NBR fails to meet revenue collection targets in 3-month

Syed Nasir Hossain: The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is failing to meet revenue collection targets. NBR could not achieve the target of revenue collection in the first quarter or three months of the current (2023-24) financial year i.e. July-September. At this time, despite the growth of 14.34 percent, the revenue deficit stood at Tk 8,195.63 crores. This information is known from NBR sources.
The target of revenue collection for the current financial year has been set at Tk 430,000 crores. And the target of revenue collection in the first quarter was Tk 84,946.93 crore, collected Tk 76,751.30 crore. This income is 14.34 times higher than the same period last year. Tk 67,127.47 crores were collected in the first quarter of last year.
According to the data of the Board of Revenue, the biggest revenue shortfall is in the income tax sector. The deficit in this sector is Tk 3,526.85 crore. Despite the increase in product prices, the deficit in VAT has stood at Tk 2,154.68 crore. And the deficit in import and export duty is Tk 2,514.10 crores.
Compared to last year, VAT has increased by 18.07 percent. The growth in income tax has been 17.47 percent and the growth in customs duties has been 7.45 percent.
According to revenue officials, this growth has been achieved by relying on VAT. The country is experiencing record inflation. And due to inflation, the prices of various products have doubled to several times in certain areas. This has a direct impact on VAT collection. That is why VAT collection has increased at a record rate compared to the last few years.
Those concerned say that although the revenue growth in the customs sector is not good, the customs officials have collected more than 90 percent of the target. The target of revenue collection in the customs sector in the first three months of the current financial year was Tk 26,642 crores. At this time, the customs department collected Tk 24,127.90 crore.
The target of VAT collection in the first three months of the current financial year was Tk 31,136.93 crore. During the period under discussion, the VAT collected was Tk 28,982.25 crores. That is, the amount of revenue shortfall in VAT collection is Tk 2,154.68 crore. In the first three months of the fiscal year, the income tax department’s revenue collection target was Tk 27,168 crore. Income tax department collected Tk 23,641.15 crores during the said period. Income tax officials say that usually the most revenue is collected during the filing of returns. Therefore, income tax officials also think that a little less revenue is collected in the current period.