PESHAWAR, Jan 4: The NWFP at the close of the first five months of the current financial year recorded a shortfall of over Rs500m in receipts under its tax and non-tax heads, according to sources.

The finance managers have envisaged to raise Rs3.692 billion from province’s own receipts in 2001-02. In accordance with the total annual share, the province was supposed to collect over Rs1.538bn at the close of five months.

However, according to sources in the NWFP AG Office, the provincial government remained far from meeting the first five months’ target on proportional basis.

The provincial tax and non-tax collection authorities collectively raised over Rs1bn during the five months from July 1 to Nov 30, 2001, making the province record a shortfall of over Rs500m.

As per the provincial government’s revenue generation plan for the financial year, out of the province’s own Rs3.69bn receipts, Peshawar was envisaged to raise Rs1.595bn through provincial taxes and Rs2.09bn through non-tax receipts, including Rs110m as income from property and enterprise, Rs96.8m receipts from general administration, Rs385.5m from social services, Rs214.7m from community services and Rs818.6m from economic services.

However, said the sources, in majority of the heads, the recovery position remained far from satisfactory, making it difficult for the province to achieve something near the recovery target.

Apart from agriculture income tax, land revenue and receipts under motor vehicle tax, recoveries under several non-tax heads also remained less than the target by end of November on proportionate basis.

The provincial finance managers had set the provincial receipts’ target for 2001-02 at less than the last financial year’s target.

The province set the target at Rs3.69bn against the initial target of  Rs4.25bn for the 2000-01 financial year, which was later brought down to Rs3.589bn under the revised revenue estimates.

Though the provincial government had set the target at a level lower than the last financial year’s benchmark to fix a realistic target for 2001-02, the move appears to be far from bringing the desired results as, said the sources, the provincial tax collection machinery was required to raise more than Rs2.6bn during the last seven months of the fiscal year.

AG Office sources expressed hopelessness about the government’s chances of meeting the annual target in view of its past performance, as the provincial receipts’ target has never been achieved.