FBR faces Rs110bn revenue shortfall in April 2025

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reported a revenue shortfall of Rs 110 billion in April, missing its target of Rs 963 billion and collecting Rs 850 billion instead.

The FBR has however managed an impressive 30% year-over-year income rise in spite of this shortage, with total revenues from July to April surpassing Rs 8,500 billion.

With a target of Rs 10,130 billion for the period, the income gap from July to April is Rs 815 billion. Rashid Mahmood Langrial, the chairman of the FBR, credited the development to a notable rise in tax revenues, namely in the areas of income tax and sales tax.

According to officials, income tax collections rose by 44 percent, while sales tax collections increased by 17 percent.

Federal Excise Duty and Customs Duty also recorded impressive growth rates of 31 percent each.

The FBR has set a target to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio to 11.2% for the upcoming fiscal year.

According to sources, virtual discussions are held between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as preparations for the budget are underway.

The FBR’s target will be determined based on the estimated GDP size for the next fiscal year. For the current fiscal year, a tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.6% is expected to be achieved, with the ratio already reaching approximately 10.8%, sources added.

Sources revealed that an agreement has been reached to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio by more than 0.5% for the next fiscal year. For the fiscal year 2025-26, the FBR’s target will also be set based on the projected GDP size.