Daily Times

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected net revenues of Rs4,858b during the first ten months of the current fiscal year (July-April 2021-22), showing growth of 28.6 percent over the collection of Rs3,778b during the corresponding period of last year.

According to provisions figures shared by the board here on Saturday, the collection during July-April (2021-22) also exceeded the target set for the period by Rs239b.The net collection for the month of April 2022 stood at Rs480b representing an increase of 24.9pc over Rs384b collected in April 2021. On the other hand, the gross collections increased from Rs3,981b during July-April (2020-21) to Rs5,122 b in current financial year July, showing an increase of 28.7pc. Likewise, the amount of refunds disbursed during April 2022 was Rs34.6b while in April, 2021 the refunds disbursed were Rs19.6b, registering an increase of 76.2pc. Similarly, refunds worth Rs264b have been disbursed from July-April (2021- 2022) compared to Rs203b paid last year, showing an increase of 30.1pc.It is pertinent to mention that even though FBR had agreed to a target of Rs6100b with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the same was never made a target of FBR.

Now FBR would need Rs484.5b per month to achieve the initial target of Rs5829 b and Rs621b each in May and June to achieve the revised target of Rs6100b.The incumbent government is fully determined to collect Rs6100b in this fiscal year, said FBR statement. The ongoing unprecedented and constant growth trajectory in revenue collection has been achieved despite massive tax relief given by the government on various essential items to common person.

For the first time ever in the country’s history, Sales Tax on all POL products has been reduced to zero which cost FBR Rs45b in April 2022. Likewise, the revenue impact of Sales Tax exemptions provided to fertilizers, pesticides, tractors, vehicles, and oil & ghee comes to Rs18b per month. Similarly, zero rating on pharmaceutical products has cost FBR Rs10b in Sales Tax during the month of April, 2022. Thus, in aggregate these relief measures have affected revenue collection by approximately Rs73b during the month of April, 2022.Furthermore, the political uncertainty and import compression also negatively impacted revenue collection during April.

It is worth sharing that FBR has introduced a number of innovative interventions both at policy and operational level with a view to maximize revenue potential through digitization, transparency, and taxpayers’ facilitation. This has not only resulted in ensuring the ease of doing business but also translated in a healthy and steady growth in revenue collection.

Likewise, the incumbent top leadership of FBR has launched a new culture of clean taxation with a clear focus on collecting only the fair tax and not holding up refunds which are due to be paid. This has not only fast tracked the process of bridging the trust deficit between FBR and Taxpayers but also ensured the much-needed cash liquidity for business community. That’s precisely why FBR continues to surpass its assigned revenue targets despite challenges and price stabilization measures adopted by the government, the statement added.