Weekly holiday abolished for FBR employees

ISLMABAD: In a recent development the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has abolished the weekly holiday for all in its offices across the country.

According to FBR, there will be no weakly of for employees on Saturdays. The decision comes as part of a ‘broader’ move  to meet the revenue collection target for the fiscal year 2024-25.

All Chief Commissioners have received a written direction in this regard, instructing them to closely follow official working hours and treat Saturdays as regular working days.

All tax offices will no longer have Saturday holidays until June 30, 2025, according to the FBR. To reach the goal, the FBR encouraged all of its offices to implement a thorough plan that prioritizes maximizing income collection.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has authorized Pakistan to reduce its annual tax target for the current fiscal year from Rs12,970 billion to Rs12,370 billion.

The FBR is still under pressure despite the revision because its income gap for the first nine months of FY25 has already surpassed Rs700 billion.

For the next fiscal year, the FBR wants to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to 11.2%.

Sources claim that as budget preparations get underway, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have virtual talks.

The projected GDP size for the upcoming fiscal year will be used to calculate the FBR’s target. According to sources, a tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.6% is anticipated for the current fiscal year, and it is already at about 10.8%.

According to sources, a deal has been reached to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio for the upcoming fiscal year by more than 0.5%. The anticipated GDP size will also be used to determine the FBR’s target for the fiscal year 2025–2026.