The Ministry of Finance has set targets for the Department of Customs and the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD) to collect revenue for the fiscal year 2023-24.
The ministry has informed that the revenue target presented through the budget for the current fiscal year has been divided into two departments.
According to the ministry, the revenue target has been set at Rs 600 billion 500 million for the Department of Customs and Rs 500 billion 980 million for the IRD.
Now these two departments have to set revenue targets for their subordinate offices. The customs offices and tax offices will collect revenue, accordingly. But it is estimated that it will be very difficult to meet this goal. The target for this year has been fixed around the same as last fiscal year.
Last year too, the revenue collection was 450 billion less than the target. Even in the current financial year, import of goods and domestic production and marketing are not enthusiastic and revenue is estimated to decrease.
In the current financial year, the government has set a target of collecting 1 trillion 248 billion rupees from its reliable sources of revenue collection. Targets are allocated accordingly.
But the revenue of the customs department is continuously decreasing. As a result of which, in the last fiscal year, the government was supposed to collect 1 trillion 430 billion rupees, but only 957 billion rupees were collected.
Last fiscal year, the Department of Customs, which had set a target of collecting 668 billion rupees in revenue, could only collect 391 billion rupees. The Department had collected revenue of 506 billion rupees in the fiscal year 2021-22.
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) collected more revenue than the Department of Customs. This shows that the revenue collection from import of goods is very low.
In its entirety, the total revenue target for the current financial year has been slightly increased. Last financial year was 1 trillion 403 billion, this year's target is 1trillion 422 billion. For the current financial year, the government has announced a budget of 1 trillion 751 billion rupees.
What are the resources?
According to the resource assessment made by the Ministry of Finance for the current financial year 2023-24, 1 trillion 248 billion 620 million will be collected from revenue and 49 billion 940 million from foreign grants. Even after that, there will be a shortfall of 452 billion 750 million rupees.
To make up this deficit, 212 billion 750 million rupees will be collected from foreign loans. In case the budget remains insufficient after the revenue mobilization and foreign grants, it will be covered through internal loans.
The target is revised every year
Every year, through the mid-term review, the Ministry of Finance has been revising both revenue and expenditure targets. The target of both expenditure and revenue was revised in the last fiscal year as well.
Last year, the federal government had set a target of collecting revenue of 1 trillion 403 billion 140 million. Through the mid-term review, the target was reset at 1 trillion 244 billion 750 million.
