ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has fallen short of its revenue collection target for the first quarter (July-Sept) of FY2024 by Rs96 billion, despite meeting its monthly target for September. This shortfall may lead to additional fiscal measures as per the IMF’s conditions under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The total collection for the first quarter stood at Rs2,556 billion, against the target of Rs2,652 billion.

For September 2024, the FBR is expected to exceed its target of Rs1,098 billion, reaching over Rs1,100 billion. However, the pressure to achieve the ambitious annual tax collection goal of Rs12,970 billion remains, necessitating a 40% growth in revenues over the remaining three quarters. This will likely prove challenging given the current economic climate and political constraints.

FBR’s revenue growth has been notable, with a 35% increase in domestic tax collection in the first two months of FY2024. However, growth on the import side has lagged due to ongoing import restrictions, which saw a 2.2% decline in dollar terms and a 7% drop in PKR value compared to last year.

As of Monday night, the FBR had received 3.6 million tax returns, a significant improvement from 1.7 million by the same time last year, but still short of last fiscal year’s total of 5.5 million. Amidst public outcry over system slowdowns, the FBR has extended the tax filing deadline to October 14, 2024.