ISLAMABAD: The government has to face Rs70 billion loss annually after declining trend in petrol prices.
This was disclosed by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials during a meeting under the chair of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar. The meeting was convened to devise a strategy for revenue collection in second half of current fiscal year.
The government has reduced the prices of petroleum products by more than Rs20 per litre in last two months and further reduction is on the card.
FBR had collected Rs900 billion during the first five months (July to November) of the ongoing fiscal year. Meanwhile, the tax department has to collect Rs1910 in remaining seven months (December to June), which seems difficult to achieve without additional revenue measures. Therefore, the government is likely to impose new taxes or cut the budget of public development funds.
According to the press statement issued here, Chairman FBR presented a detailed report as directed by the Finance Minister in the meeting held on Sunday evening regarding the benefit passed on to the general public on the petroleum products.
