ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) fell short of its revenue target by Rs99 billion in the first two months of FY25, prompting concerns about its ability to close the gap in the coming months.
The FBR collected Rs1.455 trillion during July and August, compared to a projected target of Rs1.554 trillion, according to provisional figures released by the board on Saturday. Despite a 20 percent increase from Rs1.212 trillion in the same months last year, this growth is significantly below the 40 percent needed to meet the annual target.
For FY25, the government has set a revenue target of Rs12.97 trillion, a 40 percent increase from FY24’s target. The projected automated revenue collection for FY25 is Rs11.1 trillion.
In August, revenue collections rose by 18.8 percent to Rs796 billion, up from Rs670 billion in the previous year. However, July’s revenue increase of 22 percent also fell short of expectations.
The FBR anticipates that new revenue measures could generate up to Rs2 trillion in FY25. In FY24, the FBR collected Rs9.285 trillion against a revised target of Rs9.252 trillion, below the original target of Rs9.415 trillion.
FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial noted that enhancing tax enforcement is crucial, particularly as many sectors, like retail, remain outside the tax net. He indicated that the results of new enforcement measures would be visible in the next two to three months.
Langrial has yet to reorganize FBR’s tax field formations and headquarters to improve enforcement. Recently, he warned field formations to avoid involving high-ranking officials in lucrative postings, leading to the suspension of a deputy customs collector for violating this directive.
