How Steel Units Declare Electricity Units in Annex-K When the DISCO Has Not Filed, FBR

Short answer: If your power company has not declared your electricity units, your Annex-K stays empty and you cannot calculate your sales tax. An FBR letter dated 7 October 2026 now lets steel melters, re-rollers and composite units apply online on Iris to their Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, who can approve the units after checking your electricity bill.

Picture the end of the month. Your steel unit has run, the electricity bill has arrived, and the sales tax return is due. You open Annex-K and the units are not there. The distribution company, known as a DISCO, has not filed its own return yet. Until now that left you stuck.

We read the FBR's letter on its notice board and opened the PDF. The letter is a scan, so we read its text with an extraction tool, and a stray character may be misread. The substance below is what the letter says.

Annex-K is the electricity units schedule of your sales tax return

The FBR letter says Annex-K of the sales tax return is mandatory to file for steel melters, re-rollers and composite units. It is used to calculate the correct sales tax liability under the Thirteenth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.

The tax itself is charged per unit of electricity. Our report on the per-unit sales tax on steel melters and re-rollers sets out the rates and who falls in which group. Annex-K is the page where the units behind that tax are recorded.

Annex-K fills itself only after the DISCO files its own return

The letter says Annex-K is fully automated. It picks up your electricity units on its own once the DISCOs have filed their Annex-C for the period. That is the normal route, and it works only if the DISCO has declared supplies to you and filed on time.

The FBR admits the problem in the same letter. It says taxpayers face hardship where DISCOs either have not declared supplies to them or have filed their returns late. In that case your Annex-K shows nothing, or too little, to work from.

The new route is an online application to your Chief Commissioner

The FBR has built an interface and given it to the concerned Chief Commissioners Inland Revenue, or CCIRs. They can allow a taxpayer to declare electricity units after checking the electricity bill of the month. The taxpayer applies online through the Iris automated system.

Once the CCIR approves the units online, they are fetched into your Annex-K automatically. Then you can work out the correct sales tax and file your return. The letter asks CCIRs to keep to the statutory timelines when they dispose of these applications.

How to apply for approval of your electricity units

Log in to Iris, send your application to the CCIR that handles your registration, attach the details and your electricity bill for the month, and wait for online approval. File your return only after the units appear in Annex-K.

1. Keep the electricity bill or bills of the month ready. The letter says the CCIR verifies the units against them.
2. Log in to your account on the FBR Iris portal.
3. File the application online to the concerned CCIR, with the necessary details. The letter does not name the menu, so look for it in your Iris account or ask your tax office.
4. Do this within the statutory period. The letter gives no number of days.
5. Wait for the CCIR's online approval of the units.
6. Open Annex-K and confirm the approved units appear.
7. Calculate your sales tax liability and file the monthly return.

The steps for the return itself are in our guide to filing the monthly sales tax return.

Apply early because the return deadline does not move

The letter sets no new return date and gives no deadline for the CCIR's decision beyond "statutory timelines". So do not wait for the last day. A late application can leave you with a return you cannot finish or a late filing.

The FBR has extended return dates in the past, but we found no extension tied to this letter. We did not read the current due date for your tax period on an FBR page, so confirm it on Iris. Tax collected through your electricity bill is a separate matter, covered in the report linked above.

Keep a copy of every document you upload, and the date you applied. If the CCIR's office is slow, that record shows you acted on time. A letter that appears to come from the FBR but arrives by email or message should be checked first, using our steps for checking whether an FBR notice is real.

Common questions

Who can use this facility?

The letter is aimed at the steel sector, meaning melters, re-rollers and composite units. It says Annex-K is mandatory for them.

Do I need to apply every month?

The letter does not say. It describes the facility for cases where the DISCO has not declared supplies or filed late, so apply when your Annex-K lacks your units for a month.

Who approves the units?

The Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue concerned approves them online, after verifying your electricity bill and the relevant record or documents.

Where do I apply?

You apply online through the FBR's Iris system, to the CCIR concerned. The letter does not name a menu or form, so ask your tax office if you cannot find it.

Is there a fee?

The letter mentions no fee. We would not pay anyone who claims an approval needs one, and the FBR's own Iris account is the place to apply.

Does this change the tax rate?

No. The letter only changes how electricity units reach Annex-K. The rates are in the sales tax notifications for the steel sector.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read the FBR notice board item "Allowing Declaration of Electricity Units to Annex-K Consumed During Month for Calculation of Sales Tax Liability" and its attached letter on 11 October 2026. The letter is dated 7 October 2026 and was addressed to the Chief Commissioners Inland Revenue and the LTOs, CTOs and RTOs. The notice board is at fbr.gov.pk. We did not log in to Iris, so the exact screen names are unconfirmed.