ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) surpassed its revenue collection target by Rs34 billion to Rs384bn in April, the second highest collection in the second half of current fiscal year (FY21), provisional data collected by the tax authorities on Friday showed.

April has emerged as the second consecutive month when the FBR revenue collection surpassed the projected monthly target despite Covid-19 impact on all segments of economy.

The net collection for April was Rs384bn against a target of Rs350bn, an increase of 9.7 per cent. Compared to the collection of Rs244bn in April 2020, revenue collection posted growth of 57pc.

The FBR has collected net revenue of Rs3.78 trillion during July 2020-April 2021 period, which has exceeded the target of Rs3.637tr by more than Rs143bn. This represents growth of about 14pc over the collection of Rs3.320tr during the same period last year.

Pakistan saw imposition of lockdown from mid-March 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic which led to the lesser collection during the last year’s monthly collections in April 2020 and onwards.

It was second consecutive month when collection exceeded target despite Covid-19 impact on economy

The amount of refunds disbursed this year was Rs195bn compared to Rs118bn paid last year, showing an increase of 65.3pc.

The government, while preparing the budget for FY21, had assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of raising Rs4.96tr as against Rs3.99tr collected in FY20, a projected increase of 24.4pc. However, the IMF has revised downward this revenue target to Rs4.691tr for current fiscal year.

To achieve the revised target, the FBR will have to collect Rs911bn in May-June period of the current fiscal year. This target now seems achievable if there is no complete lockdown in the country and businesses remain in operation.

For next year, the IMF has proposed revenue collection target for the FBR at Rs5.963tr as against Rs4.691tr revised target for the current fiscal year.

The income tax collection during the July-April period stood at Rs1.374tr as against the target of Rs1.404tr, showing a shortfall of about Rs30bn. The income tax collection, however, showed growth of 9pc when compared with Rs1.262tr collected during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the sales tax collection jumped 23pc to Rs1.764tr in the first 10 months of FY21 from Rs1.439tr in the same period last year. The target was projected at Rs1.484tr and it was surpassed by Rs280bn. The growth came as a result of a rise in fuel prices, increase in imports and revival of economic activities during the period under review.

Federal excise duty (FED) collections were up 8pc to Rs223bn as against Rs208bn last year. The FED target for July-April was set at Rs241bn, which was missed by Rs18bn.

Customs collection stood at Rs614bn during the July-April period this year as against Rs595bn over the last year, indicating a growth of 3.2pc. The target projected under Customs was Rs508bn for the period under review. In April Customs collection posted an impressive growth indicating revival of economic activities in the country.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2021