FBR sets Rs1.29tr tax collection target for third quarter

Works on avoiding shortfall in targets to meet IMF conditions

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue, after facing a revenue shortfall of over Rs100 billion, has set the tax collection target for the second quarter (October to December) of the current fiscal year 2019-20 at Rs1,295.99 billion while the target for the current month of October has been set at Rs376.126 billion.

According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, the FBR in a bid to achieve the tax collection target for the month of October has set the target of income tax collection in direct taxes at Rs131.33 billion while the target of sales tax collection in indirect taxes has been set at Rs149.58 billion.

The federal excise duty collection target has been set at Rs25.124 billion while customs duties at Rs70.10 billion.

To achieve the three-month (October to December) tax collection target of Rs1,295.99 billion, in direct tax collection the income tax collection target has been set at Rs491.87 billion while the sales tax collection target in indirect taxes has been set at Rs499.89 billion. The federal excise duty collection has been kept at Rs84.438 billion and the customs duties collection at Rs219.80 billion.

It must be made clear that during the first quarter of the current financial year from July to September 2019, the interim shortfall of the FBR increased to over Rs139 billion while the last month of September saw an interim shortfall of more than Rs40 billion.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Rs30 billion tax refunds were paid to the taxpayers.

Sources said owing to the International Monetary Fund’s conditions not being met by the FBR, difficulties might increase because the tax collection targets set with the IMF for the first quarter of the current financial year were not achieved and refunds worth Rs75 billion to the taxpayers were not released.

Sources said in case of exemption not being given by the IMF in the first economic examination, more steps would be taken to collet revenues otherwise deduction would have to be made in the billions of rupees allocated for development expenditures.

According to statistics and figures, the FBR collected interim taxes amounting to Rs963 billion during the current financial year’s first quarter (July to September), which was though 15% more than the tax collected during the same period of previous financial year 2018-19, but collection of Rs108 billion was quite less for the first quarter against the target of Rs1,071 billion.

Sources said the FBR would have to meet the revenue shortfall in the coming months or else the IMF would increase pressure to collect additional revenue.