The collection for the period surpassed the target by about Rs 410 million, which was lower than what was recorded in the past. [break]
Concerned officials have attributed the growth to increased consumption that led to the rise in customs revenue and value added tax (VAT). Ministry of Finance (MoF) in particular attributed the higher collection growth rate to reforms introduced in revenue system the new measures adopted to plug leakages.
As usual, value added tax (VAT) stood as the largest revenue contributor for the government. It generated Rs 33.62 billion in revenue during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, occupying about one-third share in overall collection.
Customs revenue that grew at about 43 percent over the same period last year made the second largest contribution. MoF mobilized Rs 21.91 billion in revenue from customs during the period.
Income tax was the third largest contributor in the period and generated Rs 17.52 billion in revenue. However, the growth of income tax was much slower than what the government wished to achieve.
Moreover, the collection of income tax fell short of the target for the period by over 5 percent. Officials attributed this shortfall to less than expected realization of income tax itself and also slip in collections of house rent tax.
The government managed to post a robust growth in collection of excise duty. Statistics of MoF shows that excise revenue over the first eight months of the fiscal year grew by a hefty 65 percent than the same period last year to Rs 14.84 billion.
Collections from registration fees too grew by 13 percent and touched Rs 3.56 billion, while revenue from vehicle also grew by 20 percent to Rs 1.99 billion during the period.
The government has set a target of collecting Rs 176.50 billion in the current fiscal year. To realize it, the collections need to grow by an average 24 percent over what was mobilized in the last fiscal year.
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