Rs83bn revenue shortfall from cigarette industry expected

ISLAMABAD: Despite hiking excise duty by 200 percent, the FBR is expected to face a mammoth revenue shortfall of Rs83 billion in achieving its desired tax collection target from the cigarette industry during the current financial year. The FBR has fetched Rs161 billion in the shape of federal excise duty (FED) from the cigarettes industry till May 15, 2023, and it is likely to collect a maximum of Rs16 billion more till the end of June 2023, expecting a total revenue collection from cigarette industry to Rs177 billion for the outgoing financial year.

The government had envisaged collecting Rs200 billion from the cigarettes industry but after hiking 154 percent in the FED, the government set the additional tax collection of Rs60 billion jacking up the overall tax collection target to Rs260 billion. The industry sources said that the FBR could maximum collect Rs177 billion so there would be an expected shortfall of Rs83 billion in materializing the desired target of Rs260 billion.