ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has missed the tax collecting target during the first half of the current fiscal year, with a substantial shortfall of Rs386 billion.
Total revenue collection amounted to Rs5,623 billion, falling short of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) condition of collecting over Rs6,009 billion from July to December 2024.
Despite a single-digit nominal growth due to lower-than-projected inflation, the FBR still posted a 26% increase in taxes during July-December. The tax collection was Rs1.16 trillion more as compared to last year.
Moreover, the government missed the IMF target to collect at least Rs23.4 billion from traders from July to December under the Tajir Dost Scheme.
FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial said that despite the tax shortfall, the department did not block refunds and paid Rs70 billion in December alone against Rs38 billion last year.
Overall, the FBR paid Rs272 billion in refunds during the first six months of the current fiscal year, compared to Rs234 billion last year.
