ISLAMABAD, June 13: The government is unlikely to achieve the Rs580 billion revenue target set for 2004-05 because of various exemptions and reliefs announced for a cross-section of the people in the budget.

An official of the Central Board of Revenue told Dawn that his department had opposed tax exemptions amounting to Rs7.5 billion on the grounds that it would make it difficult to collect required taxes during the next fiscal.

The official pointed out that only 16 days were left in the current year but the CBR was still to collect Rs73 billion to achieve the Rs510 billion target of 2003-04. Under the circumstances, he said, it would be an 'uphill task' to achieve the Rs580 billion target, especially when collectors feared that there would be a considerable revenue shortfall during the outgoing fiscal year.

Sources said that the budget planners had briefed President General Pervez Musharraf on many aspects of the budget. The planners thought that the economic consolidation was more important and that the government should have avoided extending tax exemptions and reliefs to the government employees and pensioners.

"The president believes that another two years are crucial during which the government should consolidate its economic achievements rather than considering any relief and tax exemption," a source said.

However, the source said, Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali and his cabinet colleagues used to maintain that people needed some definite relief due to price-hike, poverty and growing unemployment. The prime minister had directed the finance ministry to prepare a relief package for people.

Another problem for the government, a source said, would be to obtain Rs156 billion from different foreign sources, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, to fund the new budget.

"As the annual Saudi oil facility of $550 million is no more available, budget planners are looking for external resources even after the announcement of the new budget," a source said.

The source said the IMF had offered to extend another PRGF-type (Poverty Reduction Growth Facility) three-year programme, worth $1.5 billion to $2 billion, to help the government.