Target missed, fiscal year budget deficit closes at 7.1%

ISLAMABAD: The government has missed the budget deficit target for the last fiscal year 2020-21 and closed with 7.1 percent deficit against budgeted target of seven percent of the GDP, according to the Finance Ministry’s consolidated federal and provincial fiscal operation.

The fiscal operation released by the Finance Ministry noted that fiscal year was closed with Rs3,403 billion deficit against the budgeted target of Rs3,195 billion, whereas, the primary balance was closed as negative 1.4 percentage of the GDP.

Financing of budget deficit was done by external and domestic resources.

Rs1,338 billion financing was met through external (Net) and Rs2,065 billion through domestic (net), which included bank borrowing of Rs1,869 billion and non-bank borrowing of Rs196 billion.

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Total revenue collection was recorded in the preceding fiscal year Rs6,903.370 billion with tax collection of Rs5,272.699 billion – federal taxes of Rs4,364.302 billion and provincial taxes of Rs508.397 billion.

Non-tax collection stood at Rs1,630.671 billion with federal non-tax collection of Rs1,480.396 billion and Rs150.275 billion.

As per fiscal operation, direct collection in fiscal year 2020-21 was Rs1,731 billion, taxes collection on international trade (custom) was Rs765 billion, from sales tax Rs1,990 billion, and federal excise Rs277 billion.

In non-tax collection, highest amount of Rs650 billion was from surplus profit of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), followed by Rs424 billion on account of petroleum levy, profit PTA and others was Rs39.68 billion, royalty of oil and gas Rs70 billion, Rs22 billion on natural gas and development surcharge and provincial non-tax collection stood at Rs150.275 billion

Total expenditure stood at Rs10,306.691 billion and current expenditure Rs9,084.010 billion of which mark-up payment Rs2,749.729 billion, defence spending Rs1,316 billion and development expenditure and net lending Rs1,315 billion.

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Running of civil government expenses stood at Rs506 billion, subsidies Rs425 billion and grants to others Rs828 billion, and pension Rs440 billion and grants to provinces and others Rs911 billion.

Total public sector development spending was Rs1,211 billion during the last fiscal year – federal Rs441 billion and provincial Rs770 billion, whereas, other development expenditure was Rs27 billion and net lending PSEs Rs77 billion.

Provincial surplus of Rs313 billion included Rs187 billion by Punjab, Rs43 billion Sindh, Rs68 billion Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Rs16.141 billion by Balochistan.

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