PRA records 21% growth in January

LAHORE:Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) has achieved a record tax collection of Rs22.21 billion in January 2025 under Punjab Sales Tax against Rs18.39 billion in January 2024, reflecting a 21 percent growth.

The PRA collected Rs142 billion in tax revenue during the current fiscal year, marking a 12 percent increase compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Punjab Sales Tax witnessed a 10 percent growth, while Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess grew by 30 percent, and Punjab Workers Welfare Fund saw a 46 percent increase during the same period. Notably, no new taxes or tax rate increases were introduced this fiscal year. Instead, PRA continued to achieve its tax targets through stakeholder engagement, taxpayer awareness workshops, and tax base expansion. The authority remains optimistic about surpassing this year’s tax target as well.

A major step towards modernisation, IRIS, an advanced tax return filing system, was introduced to enhance transparency and facilitate a paperless office environment. Furthermore, the integration of PRA’s Electronic Invoice Monitoring System with FBR’s Point of Sale (POS) system is expected to streamline access to tax data. The Single Sales Tax Return has also been extended to Oil & Gas, Microfinance banks, insurance, and banking sectors, with further expansion planned. To facilitate taxpayers further, PRA, with the support of the Punjab government, is set to introduce the Single Sales Tax Return facility for other interprovincial business sectors.

Additionally, PRA has devised a strategy to tighten monitoring on unregistered taxpayers in collaboration with the Punjab government. Additional Deputy Commissioners (General) at the district level and Assistant Commissioners at the tehsil level will collect data on unregistered entities, ensuring their identification and inclusion in the tax net.