Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is set to take all necessary measures to meet the revenue collection target for the fiscal year 2022-2023.
With a shortfall of Rs304 billion in the first nine months, the apex national tax agency has been directed to ensure that the revenue collection target for the ongoing fiscal year is achieved.
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At a meeting held on Tuesday, Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar urged the FBR to enhance its tax collecting efforts to help the country achieve its true tax potential. FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad gave a detailed presentation on the board’s revenue targets and performance for the period July 2022 to March 2023. He expressed that FBR will make all out efforts to meet its targets in the remaining months of the financial year.
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Dar expressed his satisfaction with the FBR and extended his full support to help it perform its revenue collection duties. He further maintained that the FBR team needs to enhance efforts to unlock the country’s true tax potential. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Finance Division and FBR, as well as Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance Tariq Bajwa and SAPM on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha.
Pakistan faces various economic challenges, including a low tax-to-GDP ratio. As per data provided by the country’s Ministry of Finance, Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio dropped by 0.4% in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year to 4.4% from 4.8% of the same period last year.
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The tax collecting authority reportedly suffered a massive shortfall of Rs304 billion during July-March (2022-23). The revenue board provisionally collected Rs5,156 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year against the assigned target of Rs5,460 billion for July-March (2022-23), reflecting a huge shortfall of Rs304 billion.
In the meeting, the finance minister said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged to assist Pakistan. Saudi Arabia has reportedly conveyed $2 billion in financing to Pakistan to the IMF, while the UAE has confirmed $1 billion in support. The Pakistani government has met all the conditionalities of the IMF for the revival of the loan agreement, and all preconditions for a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) between Pakistan and the IMF have now been implemented.
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The FBR’s efforts to achieve its revenue collection target will play a crucial role in the country’s economic development, and the support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE will provide much-needed financial assistance to Pakistan. The upcoming months will be a critical time for the FBR to enhance its efforts and meet its targets for the current fiscal year.
