, a cell phone number registered in your name, email confirmation, residential address, business address (if any), source of income, bank information, employer information (if employed), and business activity information. Once registered, save login details securely, validate NTN, prepare income tax return/wealth statement for filing and validate ATL status.

Need Help With IRIS Registration, NTN or FBR Notice?

In case the IRIS registration is simple, then you can register yourself on the official website of FBR. However, for those who already have their CNIC registered, if your mobile number is incorrect, NTN is not being displayed, ATL status is not changing or if an FBR notice was issued, professional assistance can help avoid any delays and errors.

Right Tax Advisor can help the taxpayer in filing IRIS Registration, NTN Registration, FBR profile correction, income tax return, filing of wealth statement, ATL status correction, reply to FBR notice, sales tax Registration and Provincial tax related matters. When users need the help of someone who is familiar with the errors in IRIS, filing issues and compliance problems, they can search FBR IRIS Consultant Services Lahore Pakistan.

FAQs

How do I register on IRIS FBR?

One can register via the official FBR IRIS portal using the CNIC, phone number, e-mail address, personal information and verification codes. Once registered, you will have an access to your Taxpayer Profile.

Is IRIS registration free?

Typically, it is free to register via the official FBR portal. If you have errors, NTN, ATL or filing you may be charged a professional fee by a consultant or tax lawyer.

Is CNIC used as NTN for individuals?

Yes, CNIC is the National Identification Card and in general can be used as the NTN or registration number. The NTN following e-enrollment are typically used by AOP and companies.

Is IRIS registration enough to become a filer?

No. IRIS registration does not imply tax filer status; typically just filing an income tax return and satisfying ATL requirements will qualify as tax filer status.

Why is my CNIC already registered in IRIS?

It could be that an IRIS account already has been created for your CNIC. Attempt to recover the password. In case your previous cell phone number or e-mail is not obtainable, get in touch with the FBR support or find expert assist.

What documents are required for IRIS registration?

Commonly, people will require the CNIC, mobile number, email, address etc. along with information regarding his/her source of income and relevant employment/business information. Business owners might require details relating to the business activity and bank information along with their business address.

What should I do if FBR verification code is not received?

Verify your cellphone or email, clear out your junk mail, wait for network delays and repeat. If the problem persists, please reach out to FBR Support or go to the appropriate office.

When do I need PRA, SRB, KPRA or BRA registration?

If you are doing any taxable services in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, then you might be required to register with provincial services tax. This is determined by your province and type of service.

Conclusion

The first step towards the proper tax compliance in Pakistan is to register on IRIS. If all the information provided by your CNIC, mobile number, email and your income details are correct, you can manage the process. Old contact details, incorrect business information, NTN mismatch, ATL delay or an FBR notice are typically the real issues that start when the taxpayer experiences. Make sure to register properly, check your profile, submit your return on time and ensure that you keep your IRIS credentials secure.