Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting to review the six-month performance of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the period July-December of the Financial Year 2016-17 at the FBR headquarters on Friday.
Briefing the finance minister, the FBR chairman said that the board has collected more than Rs 1,467 billion in the first half of the Financial Year 2016-17 as compared to Rs 1,370.9 billion during the corresponding period in FY 16, reflecting seven percent growth in tax revenues, compared to target revenue growth of 16% for the current fiscal year.
He further informed the minister that revenue collection during December 2016 has been the highest amongst all the six months of the current fiscal year so far.
Dar said that the strong performance in December 2016 bodes well for revenue collection in the second half of the financial year.
While taking notice of the fact that only seven percent revenue growth had been achieved in the first half of the fiscal compared to target revenue growth of 16 percent, he urged the FBR team to undertake all necessary efforts to make up for the revenue shortfall.
He emphasised that strong tax revenue collections are vital to achieving higher, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, which is a primary focus of the government.
The meeting was also attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan.