According to the Ministry of Finance, the federal government’s net revenue stood at Rs. 5,887 billion, while expenditures surpassed Rs. 8,200 billion. Details of income and expenses for the first six months of the current fiscal year have been released, revealing a budget deficit of Rs. 2,313 billion.
The report states that Rs. 5,141 billion was spent on debt servicing, while only Rs. 164 billion was allocated to federal development projects. Defense expenditures amounted to Rs. 466 billion during this period.
The FBR faced a revenue shortfall of Rs. 384 billion, collecting Rs. 5,625 billion in taxes against a target of Rs. 6,000 billion. The trader-friendly tax scheme also failed to meet its Rs. 23.4 billion target. Non-tax revenue for the July-December period stood at Rs. 3,602 billion.
During the first six months, provinces received Rs. 3,339 billion from the total revenue. To cover the deficit, the government borrowed Rs. 2,313 billion.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has met major IMF conditions for the first half of the current fiscal year. The primary surplus reached Rs. 3,600 billion against a target of Rs. 2,900 billion. The four provinces collectively posted a budget surplus of Rs. 776 billion against a target of Rs. 750 billion and collected Rs. 442 billion in taxes against a target of Rs. 376 billion. Additional revenue is expected from the implementation of agricultural income tax.
According to the Ministry of Finance, over Rs. 549 billion was collected from petroleum levy during the first six months. An IMF delegation is expected to visit Pakistan next month to review the country’s economic performance. Negotiations will take place for the next tranche of $1 billion under the $7 billion bailout package.
