WORLD NEWS | PAKISTAN: Federal Revenue Commission reveals gap of PKR 240 billion

Islamabad [Pakistan]March 5th (ANI): The Federal Revenue Board of Pakistan (FBR) temporarily collected (PKR) 4,493 billion PKR in the first eight months of the current financial year, while the specified target for July-February (2022- ) 4,733 billion Pakistani rupees on the 23rd), reflecting a shortfall of 240 billion Pakistani rupees, Pakistan Business Records Agency reported.

After collecting PKR 170 billion in taxes in the mini-budget, the FBR’s tax revenue target for the new year has been fixed at PKR 7.640 trillion, Business Recorder reported. FBR needs to adjust its monthly target for the remainder of February to June (2022-23), but the February target was based on the old forecast of Rs 7.47 trillion.

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If additional taxes of PKR 170 billion are added on top of the annual target of PKR 7.47 trillion, the overall shortfall will further increase to PKR 410 billion in the remainder of 2022-23, the sources said.

FBR exceeded February tax target.

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According to provisional data, FBR collected PKR 527.3 billion in February 2023 against the target of PKR 527 billion, an increase of PKR 300 million.

FBR collected PKR 4,493 billion during July-February (2022-23) compared to PKR 3,820 billion collected in the same period of 2021-22, an increase of 18%. Direct tax revenues rose 47% in the first eight months of the financial year, according to provisional figures

The contribution of domestic tax revenue increased from 49.4% last year to 58.7% this year. Tariff revenues in February 2023 increased by 2% compared to the same month last year, according to the Business Recorder.

The Tribune recently reported that Pakistan’s federal budget deficit forecast has been revised to an all-time high of PKR 6.22 trillion despite an additional burden of PKR 735 billion on the people this fiscal year.

Endless fiscal woes have pushed the country into a debt trap. Such highly unsustainable levels have pushed the country into a situation where debt restructuring appears to be the only viable option.

Although the federal government will impose an additional burden of PKR 735 billion on citizens by the end of June due to higher gas and electricity tariffs and additional taxes, it will still be the largest ever budget deficit.

The revision follows recent talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which exposed extensive underreporting of spending by the Treasury when it presented the budget, The Express Tribune reported. (Arnie)

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