K-P seeks to cut dependence on federal receipts

Province’s major budget chunk comes from federal revenue sources

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance department reiterated upon improving its revenue streams to decrease the province’s dependence on federal government receipts.

Delineating strategy in its Budget Strategy Paper (I) for financial year 2018-19, the department pointed out that the province’s major budget chunk came from federal revenue sources while provincial resources account for just seven per cent of the total outlay.

The strategy paper also stated that the province’s revenue generating agencies were struggling to achieve their targets.



The department highlighted revenue mobilisation measures, stating that there was a strict revenue audit of its agencies was in place, adding that the province had also placed a two-layer oversight mechanism to review the performance of all sectors against previously set benchmarks.

The department presented the Budget Strategy Paper-I or the BSP-I to the provincial cabinet this month that was duly approved.

It showed that the revenue generating agencies had not achieved their goals in the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year 2017-18.

The province was projected to generate a revenue of Rs18.84 billion from its own sources in the first half of 2017-18, but the revenue generating agencies were able to raise just Rs10.84 billion, translating in a shortfall of Rs8.36 billion.

The paper noted that conventional incremental approaches to revenue forecasts did not help the province raise revenue from tax and non-tax sources.

According to the strategy paper, each revenue generating agency would conduct an assessment by the end of March this year and these studies would be used as basis for revising fiscal forecasts.

The department was also extending revenue audit programme, currently initiated in the excise and taxation department and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority, to other revenue generating agencies.

The document also pointed out that the chief secretary of the province would conduct a quarterly review of the progress of all sectors on finance department’s input.

It also put barred budgetary adjustments or re-appropriations in the development budget in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2018-19.

The finance department also pointed out the lowest spending of district development funds, amounting to just one per cent of the total budget.

The documents also points towards the slow spending of money in foreign-funded projects as just Rs1.4 billion were spent out of a total of Rs5.2 billion released in the first half of the fiscal year.

Total revenue shortfall recorded in the first half stood at Rs54.6 million, the document stated.



The government had estimated to get Rs251.25 billion in the first half from its budgetary resources, including foreign and domestic loans, federal transfers and own revenue but it could only get Rs196.6 billion.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also got a support in covering the deficit from money recovered by the finance department from hidden designated accounts of various departments which remained unspent.

For the fiscal year 2018-19, the document projected the total budget outlay of Rs563 billion or about 6.6 per cent less than the current year’s Rs603 billion.

However, the Annual Developmental Programme (ADP) was projected at Rs128 billion against Rs208 billion of the ongoing year (2017-18).

An official said: “We have shown the real picture to the government (before) the elected government gives it a final shape.”

He said that the figures might vary in the BSP-II. The provincial ADP amounted to Rs108 billion from its own revenue and Rs20 billion in foreign aid. The district ADP was projected at Rs32.4 billion while the provincial ADP was set at Rs75.8 billion.