The minister said this while chairing a preparatory meeting with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials for the upcoming budget for FY 2017-18.

The Finance Minister emphasized that strong revenue generation would play a crucial role in achieving the targets for economic growth.

He highlighted that great strides have been made in tax collections under the present government, and the aim was to generate even higher revenues in the coming fiscal year, said a press statement issued by the ministry.

The Minister instructed FBR officials to finalize their budget work as early as possible according to the prescribed timelines.

Chairman FBR, Dr. Muhammad Irshad informed the Finance Minister that FBR's budget preparations were in their final stages, and would be completed in a timely manner as per the directions of the Finance Minister.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue, Haroon Akhtar Khan, Finance Secretary, Chairman FBR, and senior officials of FBR and the Ministry of Finance also attended the meeting.

Minister of State for IT & Telecom, Anusha Rehman Khan, Secretary IT & Telecom, and senior officials of the Ministry of IT & Telecom, also joined the meeting briefly to discuss tax-related proposals of the IT and Telecom sector, the statement added.