ISLAMABAD: A significant 62.4 percent of the domestic sales tax revenue was contributed by 15 sectors including electricity, petroleum products, sugar, cement, cigarettes and cotton yarn during 2023-24.

According to data (sales tax domestic) compiled by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the whole fiscal of 2023-24, the electricity has become the leading contributor, accounting for 22.5% of the total, driven by an increase in power tariffs.

The FBR has collected Rs 364.660 billion sales tax (local supplies) from electricity during 2023-24 as compared to Rs 223.219 billion in 2022-23, reflecting an increase of 22.5 percent.

Rs91bn short of target: Q1 tax collection stands at Rs2.563trn

Conversely, the contribution from POL products decreased from 11.9% in the previous fiscal year to 9% this year.

All listed major revenue-generating items showed positive growth, except for natural gas and POL products in the current fiscal year.

The FBR has collected Rs 145.350 billion sales tax from petroleum products during 2023-24 as compared to Rs 151.863 billion in 2022-23, showing a decrease of 9 percent.

The FBR has collected Rs98 billion sales tax (local supplies) from sugar in 2023-24 as compared to Rs76 billion in 2022-23, reflecting an increase of 28.5 percent.

In case of cigarettes, the FBR has collected Rs60.664 billion sales tax (domestic) from cigarettes during 2023-24 as compared to Rs36.92 billion in 2022-23, reflecting an increase of 64.3 percent.

On the other hand, the collection of the Federal Excise Duty (FED) from cigarettes stood at Rs 237.073 billion in 2023-24 as compared to Rs 142.009 billion in 2022-23, refle9tng an increase of 66.9 percent.

The sales tax collection from cement sector amounted to Rs 66.619 billion during 2023-24 against Rs 41.762 billion against Rs 41.762 billion in 2022-23, showing an increase of 59.5 percent.

Net collection from the Federal Excise Duty (FED) surged by 56.1%, rising from Rs 369.9 billion in 2022-23 to Rs 577.4 billion in 2023-2024. Consequently, the FED’s contribution to FBR’s overall tax collections increased from 5.2% to 6.2%. Significant contributors to FED revenues included sectors such as cigarettes, cement, concentrates for beverages/foods, and air travel.

All major sectors, with the exceptions of concentrates and motor cars, experienced positive growth in FED collection during 2023-24.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024