According to SBP report “The State of Pakistan’s Economy” the depreciation of Pakistan rupee, imposition of regulatory duty, and an increase in excise duties led to a double-digit growth in custom and excise collection during July-March (2018-19).

According to the report, the FED and customs duty recorded a Year-on-year growth of 12.9 and 18.2 percent respectively during the period under review. As highlighted in the second quarterly report for FY19, though there was a slowdown in the quantum of imports, the Pakistan rupee depreciation mainly helped maintain the overall growth in value terms, the report added.

With the exception of vehicles, custom collection on other major categories i.e. iron and steel, and electrical machinery and equipment increased significantly during the period under review. The FED collection increased by Rs 18.7 billion, out of which Rs 16.3 billion was collected from cigarettes, largely due to upward revision of FED on locally produced cigarettes.

Meanwhile, the overall collection of nontax revenues remained subdued during Jul-Mar FY19 compared to last year despite higher collection in most of the categories. A major hit to non-tax revenues largely emanated from the fall in SBP profits and a delay in the transfer of hydel profits to provinces.

The surge in defence, passport & other fees, royalties on oil & gas, and windfall levy on crude oil was not sufficient to offset this decline, it added.