FBR Dispenses Rs335.6bn in Refunds and Customs Rebates in 2022-23 Amid Economic Dynamics
Karobar
Islamabad: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has disbursed refunds and customs rebates totaling Rs335.6 billion during the fiscal year 2022-23, marking a notable decrease of 11.4% compared to the previous year's figure of Rs378.92 billion.
The latest FBR data reveals a substantial 68% reduction in income tax refunds for the fiscal year 2022-23 in comparison to the preceding year. Additionally, sales tax refund payments experienced a decrease of 2.9% during this period.
Customs duty rebates, on the other hand, saw a rise of 5.1% in the fiscal year 2022-23 compared to 2021-22.
Sales tax collection reached Rs2,591 billion in 2022-23, marking a Rs59 billion increase from the previous fiscal year. Sales tax contributed approximately 36.2% towards the overall tax collection.
Despite a growth in the sales tax rate from 17% to 18% (25% for luxury items), the overall economic slowdown and fiscal stabilization measures resulted in a modest growth rate of 2.3% during 2022-23.
Sales tax at the import stage constituted over 61% of the overall sales tax collection, experiencing a 7% negative growth attributed to a 5.1% decline in imports. However, the sales tax target was met to the extent of 92.3% during the reviewed period.
Sales Tax Domestic (STD) witnessed a notable increase of 23.2%, amounting to Rs975.1 billion in 2022-23 compared to Rs791.5 billion in 2021-22. Major contributors included sectors such as electrical energy, petroleum products, sugar, cement, natural gas, cigarettes, and aerated beverages, collectively contributing 54% of the sales tax domestic collection.
The share of electrical energy in the sales tax collection increased to 17.8%, making it the leading contributor. The sales tax on local supplies of petroleum products also rose to 12.1% from 9.9% in 2021-22.
Sales Tax on Imports (STM), a vital component of federal tax receipts, recorded a net collection of Rs1,616 billion during 2022-23, reflecting a negative growth of (7.2%). The top 10 commodities in sales tax imports contributed 67% to STM collection. Petroleum remained the leading source with an 18% share, despite a negative growth of (38.7%) in collections from POL products.
