July 2021 to January 2022: LTO Lahore registers Rs50bn decline in tax collection

LAHORE: The Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Lahore has registered a decline of nearly Rs 50 billion in tax collection during the period July 2021 to January 2022, said reliable sources.

However, both the Corporate Tax Office (CTO) and Regional Tax Office (RTO) have surpassed their targets during the same period, showing impressive growth of 57% and 66% respectively.

While talking to the Business Recorder, the sources from LTO Lahore pointed out that a shortfall in oil and gas sector besides dairy, sugar and beverages sectors led to a substantial dip in revenue collection.

“A reduced rate of sales tax on petroleum products has resulted into a drop in revenue generation,” they said and added that there were also some other factors contributing to a business slowdown in sectors like dairy and beverages etc.

Meanwhile, the sources close to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have pointed out that the revenue target set for the LTO Lahore was “overstretched” and “beyond capacity”, a reason behind the shortfall which the Board has also acknowledged.

So far as CTO Lahore is concerned, it has collected Rs 12 billion during February, 2022, showing a phenomenal growth of 66% over February 2021 collection of Rs 7.25 billion. Earlier, the CTO Lahore has achieved growth of 52% during the first eight months of the current financial year, by collecting Rs91.25 billion up to February 2022 when compared with the collection of Rs 60.24 billion received during the same period of last financial year.

“Tax-wise bifurcation shows that the CTO achieved a growth of 38% under the head of Income Tax and 61% under the head of Sales Tax/FED during the first eight months of current financial year when compared with the collection made during the corresponding period of 2021”, said sources from CTO. It may also be noted that both the CTO and RTO have been pursuing the Point of Sale (POS) integration drive of the Board with dedication and devotion. The efforts have resulted in integration of 157 Tier-1 retailers out of total available stock of 282 pertaining to the jurisdiction of CTO so far.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022