Federal Board of Revenue recorded a revenue shortfall of Rs335 billion after missing its tax collection target for the first half of the current fiscal year, covering July to December, according to sources cited by ARY News.
Officials had set the six-month tax target at Rs6,490 billion. However, the FBR collected Rs6,155 billion during the period, creating a sizeable gap in expected revenue.
Sources said December 2025 alone contributed to a shortfall of nearly Rs25 billion, reflecting continued pressure on collections toward the end of the year.
Despite the overall shortfall, tax receipts showed mixed performance across categories. Income tax collections crossed Rs3,026 billion during the July–December period. Sales tax revenue reached Rs2,086 billion, while federal excise duty generated Rs400 billion.
Customs duty collections exceeded Rs642 billion, providing partial support to overall revenues. During the same period, the FBR paid Rs292 billion in tax refunds, which also weighed on net collections.
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Data also showed a sharp rise in tax return filings, indicating improved compliance. During the first half of the previous fiscal year, around 5.2 million income tax returns were filed. That number increased to more than 7 million returns in the corresponding period of the current fiscal year.
Officials view the increase as a positive sign for long-term economic documentation, even though revenue targets remained unmet.
Earlier, the FBR initiated disciplinary action against six officials found absent from their assigned monitoring duties at sugar mills. The authority suspended the officials with immediate effect, reinforcing its zero-tolerance stance on misconduct.
