ISLAMABAD: The Fed­eral Board of Revenue (FBR) exceeded its target for May by Rs15.21 billion, driven by higher income tax and import duties collection, according to provisional figures released on Friday.

The FBR reduced the tax collection target by almost Rs66bn for May and Rs8 bn for April. The targets were reduced downward to account for the tax amount of last year’s budgetary measures that were blocked in courts in FY24.

Revenue collection in May stood at Rs760.21bn against a projected target of Rs745bn. It increased by 32.8pc compared with Rs572.29bn in the corresponding month of last year. These figures will improve after book adjustments are taken into account.

During the first 11 months (July-May) of FY24, the FBR collected Rs8.122 trillion against the Rs8.162tr target. The revenue collection showed an increase of 30.8pc compared with the collection of Rs6.208tr over the corresponding months of last year.

The revenue collection remained short of budgetary targets in February, January, April and May.

An official statement of the FBR said that the government has a policy of mobilising more resources for domestic taxes. The team has worked hard to achieve assigned revenue targets.

The chairman appreciated the determination and hard work of the FBR team, which is poised to achieve the target set for June, the last month of FY24.

The FBR will need to raise Rs1.253tr in June to meet the FY24 budgetary target of Rs9.415tr. The June target was projected at Rs1.178tr, which now adds up due to the Rs75 bn backlog from previous months.

The government has paid Rs438.110bn refund/rebate to taxpayers during the 11MFY24 against Rs315.223bn over the corresponding months of last year, showing an increase of 38.98pc.

Tax-wise breakdown showed that income tax collection increased by 40.6pc to Rs3.857tr in 11MFY24 from Rs2.743tr in the same months last year. This shows that income tax collections have increased significantly. In May, income tax collections increased by 48pc.

The sales tax collection reached Rs2.767tr in 11MFY24 as against Rs2.314tr over the corresponding months of last year, indicating a growth of 19.6pc.

In May, the sales tax collection saw an increase of 20pc, which was much below the projected targets despite unprecedented inflation. The federal excise duty collection rose 54pc to Rs503.034bn in 11MFY24, compared to Rs326.496bn over the corresponding period last year.

Last year, the government introduced new FEDs on several products, which led to an increase in the collection.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2024