FBR misses tax collection target for July-January FY2026

2026-02-01 - 08:46

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has fallen short of the tax collection target for the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Against the assigned target of Rs 7,521 billion for July 2025 to January 2026, the FBR has collected Rs 7,176 billion, showing a shortfall of Rs 345 billion. The FBR has collected Rs 7,176 billion in the first seven months of the current FY 2026, as against Rs 6,490 billion last year. According to data shared by the FBR, tax collection in January 2026 was Rs1,015 billion, against the set target of Rs1,030 billion, resulting in a shortfall of Rs15 billion. However, tax collection during the month showed growth of 16 per cent on month on month basis, surpassing the six-month average growth of 10 to 11 per cent. The provisional collection stood at Rs 1015 billion as compared with last year’s collection of Rs.873 billion. Last month witnessed a significant increase in direct taxation and modest growth in indirect and excise collections. The Income tax collection reached Rs 483 billion as against Rs 381 billion in the previous year, a massive 26 per cent growth. This increase is due to the structural impact of the FBR’s reforms, especially enhanced enforcement measures and coordinated efforts to realise the collection stuck in litigation. Sales tax collections in January stood at Rs 360 billion as against Rs 322 billion, reflecting 12 per cent growth over the previous year. It hinted at improvement in large-scale manufacturing growth, which is an encouraging development. The FBR is optimistic that the growth recovery trends in LSM will continue, which will help it in achieving the revenue targets for the current fiscal year. By leveraging digital infrastructure and the collection through enforcement measures, FBR is improving compliance, expanding and deepening the tax net, and fostering taxpayer trust.