Notice reading
Legal basis, periods and deadline identified.
Menu
Sales tax notices arrive for non-filing, input tax mismatches, record requests, proposed suspension or show-cause on short-paid tax. Each has its own legal basis and deadline. We read the notice, gather the evidence and file a clear written reply, so the matter closes before it grows.
A letter about a missing return, an IRIS message about input mismatches and a show-cause notice under section 11 are very different things. Treating them the same, or ignoring them, is how small sales tax issues become suspended registrations and large demands.
Under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and the Sales Tax Rules, 2006, FBR issues notices for a range of reasons. Notices for non-filing require returns and annexures to be filed and any tax paid. Input mismatch notices ask you to justify input tax that does not match your suppliers' declarations. Under section 25, an officer can call for records and documents. Under section 21 and the related rules, registration can be suspended or the person blacklisted where FBR suspects fake or flying invoices or other serious irregularities, which affects your buyers' input tax as well as your own. And under section 11, a show-cause notice proposes an assessment of tax, surcharge and penalty.
A good reply identifies the legal basis of the notice, meets the deadline, answers each point with documents and keeps a record of submission. Where a notice proposes suspension, a quick and complete reply matters, because suspension can stop your buyers from claiming input tax on your invoices. If a notice leads to an assessment, our sales tax assessment team continues the case.
Our first step is always to confirm what the notice actually requires and by when. We then check your IRIS records, returns and annexures for the periods mentioned, reconcile them with your books and suppliers' data, and decide with you whether the right answer is an explanation, a correction or a combination. Where a return needs revising or tax needs paying, we do that before replying, so the reply can show the issue is resolved.
This page covers sales tax notices. For income tax notices, see FBR notice response. Many notices start from untidy records, and our monthly accounting services keep the books aligned with what you file.
A fixed fee per notice, agreed after we read it.
Legal basis, periods and deadline identified.
Missing returns and annexures filed.
Input claims supported or corrected.
Documents organised for section 25 requests.
Urgent replies to section 21 proceedings.
Detailed replies to section 11 notices.
Attendance before the officer.
Help restoring active or unsuspended status.
These are the outcomes we most often help clients reverse.
Repeated non-filing can lead to inactive status and penalties under section 33.
We file and reply.Suspension under section 21 can block your buyers' input tax.
We respond urgently.Unexplained mismatches become disallowed input in an assessment.
We resolve them.Incomplete replies to section 25 requests invite estimates.
We produce what is asked.Replies that do not address each point leave issues unresolved.
We reply point by point.Without an acknowledgement, you cannot prove you replied.
We keep records.Send us the notice or IRIS message as soon as it arrives.
We identify the notice type and deadline.
Agreed per notice.
Records, reconciliations and filings prepared.
Written reply submitted with evidence.
Follow-up until the notice is closed.
Mismatch and record notices.
Supplier-related input notices.
Integration and filing notices.
Federal notices for ICT services.
Refund-related queries.
Urgent suspension and blacklisting cases.
We reply from your actual records, prepared by the team that understands sales tax filing.
Notices read and deadlines confirmed quickly.
ACCA and ICAP Chartered Accountant qualifications and an FBR-registered income tax practitioner.
LLB-qualified advocate for suspension and show-cause cases.
Send a notice the moment it arrives.
Mismatches answered with real data.
Agreed per notice.
Have a question that is not here? Send it to us on WhatsApp and we will reply the same day.
Send us the notice or a screenshot of the IRIS message. We will tell you what it means, the deadline and a fixed fee to reply.
Book your free consultationThis page is general information about our services, not tax, legal or financial advice for your specific situation. Laws, rates and deadlines change with each Finance Act and official notification.