Jul-Dec tax collection: FBR surpasses target

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has provisionally collected record Rs 4,468 billion during first six months (July-December) 2023-24 against the assigned target of Rs 4,425 billion during this period, reflecting an increase of Rs 43 billion.

According to the revenue collection data released by the FBR on Sunday, the FBR has created history by collecting Rs 1,021 billion in December 2023 and after adjusting refunds of Rs 38 billion issued during the month, reached net collection of Rs 984 billion.

Targets for the month as well as for the first six months of the current financial year were also surpassed. Target for the first six months was Rs 4,425 billion (as agreed with IMF), which was surpassed by 43 billion and recorded collection of Rs 4,468 billion.

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The FBR in the corresponding six months of the previous year collected Rs 3,428 billion, thus registering an increase of more than Rs 1 trillion. This is despite the fact that refunds of Rs 230 billion have been issued against Rs 177 billion issued during corresponding period of the previous year and continuous import compression.

The FBR said that the contraction in imports continues to impede revenues collected at the import stage. In the past the revenue mix at the import stage and domestic taxes used to be 50:50. This has now changed to 36:64 and FBR has absorbed the entire impact of import compression through raising more revenues domestically.

Ratio of direct and indirect taxes has also altered and the share of Direct Taxes has increased to 49% for the first six months. However, in December alone the share of Direct taxes was recorded at 59%.

This share also registered an increase of 41% in the first 6 months as compared to the corresponding period of previous year. Again, within Direct Taxes, FBR during the past two years, has reduced the share of withholding taxes from 70 percent to 55-58 percent in the overall tax collection. However, during December 2023, share of withholding taxes has been recorded as low as 40%.

It would not be out of place to mention, that, the FBR collected Rs 1 trillion as annual collection back in 2007-08. It took 50 years to achieve this milestone.

Whereas, in a span of only 15 years, this feat has been accomplished in a single month; through untiring efforts, sheer dedication and hard work of field formations and top brass of FBR.

Chairman FBR congratulated Member (Customs Operations), Member (IR- Operations) and their teams for achieving this unsurmountable task.

He also thanks the taxpayers, without whose continuous support and correct declarations, this target could not have been accomplished, the FBR added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024