ISLAMABAD: Twenty products contributed Rs365 billion (33 per cent) to the total revenue proceeds during the first seven months (July-January) of the current financial year.

According to data of the Federal Board of Revenue, the top revenue spinners at the import stage are concentrated in 20 items, including POL (petrol, diesel and lubricants), natural gas, palm oil, bituminous coal and polypropylene.

The collection of duty and taxes at the import stage posted a growth of 6pc to reach Rs1.136 trillion during the July-January period against Rs1.075trn over the corresponding period of last year.

The customs collection from the 20 products increased by 8.4pc to Rs116.718bn against Rs116.718bn over the corresponding months of last year.

The top revenue spinners within the customs collection showed a negative growth during the period under review. However, other sectors grew which dragged overall growth in the customs collection.

The customs duty collection from natural gas stood at Rs9.883bn against Rs13.698bn over the last year, showing a decline of 27.85pc. Similarly, customs duty collection fell by 8.1pc on import of high-speed diesel (HSD) to Rs9.404bn against Rs10.238bn over the last year.

The duty collection on import of lubricants fell by 28.4pc to Rs8.267bn from Rs11.537bn over the last year. And the collection of customs duty on import of petrol fell by 10.3pc to Rs6.008bn from Rs6.691bn over the last year.

The customs duty collection from palm oil went up by 47.7pc to Rs6.936bn against Rs4.697bn over the corresponding period of last year. Similarly, a marginal growth was noted in collection from bituminous coal.

The overall customs duty collection at import stage stood at Rs398.641bn in the July-Jan period against Rs380.047bn over the last year, reflecting an increase of 5pc.

The sales tax collection at import stage posted a growth of 2.63pc to Rs216.704bn from Rs211.140bn over the last year.

This paltry growth is mainly due to drop in sales tax collection on import stage from the petroleum sector.

The sales tax collection declined by 19.82pc to Rs43.489bn on import of petrol from Rs54.243bn over the last year. The collection of sales tax on import of natural gas fell by 26.98pc to Rs26.410bn against Rs36.171bn.

The collection of sales tax on import of HSD dropped by 12.32pc to Rs19.883bn against Rs22.676bn. Marginal decline was seen in the import of sales tax on import of bituminous coal as it stood at Rs18.396bn against Rs18.578bn over the last year.

The sales tax collection, however, posted growth on 16 other items during this period.

The sales tax collection at the import stage grew by 8pc to Rs606.797bn against Rs559.590bn over the last year.

The withholding tax collection at the import stage from the top 20 products dipped by 6.34pc to Rs30.651bn against Rs32.729bn over the last year. The decline is mainly due to a drop in the collection from palm olein, natural gas and palm oil.

The total withholding tax collection on import stage from all products posted a negative growth of 7pc to Rs119.447bn against Rs128.708bn over the last year.

The federal excise duty collection at import stage grew by 67pc to Rs11.674bn against Rs6.993bn over the corresponding months of last year.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2021