Prime Minister Imran Khan has commended the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for achieving historic level of tax revenues of Rs4,732 billion during the recently concluded fiscal year 2020-21. In a tweet on Friday, the prime minister said, “I commend efforts of FBR in achieving historic level of tax revenues of Rs4732 bn in 2020-21 – exceeding target of Rs 4691 bn & 18% higher than last year.” He further said that the tax body’s performance is a testament to the ‘strong economic revival spurred by (PTI) government’s policies’. Earlier it was reported that the FBR collected Rs4.725 trillion in taxes in the last fiscal year at a healthy growth rate of 18 percent, which is better than expectations but lower than the original unrealistic tax target.
Unlike in the past when it used to take huge advances and block refunds, this time the machinery did not use arm-twisting measures and instead relied on enforcement tools that helped it still to show double-digit growth.
During fiscal year 2020-21 that ended on June 30, the FBR collected Rs4.725 trillion – up by Rs727 billion or 18% over the collection in the preceding year, said the provisional figures compiled by the FBR. However, the collection fell short by Rs238 billion against the original target of Rs4.963 trillion set at the start of the fiscal year.
It was the third consecutive year that the FBR missed the original target due to setting targets under assumptions that were beyond the FBR’s control. Cumulatively, the PTI government collected Rs2.4 trillion less than the targets it set during its first three years in power.
