Wrong Tax Collection Workings Resulted in October Shortfall

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Asim Ahmad has called for an explanation from two Chief Commissioners of Karachi for misguiding the tax authorities on the commitment to achieving the assigned targets and ultimately resulting in a revenue shortfall during October. A top FBR official told ProPakistani on the condition of anonymity that the issue was raised during the Chief Commissioners conference held at the Large Tax Office (LTO) Karachi. The FBR Chairman wanted to know about the working of tax collection because the shortfall on the Inland Revenue side was due to wrong workings submitted by these Chief Commissioners for the month of October. These Chief Commissioners committed till the last day of October to collect the assigned amount but failed to achieve the assigned targets. The Corporate Tax Office (CTO) Karachi and Medium Tax Office (MTU) Karachi had committed to achieving the assigned target and assured the FBR in this regard. However, the FBR Chairman directed these Chief Commissioners to explain the working of the amount to be collected in October 2022. “Why these Chief Commissioners gave figures which were not achievable and what are the workings behind it,” sources said quoting the FBR Chairman. The domestic sales tax collection has been increased by 30-40 percent but there was a shortfall of Rs. 1 billion on the IRS side, but the shortfall on the customs side was much higher, officials said. The Chief Commissioners of all Regional Tax Offices, Medium Tax Offices (MTOs), and Corporate Tax Offices of Karachi gave detailed presentations to the tax authorities. The conference finalized a strategy to meet the target for the second quarter of the current fiscal year to overcome the revenue shortfall of Rs. 21 billion in October.