FBR faces Rs111 billion revenue shortfall in July-November

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday replaced top five members of the apex tax authority as it irked over the abysmal fall in revenue collection in the first five months of the current fiscal year of 2018/19.

The FBR envisaged tax collection of Rs1.479 trillion in the July-November period. And, the revenue shortfall stood at Rs111 billion during the period.

In November, the provisional collection stood at Rs250 billion as against the envisaged target of Rs313.240 billion, depicting a shortfall of around Rs63 billion.

It is not yet to be known how the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government would achieve its desirable budget deficit target of 5.1 percent of GDP for FY2019, keeping in view the massive tax as well as non-tax revenue shortfalls.

The budget deficit climbed to 1.4 percent of GDP in the first three months of the current fiscal as against 1.2 percent in the corresponding period of the last Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)-led government.

With this level of budget deficit in the first quarter, the overall budget deficit might cross seven percent of GDP if the government does not take remedial measures on immediate basis in weeks and months ahead, the analysts said.

Five members of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), including Member Inland Revenue Service (IRS) Operation Habib Ullah Khan, Member IR Policy Mohammad Iqbal, Member Human Resource Development Nadeem Dar, Member Information Technology Khawaja Adnan Zaheer and Member Administration Tasneem Rehman have been replaced with immediate effect, according to an official statement.

The statement further said Habibullah Khan has now been posted as Senior Joint Secretary Science and Technology Division, Nadeeem Dar as Member Federal Land Commission, Mohammad Iqbal as Senior Joint Secretary Industries Production Ministry, Khawaja Adnan Zaheer as Director General Wafaqi Mohtasib Lahore and Tasneem Rehman as Director General Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development.

Insiders believed that the government made the major reshuffling after the cabinet approved separation of policy from administration affairs in the FBR.

Minister for Finance Asad Umar told media that the cabinet approved the separation and then formed a committee under his chairmanship to finalise modalities for the period of transition. There were indications that the government might also replace other top men in the FBR, but many believed that the old team into the FBR was posted out altogether with the single move.

The government also granted another extension for filing of income tax returns to December 15 from November 30 as the FBR so far received returns of more than one million as against 1.6 million a year earlier.