In a meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the CM House, concerns were raised regarding the shortfall in revenue collection by the Sindh Board of Revenue (BOR) over the past three years (2020-2023). Despite a revenue recovery target of Rs100,640 million, only Rs48,526 million was recovered, resulting in a deficit of Rs52,114 million. The CM directed the BOR to explore options for reintroducing abolished taxes and enhance the efficiency of the e-stamping system to improve revenue collection.
Present at the meeting were Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah, PSCM Agha Wasif Abbas, SMBR Baqaullah Unnar, Secretary Finance Fayaz Hussain Jatoi, Member Board of Revenue Abbas Baloch, Special Secretary Finance Nisar Ahmed Memon, and others.
CM Shah emphasized the need for reforms within the BOR to address shortcomings and improve performance. SMBR Baqaullah Unar informed that BOR currently oversees the collection of five taxes, with a target of Rs55,218 million for the current financial year. However, only Rs13,901 million has been collected so far, amounting to 33.57% of the target.
Discussions also revolved around the Water Rate Recovery target, with only Rs74.540 million recovered against a target of Rs805.309 million in 2022-23. Regarding the Agriculture Income Tax (AIT) and Stamp Duty, collections were reported at 44.82% (Rs1,220 million) and 33.24% (Rs12,229 million) respectively, against their respective targets.
CM Shah suggested adjustments to AIT thresholds and assessment periods to align with federal standards and emphasized the need for digitalization of manual procedures in crop inspection and tax assessment.
Addressing concerns about the economic downturn affecting Stamp Duty collections, CM Shah directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to convene a meeting with BOR to review tax collection mechanisms and propose necessary improvements. He instructed the SMBR to submit proposals for revising old tax rates and reintroducing abolished taxes for discussion and approval. Notably, taxes such as the Registration Fee, Capital Value Tax (CVT), and Land Revenue were abolished in previous years but are now under reconsideration for reinstatement.
