Punjab govt revises collection target of revenue authority

LAHORE: Punjab government has revised revenue collection target of Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) upwards by almost 13 per cent following the performance of the authority which already surpassed the annual revenue target of Rs125 billion fixed in the budget 2020-21.

The PRA in the first 10 months (July-May) of the ongoing fiscal year collected Rs128.25 billion of tax from services sector registering an exponential growth of 295 per cent in the wake of continuation of Covid-19 pandemic. The Punjab government has also given special tax incentives to various sectors to cope with pandemic situation and for revival of the businesses and economy of the province.

According to the provisional collection data released by PRA pointed out that it collected Rs11.25 billion in the month of May 2021 bringing its total collection from July 2020 to May 2021 to Rs128.25 billion with registering a growth of 29.5 per cent. PRA had collected Rs99 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year 2019-20. Thus, the authority has surpassed the original target of Rs125 billion assigned to it for the current financial year. In view of the unprecedented growth shown by Punjab’s premier revenue collecting agency despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government has now revised the budget estimate for the authority to Rs141.2 billion.

Punjab Revenue Authority spokesperson has said that the team was confident of achieving the revised target, which would require a collection of Rs12.9 billion in the month of June against Rs9.5 billion collected in June 2020. The collection for May is expected to increase once the civil accounts are finalised.

PRA spokesperson said the figures were clear evidence that the Punjab government’s policy of revenue collection through facilitation and stakeholder involvement had been successful. She said although the rates of sales tax on services for more than 25 services had been reduced through the Finance Act, 2020 to provide relief to the services sectors affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the authority had managed to counter the effects of the reduction and show an increase in revenue through a policy of collaboration with the stakeholders.

She said there was still a long way to go for the authority to achieve its full potential but the figures show that they are on the right track, and the workforce is motivated and geared up to achieve the revised target for 2020-21 and further improve their performance in the next financial year.