FBR reports 71% increase in tax filings, total filers reach 5.3 million

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reported a 71% surge in tax return filings for the fiscal year 2023 (FY23), with an additional 2.2 million people submitting returns, raising the total number of filers to 5.3 million.

The deadline for filing income tax returns for the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) has been set for September 30, 2024.

For the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2024-25, the FBR has collected Rs1.456 trillion, falling short of its Rs1.554 trillion target by Rs 98 billion. 

In FY2023-24, the FBR collected Rs9.285 trillion ($33.22 billion), slightly surpassing its revised target of Rs9.252 trillion. 

The income tax segment contributed Rs4.512 trillion, exceeding its target by 21.25%. However, the sales tax collection fell short at Rs3.096 billion, missing the target by 14.16%.

In July this year, Pakistan secured a Staff-Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $7 billion, 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to help stabilise the country’s economy.

The government has set a revenue collection target of Rs12.97 trillion for FY25, marking a 40% increase over the target for FY24.