Provinces collect 17pc more GST in first quarter

KARACHI: The provinces collection from the general sales tax on services increased 17 percent to Rs51.77 billion in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year, finance ministry data showed.

The provinces had collected Rs44.12 billion under the same head during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The GDP growth for the current fiscal year has been projected to decelerate to 2.4 percent.

Punjab collected Rs23.37 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, showing a growth of 19.28 percent, compared with Rs19.84 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

However, in terms of volume, Sindh increased the revenue collection to Rs22.92 billion, compared with Rs20.64 billion, registering 11.06 percent growth, while Balochistan lead the collection figures as far as percentage is concerned, as it posted 44 percent growth to reach Rs1.96 billion, compared with Rs1.64 billion last year.

The revenue authority of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa posted 41.33 percent growth to Rs3.22 billion during the period under review, compared with Rs2.28 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year, the data revealed.

The provinces had started collection of sales tax on services after the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 2010.

The Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) was the first provincial authority to start sales tax collection on services using local resources; followed by Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

However, the federal government is planning to establish Pakistan Revenue Authority (PRA) under the latest reforms programme. The federal government is considering making a national portal for payment of all taxes, including collected by the provinces.

The overall collection of provincial taxes during the first quarter increased 18 percent to Rs104.5 billion from Rs88.62 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.

Under the head of property tax, the collection registered significant growth of 214 percent, as it reached Rs7.79 billion during the period under review as against Rs2.48 billion last year.

This growth was mainly due to increase in property valuation by the federal government during the last fiscal year.

The collection of motor vehicle tax by the provinces slipped 4.4 percent to Rs6.66 billion, compared with Rs6.97 billion last year.