Al Amin :
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is deviating far from its ambitious revenue collection target as the income deficit is likely to be one trillion in the current fiscal year.
The tax collector receipt Tk 1,08,471.71 crore against the revised target of Tk 1,41,225.11 crore in the last July-December period of the current fiscal year and it trailed the half yearly target by Tk 32,753.40 crore and yearly target by 67.13 per cent to Tk 2,21,528.29 crore.
It is estimated that the revenue collection is likely to reach at Tk 2.3 trillion at the end of the current fiscal year against the target of Tk 3.3 trillion.
The revenue collection growth is 2.10 per cent in the last six months which was 8.26 per cent in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The collection growth was 2.23 per cent in customs, 9.92 per cent in VAT and 12.48 per cent in income tax sector in the same period of the last year. Slow economic activities amid Covid-19 pandemic, lack of proper automation, NBR’s structural problemmes are the vital reasons behind the deficit, experts opined.
The state’s coffer receipt Tk 33,608.85 crore from the Customs Duty against the half yearly target of Tk 46197.19 crore and the deficit is Tk 12,588.34 crore. The revenue collection growth is 6.66 per cent. Yearly target is Tk 95652.00 crore.
Syed Aminul Kabir, former member of the NBR, told The New Nation yesterday that the reason behind the deficit is imports of capital machineries and luxuries goods were very low in the recent months.
In Value-Added Tax (VAT), the biggest source of revenue, the NBR has earned Tk 40624.22 crore against the in first six months target of Tk 528873 crore with the negative growth 3.36 per cent. The half yearly deficit is Tk 12213.71 crore and 68.48 per cent behind from the yearly target. The yearly target in the sector is Tk 128873 crore.
Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), said that the negative revenue collection growth in VAT sector is showing that the domestic economic activities are yet to be accelerated as expected.
“This is a reflection of a gradually slowing economy,” he said, adding, “This is also a reflection of lack of reform and badly managed reform effort for VAT.”
“VAT collection definitely will be increased, if NBR reduces VAT rate. People don’t want to pay VAT as rate is high,” he opined.
Mansur further said the policies of the government to meet the ambitious revenue collection target have not worked amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Revenue collection deficit is a common scenario in our country due to NBR’s structural problemmes. But, this year the deficit is going be bigger for slow economic activities,” he said.
Structural reform must be needed as permanent solution and the government should take initiative right now, he added.
Meanwhile, the tax collector earned Tk 34238.64 crore from income tax sector against the target of Tk 42189.99 crore during the time with 4.73 per cent growth. The gap between collection and target is Tk 7951.35 crore.
“The ratio of the revenue collection is hopeful for the country’s economy. The collection from income tax and VAT may increase in the next second half,” Aminul Kabir said.
