Islamabad: The Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has demonstrated a remarkable revenue collection in the first six months of the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) by collecting Rs3.423 trillion — depicting an increase of 17% on a year-on-year basis.
It also collected Rs740 billion in December 2022 against Rs599 billion collected in the corresponding month last year, showing an impressive growth of almost 24%.
“This performance is despite huge import compression and zero rating on petroleum,” the FBR said in a statement.
According to the statement, direct tax collection continues to grow at a robust pace, which showed a growth of 66% in December compared to December 2021 — a clear indicator of the policy of shifting the tax burden on the wealthy and affluent.
“Direct tax collection for the first six months has also registered an unprecedented growth of 49%,” the statement further said.
FBR exceeds Rs2.68 trillion revenue target in five months of FY23
This revenue growth has been achieved even though certain policy interventions, having a revenue impact of Rs250 billion introduced through the Finance Act 2022, could not be implemented as these are subjudice in the courts.
“The target for December was Rs965 billion which could not be achieved due to the aforementioned reason,” the statement added.
The revenue collection performance is also exceptional when viewed in the context that FBR issued refunds of Rs176 billion during the first half of FY23 as against Rs149 billion issued during the corresponding period last year.
This unprecedented growth in tax revenues, especially direct taxes underscore the resolve of the Government and FBR to make Pakistan a thriving nation. The Bureau hoped that when import restrictions are eased and court cases come to a logical conclusion, the lost revenue will also be retrieved during the current fiscal year.
