Pakistan’s federal revenue collection posted a robust 27% increase last fiscal year, fuelled by structural reforms, digital oversight of key sectors and tighter action against tax evasion, Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told the National Assembly on Monday.
Responding to lawmakers’ concerns over weak revenue performance, the minister said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs11.7 trillion, up from Rs9.2 trillion a year earlier — an unprecedented rise of nearly Rs5 trillion.
He said withholding tax collections grew 28%, sales tax 26%, federal excise duty 33% and customs duty 16% during the year.
Aurangzeb described the gains as “structurally driven rather than one-off,” noting that Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio had improved from 8.5% to 10.3%. He said the ratio was expected to reach 11% this year due to automation and weekly technology-driven reviews led by the prime minister.
The minister highlighted a significant shift toward compliance, reporting nearly Rs200 billion in collections from retailers and wholesalers, along with 400,000 non-null returns, which he called a major enforcement milestone. Digital production monitoring also began in the sugar and cement sectors.
Between July and November, digital tracking yielded an additional Rs7 billion from the sugar sector and Rs10 billion from cement manufacturers, he said.
“These reforms will continue. Technology is the great equaliser,” Aurangzeb told the House, encouraging lawmakers to share intelligence on suspected evasion as enforcement widens across sectors.
