CM directs excise dept to achieve recovery targets

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday presided over a meeting of the excise, taxation and narcotics control department to review their revenue recoveries.

He found that there had been a shortfall of Rs19,977 million in their revenue recoveries in the last nine months of the current financial year 2023-24. The finance department shared the collection data of the excise & taxation department for the last three years, from 2020-21 to 2022-23. It was discovered that they were supposed to collect Rs335,200 million, but they only managed to collect Rs287,604 million, resulting in a shortfall of Rs47,596 million.

The CM expressed his disappointment and directed the excise and taxation department to focus on improving their recoveries. He also advised them to explore new taxation regimes, improve the old tax rates, and concentrate on professional tax and provincial excise that have a massive potential.

The meeting was attended by Excise Minister Sharjeel Memon, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Principal Secretary to the CM Agha Wasif, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, Excise Secretary Saleem Rajput, Special Secretary Finance Nisar Memon and others.

It was said that during the last nine months of the current financial year 2023-24, the excise department had recovered Rs87,478 million but the department's target for the same period was Rs107,455 million, showing a shortfall of Rs19,977 million. The excise and taxation minister briefed the CM on the recovery of several taxes and fees, including professional tax, provincial excise duty, motor vehicles tax, cotton fee, infrastructure cess, entertainment duty and others. It is worth mentioning that the property tax has been devolved to local councils.