Saturday holiday abolished in FBR offices

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has abolished Saturday holiday in its offices across the country, ARY News reported.

According to FBR, the decision is part of a ‘broader’ strategy to meet the revenue collection target set for the fiscal year 2024-25.

In this regard, a formal directive has been issued to all Chief Commissioners, directing them to strictly adhere to official working hours and consider Saturdays as normal working days.

The FBR has abolished Saturday holidays in all tax offices till June 30, 2025. The FBR urged all its offices to adopt a comprehensive strategy that focuses on maximum revenue collection to meet the target.

It is worth noting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently allowed Pakistan to reduce its annual tax target for the current fiscal year from Rs12,970 billion to Rs12,370 billion.

Despite the revision, the FBR continues to face pressure, as its revenue shortfall for the first nine months of FY25 has already reached Rs700 billion.

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

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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.