Faceless Audit and Assessment: How FBR's National Faceless Centre Works

Pakistan's tax audits have changed shape. Under powers added by the Finance Act 2026, FBR has set up a National Faceless Centre in Islamabad and made rules for faceless audit and assessment in both income tax and sales tax. Both sets of rules have been in force since 15 October 2026. For taxpayers, the practical message is simple: in a case handled by the Centre, everything happens through IRIS, and you will not know — or meet — the officer dealing with it.

The legal framework

How the National Faceless Centre is organised

The Centre is headed by a Director General and staffed by Inland Revenue officers. It has four wings: Audit, Assessment, Quality Control and Field Operations. FBR's allocation algorithm assigns each function in a case to separate officers or units, and no officer may perform more than one of the audit, assessment and quality-control functions for the same case and tax year. The identity of the officer is recorded in FBR's system but not disclosed to the taxpayer.

Which proceedings are covered

In an income tax case assigned to the Centre, the following run through it:

• audits under section 177 or section 214C;
• proceedings and orders under section 111 (unexplained income or assets);
• assessments, amended assessments, best judgment and provisional assessments under Part II of Chapter X, including sections 120, 121 and 122;
• related steps — notices under sections 176 and 177, gathering information and evidence, and any penalty or default surcharge arising from the proceeding.

The sales tax rules cover audits under section 25 and section 72B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and related proceedings in the same way. A case goes to the Centre when FBR assigns the person, class of persons or class of cases to it. FBR can transfer a case back to the field Commissioner — for example where records are too bulky to examine electronically, repeated physical verification is needed, or a search or prosecution is involved.

What changes for taxpayers

1. Notices come through FBR's system. Every notice, order, audit report or intimation from the Centre is generated on FBR's computerised system and bears a Digital Identification Number (DIN).
2. You reply through IRIS. Replies, documents, evidence and applications — by you or your authorised representative — go through your IRIS account, in the format FBR specifies.
3. Hearings are electronic. Opportunities to be heard and statements on oath are taken by e-hearing, with the officer's identity, face and voice kept confidential.
4. The audit ends with a report. The audit unit issues its report under section 177(6), with its findings and reasons for rejecting any explanation, and the file then passes automatically to a separate assessment unit.
5. Field visits are separate. If physical verification of a business, asset or expense is needed, the officer must record reasons and the specific matters, and the Chief Commissioner directs the Field Operations Wing to carry it out.
6. Penalties follow the same route. Penalty and default surcharge proceedings arising from the case are also issued through the Centre.

How to prepare

• Keep your IRIS profile, e-mail and mobile number current, and check your IRIS inbox regularly — that is where notices will arrive
• Check the DIN on any notice you receive, and reply only through IRIS
• Keep books, invoices, bank statements and reconciliations in digital form, indexed and ready to upload
• Make sure the explanation for every significant item in your return — and every change in your wealth statement — is documented
• Agree with your authorised representative who will handle IRIS submissions and e-hearings
• Diarise deadlines as soon as a notice arrives, and apply for any adjournment through IRIS before the deadline

Our guide to responding to FBR notices explains how to structure a reply. For sales tax, a clean monthly reconciliation of e-invoices, books and Annex-C remains the best defence — see our reconciliation playbook.

Official sources

• FBR — press release, FBR sets up National Faceless Centre, 25 September 2026
• FBR — S.R.O. 1665(I)/2026, Income Tax Rules Chapter XX (Faceless Audit and Assessment), 29 September 2026
• FBR — S.R.O. 1828(I)/2026, commencement of Chapter XX from 15 October 2026
• FBR — S.R.O. 1663(I)/2026, Sales Tax Rules Chapter VIAC (Faceless Audit and Assessment), 29 September 2026
• FBR — S.R.O. 1825(I)/2026, commencement of Chapter VIAC from 15 October 2026
• FBR — Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, amended up to 30 June 2026 (sections 122E, 209B, 227D and 227E)