FBR collects Rs11.735tr as sun sets on fiscal year

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs11.735 trillion from July to June in the Fiscal Year 2024-25, compared to the originally approved target of Rs12.97 trillion set by Parliament during last year’s budget, reflecting an overall revenue shortfall of Rs1.235 trillion, provisional figures show.

The tax collection target was revised downward twice -- first in February/March 2025, from Rs12.97 trillion to Rs12.332 trillion, and then during the 2025-26 budget, when it was further reduced to Rs11.9 trillion.

Achieving next year’s tax collection target of Rs14.131 trillion for FY 2025-26, starting July 1, 2025, will be challenging for the FBR, as it failed to meet the base collection of Rs11.9 trillion. This means the revenue authority will have to intensify efforts to reach the upcoming fiscal year’s goal.

Due to this shortfall, the government has limited options but to restrict expenditures to keep the fiscal deficit—particularly the primary balance—within the IMF’s agreed limit for June 2025. Reduced interest payments, initially projected at Rs9.7 trillion for the outgoing fiscal year, were lowered to Rs8.9 trillion, resulting in savings of Rs0.8 trillion.

“The annual tax collection target was ambitiously set at PKR 12.3 trillion, marking a substantial 32 per cent increase compared to the PKR 9.3 trillion collected during FY 2023-24,” a FBR statement said.

It stated the target was formulated based on the assumption of an auton