Pakistan: Federal Board of Revenue collection shows PKR 240 bn shortfall

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 5 (ANI): Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has provisionally collected (Pakistani Rupee) PKR 4,493 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year against the assigned target of PKR 4,733 billion for July-Feb (2022-23), reflecting a shortfall of PKR 240 billion, Pakistan-based Business Recorder reported.
According to Business Recorder, after the imposition of taxes of PKR 170 billion in the mini-budget, the new annual tax target of the FBR has been fixed at PKR 7.640 trillion. The FBR was required to adjust its monthly target for the remaining period of Feb-June (2022-23), but the Feb target was based on an old projection of PKR 7.47 trillion.
If the additional taxes of PKR 170 billion have been added to the annual target of PKR 7.47 trillion, the overall shortfall would further increase to PKR 410 billion in the remaining period of 2022-23, sources said.
FBR surpasses the February revenue collection target.
According to provisional figures, the FBR collected PKR 527.3 billion in February 2023 against the target of PKR 527 billion, reflecting an increase of PKR 0.3 billion.
The FBR has collected PKR 4,493 billion during July-Feb (2022-23) against PKR 3,820 billion collected in the same period of 2021-22, showing a growth of 18 per cent. As per the provisional data, direct tax collection showed an increase of 47 per cent during the first eight months of the current financial year
The contribution of domestic taxes has increased from 49.4 per cent last year to 58.7 per cent during the current year. The collection from customs duty has shown an increase of two per cent during February 2023 compared to the same month last year, according to Business Recorder.
The Express Tribune recently reported that, despite putting an additional burden of PKR 735 billion on people in the current fiscal year, Pakistan's federal budget deficit projection has been revised to history's highest at PKR 6.22 trillion.
The unending fiscal woes have pushed the country into a debt trap. This highly unsustainable level has already pushed the country into a situation where debt restructuring seems to be the only viable option.
The federal government will book the highest-ever budget deficit despite putting an extra burden of PKR 735 billion on citizens till the end of June on account of higher gas and electricity tariffs and additional taxes.
The revision has been made in light of recent talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which exposed the massive underreporting of expenditures at the time of budget presentation by the finance ministry, reported The Express Tribune. (ANI)