Revenue collection grows 14.22pc in H1 of FY22

Revenue collection by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) grew by 14.22 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year compared with the same period a year ago.

The NBR collected Tk 1,26,209 crore from July to December of the fiscal year 2021-22, which was Tk 1,10,501 crore in the corresponding period of FY21.

Provisional data shows the six-month collection faced a Tk 17,082 crore shortfall against the target of Tk 1,43,291 crore, with the NBR achieving 88 percent of the target.

Meanwhile, revenue collection increased by 10 percent in December compared to the same month last year. The revenue board collected Tk 25,636 crore in December, marking a shortfall of Tk 4,289 crore against the target of Tk 29,925 crore.

In the first six months of FY22, the NBR collected Tk 39,422 crore in income taxes, up by 14.83 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. But the target was Tk 43,513 crore, meaning there was a shortfall of Tk 4,091 crore.

The NBR’s customs wing collected Tk 40,202 crore till December of this fiscal year, with a 19.5 percent year-on-year growth. But the target was Tk 47,298 crore, meaning the shortfall was Tk 7,096 crore.

Besides, Value Added Tax (VAT) collection grew by 9.54 percent in the first half of the current financial year. Tk 46,586 crore was collected against the target of Tk 52,480 crore, with the NBR realising 88.77 percent of the target.

In the same period of FY21, the customs wing registered a 6.77 percent growth, the tax department 6.66 percent, and the VAT authorities 1.55 percent.

Meanwhile, provisional data shows the revenue board collected Tk 9,724 crore in income taxes in December of FY22, with a 17.21 percent growth.

In the same month, VAT of Tk 8,576 crore was collected with a shortfall of Tk 1,664 crore against the target.

The customs wing collected Tk 7,336 crore that month, which saw a 23.72 percent growth. Data also shows the average revenue collection growth was 11.36 percent during the last five years.

Revenue experts opined that the revenue collection fluctuates every month depending on the economic and political situations.

Former NBR member Md Alamgir Hossain said the growth in the first six months of FY22 was much better than that of previous years.

“Growth and collection will further increase after January and February as companies mainly pay VAT and other related taxes after December,” he said.

He assumes the total FY22 growth will be over 17 percent.

But Policy Research Institute’s Executive Director Dr Ahsan H Mansur thinks revenue realisation has fallen short due to poor VAT collection.

“There are some structural problems in the new VAT law. That is why VAT payers will hardly comply,” he stated.

He also said revenue might increase further if retail taxes were properly collected. The government has set a Tk 3,30,000 crore revenue collection target in the current financial year against the actual realisation of Tk 2,61,000 crore last year.