PM Imran commends FBR for ‘record’ tax collection

ISLAMABAD, JUL 02 (DNA) – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday appreciated the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) efforts for collecting ‘record’ tax revenues in the last financial year (FY) 2020-21, totaling Rs.4732 billion, 18 percent higher than the previous financial year.

In a tweet, the prime minister said by collecting such a huge amount, the Board exceeded the target of Rs4,691 billion it had set for the last fiscal year. Towards the end, the prime minister claimed that this performance was a proof of strong economic revival spurred by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government policies.

Meanwhile, according to the initial details the FBR has released record 18 percent increase was witnessed in revenues collection in the preceding FY, 2020-21 than the previous year. The Board collected total Rs4,732 billion in the year under review which was Rs41 billion more than Rs4,691 billion, the target set for that year.

The tax collection authority, in its statement, has said that Rs568 billion were collected in June during the financial year 2020-21; which marks 26 percent increase on the amount collected in the same month in the last FY, which was Rs451 billion.

The Board says that the increase witnessed in tax collection in June besides 18 percent more tax collection during the entire financial year was unprecedented. Furthermore, the FBR says in its statement that refunds totaling Rs251 billion were released in the year under review which stood at Rs135 billion in the preceding year, registering an increase of 86 percent.

The statement discloses that 3.01 million people filed tax returns till June 31, 2021, while during the last financial year, 2019-20, 2.67 million people had filed the returns. “Thus 12.5 percent more people filed tax returns during the FY 2020-21 while total tax paid stood at Rs52 billion, which was Rs34 billion during the last FY; hence showing the increase of 52 percent,” the statement reads.

“Apart from that 11100 point of sale terminals have been attached with FBR’s reporting system,” the statement says. On the performance of Pakistan Customs, the FBR statement says it collected Rs742 billion in customs duty during the FY 2020-21, exceeding the target of Rs640 billion.

 “Hence Rs102 billion or 16 percent more amount was collected as compared to the last year,” it says, and adds, “In June, Rs83 billion were collected in customs duty while the target was Rs75 billion; hence 12 percent increase on the duty collected in the same month during the preceding year was witnessed.”

Furthermore, the Board statement says, Rs117 billion more customs duty was collected during the FY 2020-21 as compared to the previous FY, which shows an increase by 18 percent. “In June, 2021, smuggled goods of worth Rs3.7 billion were seized while in the entire year goods of worth Rs57.7 billion were confiscated, which were worth Rs36 billion in the previous financial year; thus showing an increase of 58 percent,” it informs.

The FBR statement claims that Directorate General Intelligence and Investigation performed exceptionally well during the financial year under review as it sent 1608 inquiry reports as well as red alerts about amounts worth Rs244 billion to the Board’s departments.

Similarly, the Directorate General Intelligence and Investigation registered 71 complaints under Anti-money Laundering Act, 2010. “The directorate also seized 8, 754 cartons of cigarettes,” the statement concludes. = DNA

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