October 4, 2002	Friday	Rajab 26, 1423

ISLAMABAD, Oct 3: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has surpassed the revenue collection target of Rs90 billion for the first quarter of 2002-2003.

“The revenue collection target for July-September was Rs90 billion but the CBR has collected Rs90.2 billion, which is quite impressive,” said the Minister for Finance Shaukat Aziz.

He told reporters here on Thursday that these were the provisional numbers, and when actual figures would come, the revenue collection would have gone further up.

Aziz denied that revenue target was being revised downward due to withdrawal of general sales tax on medicines. “There is no revision and the CBR would achieve Rs460 billion target by June 30 next year,” he assured.

He said that there was 16.5 per cent increase in revenues in the first three months of 2002-2003, compared to corresponding period last year.

Aziz said that there was 6.6 per cent increase in direct taxes. Similarly, he said that indirect taxes were up by 20.4 per cent. Sales tax registered an increase of 26.3 per cent while customs duties increased by 23 per cent. However, he said that excise duty was down by 3 per cent as more and more items were being shifted to sales tax.

Customs proceeds, Aziz said, have gone up despite reduction in customs duties. “This shows that economic activity had picked up in the country.”

The process of reform, the finance minister said, has stabilized, which was attracting investment in new industries.” Despite leakages, the provisional revenue collection numbers are very encouraging,” he said adding that CBR was geared up to get more and more revenues.

The finance minister said that there was no delay in the restructuring of CBR. “We are making sure that this process of restructuring is achieved as early as possible,” he said.

The finance minister told a reporter that the chairman CBR had told him that he had not given any interview in which he had said that revenue targets were being revised downward.

“Why should we seek any downward revision when the provisional figures of first three months are so impressive,” he argued.

To a question he said that the World Bank and the IMF have not raised any objection including on CBR revenue during his stay in Washington.

“There were more discussions on how to consolidate reforms in Pakistan,” he said adding that Pakistan has asked the International Finance Commission (IFC) to reduce its high rate of interest to help the private sector of Pakistan. IFC’s rate of interest is 2 to 3 per cent up from LIBOR which needed to be reduced, he said.