FBR uncovered 147 billion of tax evasion from July to January

On Friday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced that its Directorate General Intelligence & Investigation-IR uncovered PKR 147 billion of revenue evaded between a period from July to January. The tax authority hailed the achievement as commendable. Further, it revealed that the director-general had sent some 846 investigation reports to the FBR field offices, resulting in uncovering the mass tax evasion. 

The directorate general registered 136 complaints against 175 individuals under the Anti-money laundering act 2010, from Oct 2018 to March 2021, which further revealed an evasion of PKR 50 billion. The FBR also announced a historical boost of 54% in the number of tax collections in the current year.

Moreover, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) also announced that it has collected nearly Rs3.4 trillion in taxes in nine months, exceeding its revised target on the back of a higher collection of indirect taxes that accounted for over 63% of the total revenues pooled by the tax machinery. The FBR has managed to exceed the sales tax and customs duties collection targets but missed the targets of income tax and federal excise duties showed the figures released by the tax machinery on Wednesday.

The FBR said that its net collection for the month of March was Rs475 billion, representing an increase of 46% over Rs325 billion collected in March 2020.

“I commend FBR efforts for achieving historic growth of 41% (actual 46%) in March and the overall collection also increased 10% that reflects broad-based economic revival led by the government’s policies,” tweeted Prime Minister Imran Khan.