The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has fallen short of its tax collection target for March 2025 by over Rs100 billion, according to figures released on March 27.
By this date, the FBR had collected Rs1.1 trillion, significantly below the Rs1.22 trillion target, marking a shortfall of more than Rs120 billion.
For the first nine months of the fiscal year (July-March), the total revenue collected amounted to Rs8.44 trillion, falling short of the Rs9.17 trillion target. This leaves a deficit of approximately Rs723 billion for the current fiscal period.
The shortfall is raising concerns about the FBR’s ability to meet the revised annual tax collection target of Rs12.33 trillion for FY25. Meeting this goal will be a major challenge, given the existing revenue gap, officials say.
In a bid to bridge the gap, the government has instructed the FBR to keep its field offices open on Saturday, the last working day of March. Authorities are hoping to collect an additional Rs17 to Rs20 billion in the remaining days of the month.
It is worth noting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also lowered the FBR’s annual tax collection target, reducing it from Rs12.91 trillion to Rs12.33 trillion.
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