A notice under Section 182 imposing a penalty for contravention of any provision of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 means FBR believes you’ve breached a specific compliance requirement — a missed filing, an incorrect statement, or failure to comply with an earlier notice — and is proposing a monetary penalty for it. Understanding which provision you’ve allegedly breached is the first step to responding correctly.
What Section 182 Actually Covers
Section 182 is FBR’s general penalty provision — it doesn’t define one specific offense, but sets out a schedule of penalties for a wide range of compliance failures under the Ordinance: late or non-filing of returns, failure to maintain records, failure to comply with a notice, incorrect particulars in a statement, and similar breaches. The notice should specify exactly which contravention you’re being penalized for.
Reading the Notice Carefully
The notice should cite the specific provision you allegedly contravened, the relevant tax year or period, and the proposed penalty amount. Don’t assume the general “182” heading tells you everything — the specific sub-clause cited determines what actually happened and what your options are.
How to Respond
If the contravention is accurate — say, a genuinely late return — you can generally acknowledge it and pay, since most 182 penalties for simple compliance lapses are calculated on a fixed or per-day basis rather than being negotiable. If you believe the contravention didn’t actually occur (the return was filed on time, the document was submitted, etc.), respond in writing with evidence before the penalty is finalized, since 182 notices are typically issued as a show-cause opportunity before the penalty order is passed.
Common Reasons This Notice Gets Issued
The most frequent triggers are late filing of income tax or sales tax returns, failure to respond to an earlier FBR notice within the given timeframe, incomplete or incorrect wealth statement details, and failure to maintain required business records when requested during an audit or verification.
What Happens If You Ignore It
Ignoring a 182 show-cause notice typically results in the penalty being finalized based on FBR’s original assessment, with no opportunity to contest the underlying facts later except through the formal appeal process — which is a longer, more costly route than responding to the original notice.
For a related notice on advance tax, see our Section 147 notice guide. For official penalty schedules, check the FBR website directly.
