ISLAMABAD: The FBR’s tax shortfall has widened to Rs684 billion as the tax collection machinery collected Rs10,261 billion in the first 10 months (July-April) period of the current fiscal year against the fixed target of Rs10,945 billion.
The Gulf War has further aggravated the revenue shortfall as official data shows that the Sales Tax at the import stage has nosedived, making it harder for the FBR to achieve the desired results.
The FBR will have to collect Rs3,718 billion in the remaining two months (May and June) 2026 to materialise the revised target of Rs13,979 billion by the end of June 2026. In April 2026, the FBR made a collection of Rs956 billion so far against the assigned target of Rs1,029, witnessing a revenue shortfall of Rs73 billion in achieving the desired tax collection target.
If the FBR’s tax collection crossed Rs13,000 billion mark and touched Rs13,200 billion, it should be considered an achievement on the part of the tax machinery. The FBR had made request to the IMF for slashing the annual target from Rs13,979 billion to Rs13,400-13,500 billion but the Fund had flatly refused to accommodate the demand.
The Gulf War has negatively impacted the revenue performance of FBR as imports decreased and economic activities also halted, resulting in shrinking revenue collection, said an FBR official. According to the provisional figures, the FBR has made collection of Rs5,142 billion as Income Tax in the first ten months, Rs3,825.5 billion as Sales Tax, Rs672.9 billion as Federal Excise Duty and Rs1,119.5 billion as Customs Duty. Total gross collection stood at Rs10,760.6 billion out of which the FBR paid refunds of Rs498.9 billion, so the net collection remained Rs10,261.7 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year.
