LAHORE: The Punjab government has revised the budget estimate for sales tax on services to Rs.141.2 billion.

It is pertinent to note that the Punjab government has already raised 29.5 percent higher sales tax on services against the corresponding period. According to provisional collection figures, the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has collected Rs11.25 billion in the month of May 2021 bringing its total collection from July 2020 to May 2021 to Rs128.25, registering a growth of 29.5% over the Rs99.0 billion collected from July 2019 to May 2020.

Resultantly, the Authority has surpassed the original target of Rs125 billion assigned to it for the current financial year. The Punjab Revenue Authority sources have expressed confidence in achieving the revised target, which would require a collection of Rs12.9 billion in the month of June against Rs9.5 billion collected in June 2020. The collection for May is expected to increase once the civil accounts are finalized.

The Punjab government’s policy of revenue collection through facilitation and the involvement of stakeholder had been successful. The PRA spokesperson said although the rates of sales tax on services for more than 25 services had been reduced through the Finance Act, 2020, to provide relief to the services sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Authority had managed to counter the effects of the reduction and show an increase in revenue through a policy of collaboration with the stakeholders.

She said that there was still a long way to go for the Authority to achieve its full potential but the figures show that they are on the right track, and the workforce is motivated and geared up to achieve the revised target for 2020-21 and further improve their performance in the next financial year.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021