Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) failed to meet its six-month (July-Dec) target for sales tax collection according to a report released by the Finance Ministry.
The sales tax collection target for the ongoing fiscal year 2022-23 (FY 2022-23) was fixed at Rs3076 billion with a six-month target of Rs1538 billion. However, the FBR succeeded in collecting only Rs1272 billion, falling Rs266 billion short of the target. If seen on monthly basis, the target was Rs256 billion but the FBR could maintain a monthly average of Rs212 billion, posing an Rs44 billion loss.
It is pertinent to mention here that the authority had eyed the Rs769 billion mark for three months, but it failed on this front too with the collection of Rs642 billion, thus falling Rs127 billion low on the target.
If the practice persists on part of the FBR, it could pose the government with an annual loss of Rs532 billion. On top of that, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has “recommended” increasing the sales tax by 1pc thus taking it to 18pc at maximum.
The government is reviewing the recommendation which could add another Rs180 billion per annum to the national exchequer.
