The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has warned that submitting a so-called “zero return” in income tax filings is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.

In a statement issued on Sunday (August 10), NBR Public Relations Officer Md Al Amin Sheikh said the agency had detected misleading posts on social media suggesting that taxpayers could submit returns by filling in all fields with zero values.

According to the NBR, some taxpayers, influenced by such misinformation, have been filing returns declaring false information about their income, expenditure, assets, and liabilities. 

In certain cases, they have shown one or more of these categories as zero — or all as zero — regardless of their actual financial position.

“This practice is entirely illegal and constitutes a criminal offence,” the statement said, adding that under Sections 312 and 313 of the current Income Tax Act, providing false or misleading information in a return can result in imprisonment for up to five years.

The NBR clarified that there is no provision in the law for filing a return labelled as a “zero return.” By law, taxpayers are required to accurately declare their actual income, expenditure, assets, and liabilities in their annual returns.

Individual taxpayers must file their returns between 1 July and 30 November each year, covering all income and expenditure over the previous 12 months.

SMS/