# FBR faceless audit: tax notices and hearings move to IRIS, no meeting with officers

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/business/fbr-faceless-audit-national-faceless-centre)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable
Published: 25 Sept 2026
Updated: 25 Sept 2026
Retrieved: 30 Sept 2026

> A new National Faceless Centre in Islamabad will pick cases by computer and split each audit between three officers who do not know whose file it is. What filers should check now.

The Federal Board of Revenue has set up a **National Faceless Centre (NFC)** in Islamabad that will run tax audits and assessments without taxpayers and tax officers meeting. The FBR's Board in Council approved it on Friday, 25 September, under powers given by the Finance Act 2026, Dawn reported. The government had approved the model in principle in June, according to ProPakistani.

For a filer, the change is simple: **notices, replies and hearings in an audit or assessment will all happen electronically on IRIS**, the FBR's online portal, and the officer handling your file will not know who you are.

## How a faceless case works

- **Selection by computer.** Cases are picked for audit through automated, risk-based selection, not at an officer's discretion.
- **Three officers, not one.** One officer carries out the audit, a second makes the assessment and a third reviews it for quality. No single officer controls a case from start to finish.
- **Anonymous on both sides.** Officers can be based anywhere in the country and are assigned cases without being told whose they are.
- **Field work stays separate.** Physical verification and recovery are handled by separate field teams.

The centre is headed by an Inland Revenue Chief Commissioner and has wings for faceless audit, faceless assessment, quality control and field operations. A Programme Management Unit will oversee the rollout, Dawn reported.

## What it means for you

The FBR has not yet published a start date, a list of which cases move to the centre first, or an SRO setting out the procedure. Until it does, existing audits continue with your current Regional Tax Office. What you can do now:

1. **Check your IRIS login works** and that the email address and mobile number on your profile are current.
2. **Look at the IRIS inbox, not just your email.** Notices under the new system will be issued there.
3. **Keep documents in digital form.** Bank statements, salary certificates, rent agreements and withholding tax certificates will need to be uploaded, not shown across a desk.
4. **Reply before the deadline on the notice.** Without a physical hearing, a missed deadline is more likely to end in an assessment made on the data the FBR already holds.

If you want to check what you should be paying before any notice arrives, our [income tax calculator](/tools/tax/income-tax-calculator) works out tax at the current slabs for salaried and business income, and the [freelancer tax calculator](/tools/tax/freelancer-tax-calculator) covers IT export income.

## Why the FBR is doing this

The stated aim is the same rules for every taxpayer and decisions based on data rather than an officer's personal judgement. Direct contact between taxpayers and tax staff has long been blamed for harassment and for settlements made off the record. The FBR is also asking field offices to process deemed income tax refunds under section 7E this month ([details](/news/business/section-7e-refund-fbr-tells-offices-to-accept-revised-returns-and-repay-deemed-i)).

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the FBR National Faceless Centre?**

A centre in Islamabad, approved on 25 September 2026, that runs tax audits and assessments electronically through IRIS. Cases are selected by computer and handled by officers who do not know the taxpayer's identity, with no face-to-face hearings.

## Sources

- FBR sets up faceless tax audit, assessment centre in Islamabad (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2032605/fbr-sets-up-faceless-tax-audit-assessment-centre-in-islamabad
- FBR Ends Direct Contact With Taxpayers (ProPakistani): https://propakistani.pk/2026/09/25/fbr-ends-direct-contact-with-taxpayers/
- FBR establishes NFC to end direct contact between taxpayers, officers (The Nation): https://www.nation.com.pk/25-Sep-2026/fbr-establishes-nfc-end-direct-contact-taxpayers-officers

How to cite: "FBR faceless audit: tax notices and hearings move to IRIS, no meeting with officers", Searchable, 25 Sept 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/business/fbr-faceless-audit-national-faceless-centre