KARACHI, Nov 16: The Sindh government revenue from GST on services increased by over 100 per cent to Rs8.5 billion in the first quarter (July-September) 2012-13 against Rs4 billion last year, according to data released by the finance department.

A senior finance official said on Wednesday that revenue position improved by streamlining collection procedures by removing bottlenecks experienced during the first year of collection.

The Sindh Revenue Authority (SRA) is collecting GST on 22 services.

The finance department has fixed the target for GST on services at Rs32bn for the current year against Rs25bn last year. The official hopes to achieve the enhanced target.

The province suffered a shortfall in revenue from income tax on agriculture during 2011-12.

The Board of Revenue (BoR) collected Rs200m under this head against a target of Rs500m.

The shortfall in tax on farm income has been attributed to devastating floods and rains during the last two consecutive years.

The collections from farm levy stood at mere Rs12m during the first quarter, 2013 against the same amount fetched last year.

The finance department has fixed Rs17.5bn target for the Sindh Board of Revenue for 2012-13 which includes Rs500m from tax on farm income, stamp duty Rs6bn, capital value tax (CVT) Rs3bn, registration of property sale deeds Rs1.5bn and land revenue Rs500m.

Meanwhile, development projects included in the ADP have been affected due to paucity of funds during the current year.