Pak FBR wants revision of tax collection target

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of Pakistan has informed the government that the tax collection target should be revised downward by Rs96 billion, slashing down from Rs2,381 billion to Rs2,285 billion if proposed amnesty schemes were not implemented during the current financial year, said sources. “The government has been left with no other option but to promulgate Presidential Ordinance to launch proposed amnesty schemes without wasting time. Earlier, the government was thinking about tabling a bill before the Parliament,” said sources in the FBR. According to official documents of the FBR, the board was expecting to collect Rs96 billion through proposed amnesty schemes. The scrutiny of data of non-filers is underway and it can easily be assumed that around 2.4 million could avail this scheme, of total identified non-filers of four million. For the financial year 2012-13, the FBR has projected a nominal growth of 15.3 per cent by expecting the real GDP growth of 4.3 per cent and inflation at 10.7 per cent. The projection for the large scale manufacturing (LSM) was assumed at 4.1 per cent for 2012-13 but according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), its growth stood at 0.84 per cent till September 12, said the sources. For the FBR’s revenue projection, the imports growth was estimated at 15 per cent for 2012-13 but it declined by 4.7 per cent in August and September. On the basis of collection of Rs1, 883 billion for the last financial year, excluding revenue collected by the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB), with nominal growth of 15.3 per cent in 2012-13, the FBR’s revenue collection would touch Rs2, 171 billion, they said. The FBR took measures of Rs32 billion the eve of budget, while additional revenues of Rs178 billion through administrative measures and proposed amnesty schemes could yield Rs2,381 billion by the end of June 2013. By excluding Rs23 billion account of collection projected by the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) for 2013 as it was not envisaged at the time of the budget preparation, the FBR’s collection would stand at Rs2,358 billion. Sharing details of collecting Rs178 billion additional revenues, the FBR’s documents showed that the board could collect Rs96 billion in the shape of expected amnesty schemes if implemented without wasting time. From Gulftoday