NBR falls short of target by Tk17,170cr in 7 months FY23

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected Tk 1,72,405 crore from income tax, VAT and import duty in the first seven months of FY2022-23, marking around 12 per cent growth compared to the same period FY2021-22.

However, the amount is Tk 17,170 crore less than the target of collecting Tk 1,89,575 crore in revenues during the July-January period, according to data from the government’s Integrated Budget and Accounting System (iBAS++).

It means the board will have to collect Tk 1,97,595 crore in the last five months of the ongoing financial year. But officials fear that NBR may fall around Tk 30,000 crore behind by the end of FY23.

Experts said that the revenue collection situation will become more difficult in the coming days due to government policies taken in a bid to stabilise the economy amid soaring inflation.

NBR officials also said that the revenue deficit is widening due to a slow fund release in government projects due to the foreign exchange crunch and economic headwinds triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.

According to Finance Ministry data, between July and January, NBR collected Tk 8,473 crore less at the import stage, Tk 7,838 crore less in VAT at the local stage and Tk 860 crore less in income and travel taxes.

During this period, NBR collected Tk 61,296 crore from VAT at the local stage, Tk 55,948 crore at the import stage and Tk 55,160 crore from income and travel taxes.

NBR aims to collect Tk 3,70,000 crore in revenues in FY23 but it witnessed a slower revenue collection growth so far. The revenue collection had grown by 18 per cent during the July-January period in FY22 compared to the previous year.

Zahid Hussain, the former lead economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office, said, “The revenue target for NBR is unattainable. Either the economic condition will affect the revenue collection further or stability in the micro and macro-economic perspective will help to boost the revenue collection.

“So, the government has to take decisions steadily. This year, the government, to finance in a bid to meet the budget deficit, borrowed money from the central bank and that may fuel inflation in the coming days.”

The government needs to control financing and government expenditures and adjust to the revenue collection amidst the economic crisis, he said.