Revenue shortfall widens to Rs228b in Jul-Feb FY19

Target missed despite FBR’s drastic measures to enhance tax collection

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reported a record interim shortfall of Rs228 billion in revenue collection in first eight months (Jul-Feb) of current fiscal year 2018-19.

The shortfall came despite FBR’s drastic measures to enhance tax collection.

The revenue authority failed to meet its tax collection target for February with shortfall in the month at Rs38 billion. The amount was nearly twice the shortfall of Rs22 billion in the same month of previous fiscal year.

According to FBR sources, the interim statistics revealed that net revenue collection for the first eight months of the current fiscal year stood at Rs2,337 billion.

Despite being Rs76 billion higher than the collection of Rs2,259 billion in the first eight months of FY18, the revenue receipts were Rs228-billion short of the FBR’s  projected collection of Rs2,565 billion for Jul-Feb FY19.

In February 2019, the FBR collected Rs272 billion compared to the target of Rs314 billion.

Sources added that the target for tax collection was missed despite initiation of different measures to tackle the revenue shortfall.

Of the Rs272 billion collected in February, Rs89 billion was received on account of income tax, Rs112 billion on account of sales tax, Rs21 billion in federal excise duty and Rs50 billion in customs duty.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2019.

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