How to Complain to the Federal Tax Ombudsman About FBR Delays, Free and Online
FBR delaying your refund or sending repeated notices? Learn how to file a free complaint with the Federal Tax Ombudsman, what it cannot hear and who to call.
Short answer: Complain to the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) at fto.gov.pk if an FBR office is delaying your refund, sending repeated notices or recovering tax by force. The service is free. File Form A online, by email, by courier, by fax or in person. The FTO says it decides complaints within 60 days.
Update, 11 October 2026: The FTO has also published draft practice and procedure regulations.
Most people with an FBR problem write to the same office three times and then give up. There is a body built for exactly that moment, and it costs nothing to use. It has nothing to do with the tax appeal route, which is a separate fight.
We read the Federal Tax Ombudsman's own website: its complaint filing procedure, complaint management, maladministration, online complaint system, FAQ and contact pages. We did not file a complaint ourselves, so we cannot describe the form screens.
The FTO handles maladministration by FBR officers
The Federal Tax Ombudsman investigates "maladministration" by tax officials. The FTO's page defines it to include delay, neglect, arbitrary or biased decisions, repeated notices, deliberately withheld refunds and coercive recovery where default is not apparent from the record. It sits under an Ordinance of 2000.
In plain words, the FTO looks at how an official behaved, not at whether your tax figure is right. A refund that has been approved and then not paid is a typical case. So is a notice that keeps coming after you have replied.
| Your problem | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Refund approved but not paid, or delayed without reason | Federal Tax Ombudsman |
| Repeated notices or hearings on the same point | Federal Tax Ombudsman |
| Recovery action when default is not clear from the record | Federal Tax Ombudsman |
| You disagree with the assessed income, tax or valuation | The appeal route in the tax law, not the FTO |
| The matter is already before a court or tribunal | Not accepted by the FTO |
The FTO will not take a case that is in court or has an appeal route
The FTO's complaint management page lists two limits. It cannot help with matters that are sub judice, meaning before a court, tribunal or board. It also cannot help with assessments of income or wealth, liability, classification or valuation where appeal, review or revision is available in law.
That second limit is where many complaints fail. If your issue is "they assessed me too much", the law gives you an appeal. If it is "they have sat on my approved refund for eight months", that is delay, and the FTO is the place.
Before you file, read our page on claiming an income tax refund from FBR to be sure the refund is genuinely due and your return is clean.
How to file the complaint, step by step
Download Form A from fto.gov.pk, fill in the details, attach your papers and send it. The FTO accepts complaints in person, by courier, by email, online and by fax. Staff will help you fill it in if you ask.
- Write to the senior officer at the FBR office, such as the Commissioner or Collector, and keep a dated copy. The form lets you say you did not, but a written trail helps your case.
- Wait a reasonable time for the reply. The form asks whether you got none or an unjust one.
- Download Form A, free of cost, from the FTO website, or collect it at the head office or a regional office.
- Fill in the form with your name, tax number, the office and officer concerned, what went wrong and the date.
- Sign the solemn affirmation on the form. The FTO says it does not need to be notarised.
- Attach copies of your return, notices, replies and proof of the earlier representation.
- Submit through the online complaint system, or by email, courier, fax or in person.
- Keep the complaint number and use the "check complaint status" option online.
The affirmation on Form A says three things. You have not filed an earlier complaint on the same subject. You either represented to a senior officer and got no reply or an unjust one, or you made no representation. And the matter is not before any court, tribunal or authority.
Where the FTO sits and who to contact
The head office is the Federal Tax Ombudsman Secretariat, 5-A Constitution Avenue, Islamabad. The place of jurisdiction is where the complainant lives in Pakistan. Regional offices operate in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha, Sialkot and Hyderabad.
| Channel | Detail as listed by the FTO |
|---|---|
| Online complaint system | fto.gov.pk, "Online Complaint System": new complaint, complaint status, review application |
| info@fto.gov.pk | |
| Phone | 051 9212318 (head office) |
| 0334 0544460 | |
| Address | 5-A Constitution Avenue, Islamabad |
A person living abroad can join the hearing by Skype or Zoom, according to the filing procedure page.
What happens after you file and what if you lose
An FTO advisor hears you and the FBR, then issues recommendations to correct the maladministration. The FTO says the mandatory period for deciding is 60 days and that it monitors compliance. If the decision goes against you, a representation to the President is the route.
That second stage is a separate step with its own clock. We explain it in how to challenge a federal ombudsman decision in 30 days. For complaints against non-tax federal offices such as NADRA or gas companies, the right door is the Wafaqi Mohtasib, not the FTO.
One safety note. The FTO's home page links "Latest Decisions" to a website on a different, non-government domain. Enter personal details only on fto.gov.pk pages, and be cautious with any link that sends you elsewhere.
Common questions
Is it free to complain to the Federal Tax Ombudsman?
Yes. The FTO describes its complaint service as free and open to everyone, and Form A is free of cost.
Do I need a lawyer?
No. The FTO says its staff will help you file if you ask. A lawyer is optional.
Can I complain about my tax assessment amount?
No, not where an appeal, review or revision is available in law. Use that route for the amount, and use the FTO for delay or misconduct.
How long does the FTO take?
The FTO states that complaints are decided within a mandatory 60 days. We did not test how long cases take in practice.
Can I file from abroad?
Yes. The FTO lists email and online filing, and says a complainant abroad can join the investigation by Skype or Zoom.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on Sunday 11 October 2026. We read the Federal Tax Ombudsman's pages on complaint filing procedure, complaint management, the online complaint system, maladministration, the FAQ and the contact page. The site also lists a draft of new complaint regulations, so the procedure may change. This is general information, not legal advice.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
