KARACHI: The Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) has set a new benchmark for tax collection by crossing Rs 1 trillion mark in the first half of current financial year - the highest-ever in Pakistan’s history.

According to Commissioner Inland Revenue Girdhari Mal, the LTO collected whopping Rs 1.22 trillion in tax revenue against its July-Dec target of Rs 1.216 trillion - exceeding it by over Rs 4 billion.

“We have broken our tax collection records through strong performance across sectors including textiles, banking, food and beverages - barring automobiles which faced some headwinds,” Girdhari Mal, Commissioner Inland Revenue, LTO informed at a press conference held at LTO office on Wednesday.

The LTO also managed to rake in Rs 320 billion in Dec 2023 against a target of Rs 316 billion, registering a healthy 37% increase year-on-year.

Direct taxes constituted 55% of total tax revenue while 45% were collected through indirect taxes. Similarly, the share of withholding tax in tax collection shrunk to 28 percent from 34 percent reported last year. The commissioner acknowledged litigation issues holding back Rs 38 billion tax recovery.

The LTO also claimed an unprecedented 100% jump in tax refunds to Rs 75 billion as compared to Rs. 37 billion last year.

He said that around 2,594 point-of-sale machines were installed across over 1,064 top retailers. Moreover, Girdhari said that the LTO mopped up Rs 24 billion against tax demand - Rs 8 billion higher than last year. Out of total 105 FTO complaints, the department has disposed 85 complaints and only 20 complaints are pending, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024