Summary
- For the ongoing fiscal year, the government and IMF have agreed on a tax collection target of Rs15.263 trillion.
- The government has also introduced revenue and enforcement measures worth more than Rs1 trillion in the budget to support the tax authority in meeting its target.
- The FBR collected Rs719 billion in sales tax, surpassing the target by Rs85 billion.
In a notification shared on X, the FBR announced that the deadline for taxpayers required to submit their returns by September 30, 2026, had been extended to October 15, 2026. The decision was taken in response to requests received from trade bodies and tax bar associations.
The FBR has faced pressure to expand Pakistan’s limited tax base and achieve ambitious revenue targets agreed under the country’s programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In recent years, the tax authority has made digitisation and improved taxpayer services key elements of its reform efforts.
For the ongoing fiscal year, the government and IMF have agreed on a tax collection target of Rs15.263 trillion. The target represents a 17.4% increase over collections recorded last year. The IMF has also made meeting revenue targets a binding requirement, with approval of its sixth loan tranche linked to achieving the first-half target.
Provincial governments have committed slightly more than Rs1 trillion in grants to the federal government for defence and water-related projects, conditional on the FBR collecting Rs15.263 trillion in revenue. The government has also introduced revenue and enforcement measures worth more than Rs1 trillion in the budget to support the tax authority in meeting its target.
Provisional figures show that the FBR collected more than Rs685 billion in income tax, falling Rs74 billion below its two-month target. Income tax receipts were also Rs29 billion lower than the same period last year, representing a decline of 4%.
Sales tax collection, meanwhile, exceeded its target for the second consecutive month. The FBR collected Rs719 billion in sales tax, surpassing the target by Rs85 billion. The amount was also 14%, or Rs86 billion, higher than the collection recorded during the corresponding period last year.
Of the total sales tax collection, Rs496 billion, or 69%, came from the import stage. Under the latest budget, the government amended the law to calculate sales tax on market prices rather than factory-gate prices for a range of products. The measure has reduced opportunities for tax evasion but disrupted the value-added tax chain.
Federal excise duty collection reached Rs118 billion, almost matching the target and standing Rs3 billion above last year’s figure. Customs duty revenue amounted to Rs198 billion, slightly below the target and broadly in line with collections recorded a year earlier.
