PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has reduced its own revenue target by more than 50 per cent in the revised budget of the outgoing fiscal 2015-16 as it contained inflated figures and bigger projects were projected in the Rs174.8 billion ADP.
The Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA) Monday stated that the current fiscal year is in the last month of its close, while the provincial economic managers have put a drastic cut on the development budget in the revised budget estimates.
The PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa estimated a sum of Rs371.3 billion to be received as federal transfers in 2015-16. This amount is 76 per cent of the total budget of Rs487.9 billion for the year 2015-16. These transfers included federal tax assignment, 1 per cent divisible pool for war on terror, straight transfers, net profit from hydel power generation, and arrears on net hydel profit. The provincial own revenues receipts were estimated at Rs54.4 billion which was 11.15 percent of the total budget estimates. This included provincial tax receipts of Rs22.6 billion and provincial non-tax receipts of Rs31.8 billion.
Similarly capital receipts were estimated at Rs15.25 billion which is 3.1 per cent of the total budget and included recoveries of loans and advances and recoveries of investment of hydel development fund. The development receipts were estimated at Rs46.9 billion which is 9.6 per cent of the total budget and included foreign project assistance of Rs32.9 billion. The KP Finance minister presented provincial budget for the year 2016-17 on June 14 and alongside it presented revised estimates for the out-going fiscal 2015-16. The revised budget estimates for the year 2015-16 shows that the revenue receipts were revised downward from Rs487.9 billion to Rs431billion.
The KP government failed to achieve revenue targets in case of its provincial own revenue receipts. Provincial own tax revenue receipts, which was estimated at Rs22.6 billion is revised downward to Rs14.3 billion. Provincial own Non-Tax revenue is now revised downward from an estimate of Rs31.8 billion to Rs11.2 billion. The foreign project assistance which was estimated at Rs32.8 billion has been reduced to 16.8 billion, by almost by 50 per cent.