Tax revenue lagging by nearly Tk 58,000cr in H1

NN Online:

Bangladesh’s revenue collection fell short by nearly Tk 58,000 crore in the first six months of the fiscal year 2024-25. From July to December, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected Tk 1,56,276 crore against a target of Tk 2,14,000 crore.

The amount is Tk 10,000 crore less than the same period in the last fiscal. The revenue collection in the first six months of the 2023-24 fiscal year was Tk 1,65,630 crore.

Revenue officials say that business and trade were disrupted due to student and public agitation and political unrest in July-August. This has affected revenue collection.

Only one-third or 32.5 per cent of the target revenue was collected in the first six months of the fiscal year.

The NBR has a target revenue collection of Tk 4,80,000 crore in the current fiscal year.

According to NBR sources, the deficit in customs and tax collection against the target in the first six months of the current fiscal year stood at about Tk 57,724 crore.

According to NBR sources, none of the three sectors – imports, VAT and income tax – met the six-month target during July-December.

During this period, the highest deficit was recorded in the income tax sector. The revenue collection target in this sector was Tk 76,670 crore. Against that, Tk 52,162 crore was collected.

On the other hand, in the first six months of the fiscal year, the import duty sector collected Tk 49,800 crore against the target of Tk 61,952 crore.

In July-December, Tk 55,177 crore was collected as VAT. At that time, the target of VAT was Tk 66,317 crore.