FBR falls short of March tax collection target by over PKR 100 billion

Pakistan's Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has fallen short of its tax revenue collection target for March 2025 by over PKR 100 billion ($355 million), owing to lower-than-expected inflation and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

As of March 27, 2025, the FBR's tax collection stood at PKR 1,100 billion, against a target of PKR 1,220 billion, resulting in a shortfall of over PKR 120 billion.

For the first nine months of the current fiscal year (July-March FY25), the FBR collected PKR 8,444 billion, falling short of the target of PKR 9,167 billion.

The cumulative shortfall in revenue collection from July to March 2025 has surpassed PKR 700 billion, creating a significant challenge for the FBR to meet the revised annual target of PKR 12,334 billion for the ongoing fiscal year.

In an effort to boost revenue collection, the government has directed the FBR to keep its field offices open on Saturday, the last working day of March 2025. Authorities anticipate that this measure will help collect an additional PKR 20 billion.

It is pertinent to note that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised the FBR's annual tax target downward, from PKR 12,913 billion to PKR 12,334 billion.