LTO Karachi collects Rs1.26trln in July-April

KARACHI: Revenue collection by Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Karachi grew 20 percent in first ten months of this fiscal year mostly owing to improved corporate earnings following reopening of economy, data showed on Friday.

According to latest statistics , the LTO Karachi collected Rs1.266 trillion during July–April 2020/2021 as compared with Rs1.052 trillion in the same period last fiscal year.

LTO Karachi is the largest revenue collecting arm of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). It contributes around 35 percent of the total revenue collected at national level. This contribution becomes 40 percent excluding the collection of customs duty.

The FBR collected net revenue of Rs3,780 billion during July-April 2020/2021 compared with Rs3,320 billion during the same period of the last year, showing an increase of 14 percent.

The gross collection of the LTO Karachi increased 23 percent to Rs1,344 billion during the first ten months of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs1,093 billion in the same months of the last fiscal year.

However, the tax office released an amount of Rs77.67 billion as refunds during July–April 2020/2021 compared to Rs41 billion issued in the corresponding period last fiscal year, showing an increase of 91 percent.

The head-wise revenue collection showed the LTO Karachi collected Rs193.23 billion as direct taxes during the first ten months of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs165.56 billion in the corresponding months of the last year, showing an increase of 17 percent.

Officials at the LTO Karachi attributed this increased to improved annual and quarterly profits of companies.

The LTO Karachi released income tax returns to the tune of Rs49.34 billion during the period under review.

The collection of sales tax on both domestic and imported supplies increased 23 percent to Rs1,022 billion during first 10 months of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs832 billion in the same period last fiscal year.

The officials said the ease in lockdown restrictions during the period improved the domestic manufacturing and supply of imported products. They however said that the restrictions imposed by the government due to spread of coronavirus in the third wave may hamper the revenue collection efforts.

The LTO Karachi issued sales tax refunds to the tune of Rs28 billion during the period under review.

The tax office collection increased 68 percent to Rs140 billion in April 2021 as compared with Rs83 billion in the same month of the last year.