Taxpayer complaints against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have surged dramatically by 550% in the first four months of 2025, despite the launch of a much-publicised reform initiative aimed at overhauling the tax system.
Between January and April, the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) received approximately 13,000 complaints, a sharp rise from just 2,000 cases during the same period last year. Historically, the FTO has recorded around 2,000 complaints every four months, with annual figures previously remaining near 2,500.
The majority of these complaints center on alleged misconduct and procedural violations by the FBR. Taxpayers have reported instances of highhanded behavior, issuance of unlawful notices, arbitrary freezing of bank accounts, misuse of sales tax processes, and even manipulation through fake or fraudulent invoices.
Although over 6,000 cases have already been addressed by the FTO, the scale of the increase has raised serious concerns among oversight officials.
FBR representatives attribute the surge in complaints to the mounting pressure on field offices to meet a revised annual revenue target of Rs12,332 billion. The original target was Rs12,970 billion but was later revised following discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In its efforts to meet these ambitious goals, FBR’s leadership has reportedly urged its regional units to adopt more assertive tactics to secure revenue. However, critics argue that such aggressive collection practices are contributing directly to the spike in public dissatisfaction.
Additionally, the FBR is under IMF obligations to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to 10.6%, a challenge given the slowdown in key sectors of the economy that traditionally generate revenue.
Experts suggest that without implementing an alternative dispute resolution framework, the trend of rising complaints is likely to continue, deepening taxpayer frustration and eroding public trust in the tax system.
