E-payments help excise make record collection

Recovery came in the first month of the new fiscal year, a new high for the department

ISLAMABAD:

The Excise and Taxation department in the federal capital collected over Rs1.5 billion in taxes during July and deposited it in the national exchequer.

"This was the biggest achievement of the department as the target was achieved at a time when people are afraid to step out of their homes due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic," said Excise Director Bilal Azam.

Giving comparison for revenues collected over the past five years, Azam said that in July 2016, they collected Rs153.102 million. Similarly, in July 2017, they collected Rs295.509. In the same month for 2018, the revenue collection figures stood at Rs355.533 million.

This jumped to Rs833.38 million in July 2019, and during the first month of the ongoing fiscal year, they had collected Rs1.144 billion.

With the addition of taxes collected by the Federal Board of Revenue worth Rs407.36 million, the excise department’s haul rose to Rs1.551 billion, which was a record.

Azam explained that one reason for the increase in revenue collection was the introduction of new methods of tax collection.

Noting that promotion of tax collection culture amongst the masses was a priority, Azam said vehicle owners were submitting their token fee at the National Database and Registration Authority's (NADRA) e-sahulat centres without visiting the excise office.

Similarly, he said that the department had started a doorstep vehicle registration and transfer service in collaboration with NADRA for the convenience of the public. This too has led to the surge in revenue collection, he said.

In this regard, he said that they had 3,615 new registrations and 14,757 transferred cases during this time.

The excise director added that they have taken measures so that all fees and vehicle token fees can be paid online without having to visit either banks or the excise office. In this regard, Azam said that they had created a payment portal where credit cards, bank accounts and other payment methods were integrated which contributed to increasing revenue collection.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2020.