November 7, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 20, 1422

PESHAWAR, Nov 6: The Central Board of Revenue recorded revenue improvement by Rs276 million under the heads of customs duty and sales tax (imports) from NWFP during the first four months of the current financial year in comparison with the corresponding period of the last fiscal, according to the official sources.

The customs collectorate, Peshawar, received Rs1,685 million under the heads of customs duty and sales tax on imports during the first four months of the current financial year.

The money raised appears to be some Rs276 million more than Rs1,409 million the collectorate had recorded in the corresponding period last year under the same two heads.

The money raised this time round, said the sources, involved revenue of Rs1,023.4 million raised under the customs duty head and Rs661 million recorded under the sales tax (imports) head.

During the corresponding period last financial year a total of Rs915 million had been raised under the customs duty head and Rs493 million under the sales tax head.

The Rs1.023 billion raised under the customs duty makes some 33 per cent of the total Rs3.1 billion target the CBR has set for the customs collectorate, Peshawar, for the financial year 2001-2002.

Increase in revenue under the two heads has been attributed to over all inflationary trends and improving industrial activities the NWFP experienced during the first four months of the current fiscal.

“The impact of Afghanistan’s current situation on the NWFP’s economy and the Afghan conflict’s over-riding effect on the regional economies would be clear, at least, in two to three months time,” said a Peshawar-based CBR officer.

Sources said that revenue position recorded improvement despite unrest in Afghanistan and uncertainty in the NWFP due mainly to the fact that import orders had been placed by the importers much earlier.

During October of the current financial year, customs collectorate, Peshawar, raised a total of Rs456.59 million involving Rs281 million under the customs duty and Rs175 million under the sales tax (imports) recording an improvement by Rs78 million in comparison with the corresponding period of the last financial year.

In October 2000, the customs collectorate had raised a total of Rs378 million involving a sum of Rs239 million under the customs duty and Rs138 million under the sales tax (imports).