KARACHI: Revenue collection in Sindh between July 2013 and March 2014 stood at Rs23.7 billion compared to Rs19.3bn during the same period in the previous year, witnessing an increase of 23 per cent.

The highest jump of 33pc in was witnessed from motor vehicle registration which rose to Rs3.4bn from Rs2.5bn earlier.

The excise department collected Rs15.9bn against Rs13.1bn on account of infrastructure cess charged on all imports landing at Karachi, marking a 21pc increase.

Collections from property tax were remarkable this year with 26pc increase to Rs1.5bn against Rs1.1bn earlier.

Revenue from excise duty was up by 21pc to Rs2.5bn against Rs2bn last year.

Collections from professional tax, popularly known as provincial income tax, remained at the lowest ebb to Rs216.5 million from Rs201m, an increase of only 7pc.

The department collected Rs139.8m from cotton fee and Rs28.5m from entertainment duty.

Commenting on the revenue performance, director-general of Excise Shoaib Siddiqui expressed the hope that the yearly revenue target of Rs32bn would easily surpass by 5 to 7pc by the end of the year.

Excise and Taxation Secretary Abdul Majeed Pathan visited major interior towns last week to improve revenue from property tax, professional tax and motor vehicle registration.

The data issued on the eve of the visit showed property tax collections stood at Rs57.5m from Hyderabad, followed by Sukkur Rs38.4m, Larkana Rs10.7m and Mirpurkhas Rs7.2m.

Motor vehicle registration fetched Rs196.7m from Hyderabad, Sukkur Rs205.4m, Larkana Rs37.2m and Mirpurkhas Rs42.1m.

The data revealed that professional tax collection from Hyderabad was only Rs10.2m, followed by Sukkur Rs12.2m, Mirpurkhas Rs6.6m and Larkana Rs4m.