Pakistan unlikely to meet half-yearly revenue target set by IMF

Pakistan's tax department — the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) — is unlikely to meet the six-month tax collection set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.

The IMF had asked Pakistan to collect around PKR 6,009 billion in taxes during the first half of fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25). However, the FBR managed to collect only around PKR 5,500 billion, amounting to a shortfall of PKR 509 billion.

Sources informed Nukta that the FBR has estimated it will collect up to PKR 1,225 billion in tax revenue for December, falling short of the assigned target of PKR 1,373 billion for the month.

This would mark the fourth consecutive month in the current fiscal year where Pakistan's tax authorities failed to achieve the monthly targets.

Under the Extended Fund Facility, the government had agreed with the IMF that it would take seven new taxation measures during FY25 in case revenue collection fell short of the projected target by 1% during the current fiscal year.

Sources said that the FBR's short-term measures aimed at curbing the tax revenue shortfall are not yielding the desired results. During the second quarter of the current fiscal year, the FBR had issued notices to 5,000 high-net worth individuals, who were non-filers, to boost revenue collection.