FBR’s total collection of windfall tax reaches PKR 34.5 billion

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected PKR 34.5 billion in windfall taxes from banks, including a recent recovery of PKR 11.48 billion.

The FBR successfully recovered PKR 11.48 billion from banks operating in Punjab after the Lahore High Court (LHC) lifted a stay order that had delayed tax collection.

According to an official statement released Friday, seven banks in Punjab have deposited the windfall tax into the national treasury. The contributions are as follows:

• -MCB Bank: Over PKR 3.48 billion
• -Allied Bank: Over PKR 2.95 billion
• -Bank AL Habib: Over PKR 2.94 billion
• -Soneri Bank: Over PKR 1.02 billion
• -Bank of Punjab: PKR 870.2 million
• -MCB Islamic Bank Limited: PKR 149.4 million
• -Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited: Over PKR 52.3 million

With this latest collection, the FBR has made significant progress in its windfall tax campaign, depositing PKR 34.5 billion into the national exchequer in just four weeks.

This development follows a similar ruling by the Sindh High Court (SHC), which lifted its stay order on banks in Sindh three weeks ago. Within 24 hours of the ruling, banks deposited PKR 23 billion in windfall taxes into the FBR’s account.

The windfall tax, introduced in 2023 under Section 99D of the Income Tax Act, targets extraordinary and excessive profits made by banks. Legal challenges from banks had caused prolonged litigation and delays in tax collection.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued special directives to resolve these cases, emphasizing the importance of timely tax collection. He instructed Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General Mansoor Awan, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and FBR Chairman Rashid Langrial to take immediate legal measures to ensure compliance.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was recently informed that the government aims to recover approximately PKR 300 billion from the PKR 4 trillion tied up in court cases.

During a special open cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Sharif stated that the government is working to expedite court decisions in tax cases involving PKR 4 trillion. He directed authorities to recover at least PKR 500 billion from these cases by June.

Attorney General Mansoor Awan assured the cabinet that the legal team would closely monitor the progress.