Revenue target not met even in seventh month

Kathmandu, March 12 – The government failed to collect revenue according to the target even in the seventh month of the current fiscal year. It has raised Rs 3.47 billion (1.80 percent) less than the target of Rs 192.37 billion in the first seven months. Revenue collection was less than the target by Rs 4.75 billion in the first six months of the year.

The government has set a target of annual revenue growth of 19.76 percent for the current fiscal year but collection is less than the target for the first seven months even though the growth rate for the period is 22.2 percent more than that in the corresponding period last year. Chief of the Revenue Division at the Finance Ministry Rajan Khanal argued that revenue collection has not fallen but the target has not been achieved as a higher target was set for the first few months. “We have failed to meet the target even though revenue collection is growing at a greater rate than the targeted annual rate as we had set a big target for the first six months,” he reasoned and claimed that the target for the year will be crossed if the current growth rate is maintained for the rest of the year.

Customs duty has increased by 18.78 percent to Rs 37.62 billion in the first seven months, value-added tax (VAT) by 18.82 percent to Rs 55.94 billion, excise duty by 20.33 percent to Rs 24.26 billion and income tax by 11.41 percent to Rs 38.52 billion in comparison to the corresponding period last year. The government had increased the limit for income tax waiver to the annual income of Rs 200,000 to unmarried and Rs 250,000 to unmarried individuals through the budget for the current fiscal year. It was Rs 160,000 and Rs 200,000 for unmarried and married individuals earlier. There has been a rise of 40.45 percent in non-tax revenue this year as it has increased to Rs 23.41 billion in the first seven months from Rs 16.67 billion in the corresponding period last year.  

VAT has made the biggest contribution of 30 percent to revenue collected in the first seven months of the current fiscal year followed by customs duty and income tax at 20 each, excise duty 13, and non-tax revenue 12, according to the ministry. 

 

Source: Karobaar