PESHAWAR, May 27: The NWFP government is not likely to meet the Rs65 million agriculture income tax (AIT) target for 2004-05 after trailing behind the annual target at the close of the first nine months of the fiscal year, according to official sources. The province recorded a collection of Rs38 million during the July-March period of the fiscal year, trailing behind the target by Rs27 million.

Official sources told Dawn that the recovery made during the period reflected improvement in comparison with that made in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

“Though achievement of the target is not likely, the recoveries are expected to end up at a respectable level,” said an official of a tax collection agency.

According to the NWFP government’s record, the province has never been able to achieve the agriculture income tax recovery target ever since it was introduced on acreage basis in 1997-98.

Although none of the successive provincial governments has been able to meet the annual AIT target, each of them kept increasing the annual target with every passing year.

In line with the past practice, according to official sources, the incumbent government is all set to increase the AIT recovery target for the next financial year.

“An increase by more than Rs5 million is likely to be made in the AIT annual target,” said a tax collector.

However, officials of the provincial finance department, when contacted, said that the recovery target for 2004-05 would be fixed at Rs73 million.

The government, said the official, was of the opinion that an increase in the annual target led to an improvement in the tax recovery every year.

“The increase puts pressure on the tax collectors and the tax collecting agency and they take more efforts to improve the recovery,” said an official.

Official sources blamed the current tax collection system which, they said, was slightly different than the scheme introduced in 1997-98 financial year.

The recoveries had once touched the Rs79 million level during the days of the last Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)-led government in the province.

However, significant changes were brought about in the AIT system by the successive government leading to a significant reduction in the annual recoveries since 2000-01.