KARACHI: Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU), Karachi collected Rs13.58 billion taxes in November with a growth of 48.25 percent over the corresponding month of previous year.
The LTU Karachi collected Rs9.16 billion in November 2017. Sources in LTU Karachi attributed the revenue growth to enforcement measures taken by the unit.
An official confirmed that the unit resorted to recovery of outstanding amount from various taxpayers. The LTU Karachi was assigned a collection target of Rs10.62 billion for November. Therefore, the collection during the month was 128 percent of the target.
LTU Karachi collected Rs62.03 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year compared with Rs57.47 billion, showing a growth of eight percent. The unit failed to meet the five-month direct tax collection target of Rs69 billion and could able to collect alone 90 percent of the target. The official said payment of income tax refunds and decline in corporate tax rates for tax year 2018 were the primary reasons for lower growth in direct tax collection.
The unit released Rs5.86 billion as income tax refunds during the July-November period compared with Rs1.41 billion in the corresponding months of the last fiscal year.
The collection of all land taxes by the unit exhibited three percent growth. The collection of sales tax registered meager two percent growth due to economic slowdown and lower tax rates on petroleum products.
The LTU Karachi collected Rs355.9 billion as sales tax during the July-November of 2018 as compared to Rs350.4 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
The economic slowdown in the country pushed the sales tax (domestic) collection down by two to Rs78 billion during the period under review compared with Rs79 billion.
Meanwhile, sales tax (import) collection growth remained flat at Rs279 billion during the first five months of current fiscal year. The collection of federal excise duty was at Rs25 billion compared with Rs23.7 billion.
