ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has directed the Federal Board of Revenue to expedite its efforts towards enhanced tax collection to meet the revenue targets.
The minister said this while chairing a meeting to review the revenue collection targets and other matters related to the FBR. Chairman Nisar Mohammad Khan, Special Assistant to PM on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan and senior officials of FBR and the Ministry of Finance were also present in the meeting.
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The FBR chairman briefed the finance minister on the latest revenue collection figures.
Dar appreciated the efforts of FBR in increasing tax collections by 60 percent over the last three years. He urged the FBR team to redouble their efforts to meet this year’s revenue targets. He emphasised the importance of enhanced revenue collection in the background of the country’s need for development and for achieving higher rate of inclusive and sustainable growth.
The FBR has managed collection of Rs 1.08 trillion against a target of 1.2 trillion for July-November period, showing a loss of Rs 117 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year. This makes achieving Rs 1.8 trillion in the first half of the current fiscal year impossible.
During the meeting, it was discussed that the tax concessions granted to the agriculture and textile sector in the current financial year’s federal budget were the main reason of decline in tax revenue collection.
The reduction in GST on urea was the main reason of slow revenue collection under this head, the officials said, adding that the petroleum prices were maintained during the first five months which also resulted in decline in urea.
Dar was informed by the bureaucrats that there were no lapses on the operational side. The tax revenues have been slow as the economy did not show any robust growth despite decline in interest rate and increase in energy supplies, they said.
The government has imposed taxes on non-filer traders and real estate sector. This has significantly slowed down activity in the housing and construction sectors. It has affected more than 40 industrial sectors which contribute a lot to tax returns.
