The FBR has collected Rs 324 billion more in fiscal year 2013-14 by collecting Rs 2270 billion against a collection of Rs 1946 billion in 2012-13 so the growth in revenue collection stood at 16 percent.
In the last financial year of 2013-14 that ended on June 30, 2014 so far the FBR’s collection in accordance with provisional estimates was inching towards Rs 2270 billion. Although, the FBR has not yet released any official figures but its high-ups are sharing information that they have crossed Rs 2266 billion and moving towards collecting Rs 2270 billion in last financial year.
The cleared cheques required clearance of State Bank of Pakistan as well as Auditor General of Pakistan so it took a while for finalizing the revenue collection figures. Within next few days the FBR’s collection figures would be finalized. The economists were estimating that the FBR’s collection could not cross Rs 2250 billion so it was achievement on the part of the tax machinery to go close to the revised tax target of Rs 2275 billion in last financial year.
Keeping in view law and order situation, upheaval on political front as well as power outages, the collection of Rs 2270 billion can be considered an achievement on part of the FBR under the leadership of Tariq Bajwa and his team who rendered all-out efforts to get the desired results.
Acknowledging the achievement of FBR’s machinery, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar congratulated Chairman FBR Tariq Bajwa and his whole team who have worked hard to achieve the target for revenue collection during the last fiscal year 2013-14.
He said that it’s only due to the commitment, dedication and hard work of the whole team that only in one year there has been an increase of over 16% in tax collection which is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan.
Now the stage has come when the FBR will have to prepare a roadmap for achieving another ambitious tax collection target of RS 2810 billion for the current fiscal year 2014-15 that started from July 1, 2014. By achieving the last year target by and large, the FBR has protected the base of envisaging the current target of Rs 2810 billion.
This is the time where the tax machinery should work for simplifying the procedures involved in filing returns and incentives should be given to the return filers as compared to the non-filers. The taxpayers need to be facilitated by simplifying tax reporting so that people prefer to pay taxes rather than evading tax process.
