Karachi: Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Khurram Schehzad, has stated that the government is not planning to take any extraordinary measures to increase tax collection, and reports circulating in the media in this regard are inaccurate.
In a statement posted on his social media platform, Khurram Schehzad described media reports regarding a tax collection shortfall as misleading and contrary to the facts.
The finance adviser said that, in light of the actual facts, there is no need for any extraordinary measures. He urged the business community, investors, industries, and taxpayers to remain assured that sensational claims of a massive revenue gap do not reflect the true fiscal position. There is no basis for concerns about additional or extraordinary tax collection or enforcement measures on account of the alleged shortfall. Similarly, speculation regarding extraordinary revenue or enforcement actions during the final month of the fiscal year is also unjustified.
Khurram Schehzad noted that some media outlets have reported an Rs864 billion tax shortfall against the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) original revenue target of Rs14.13 trillion set at the beginning of fiscal year 2025-26.
Explaining the revenue collection situation, he said that the FBR collected Rs994 billion in May, achieving 97 percent of its monthly target. Tax collections during the first eleven months of the fiscal year amounted to Rs11.257 trillion. Against the eleven-month target, the FBR achieved 99.8 percent (effectively 100 percent) of the target by collecting Rs11.257 trillion.
Providing further clarification, Khurram Schehzad explained that tax targets are established before the start of a fiscal year on the basis of various macroeconomic assumptions, including GDP growth, inflation, expected imports, industrial production, the exchange rate of the Pakistani rupee, and the State Bank of Pakistan’s policy interest rate. However, economic conditions do not remain constant throughout the year, and planned projections are often affected by changing economic circumstances. Therefore, the government continuously reviews these assumptions and adjusts fiscal projections accordingly.
In this context, and in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the original revenue target was revised downward to approximately Rs13 trillion to better reflect evolving economic realities. These factors included fluctuations in inflation, a stronger exchange rate (below Rs280 per US dollar compared to the budget assumption of Rs296 per dollar), changing growth dynamics, domestic challenges such as floods and climate-related impacts, and international geopolitical developments, including the US-Iran conflict and the resulting increase in energy and commodity prices.
Such revisions are a routine part of fiscal management and are intended to ensure that revenue and expenditure projections remain aligned with prevailing economic conditions.
Khurram Schehzad emphasized that these facts do not support claims of a revenue collapse, fiscal crisis, or a massive tax shortfall. He added that the revenue target for June 2026 is based on the revised fiscal framework, not on outdated figures still being cited by some sections of the media.
The FBR collected Rs1.502 trillion in June 2025, while the target for June 2026 has been set at Rs1.727 trillion, representing a 15 percent increase over the previous year. According to him, this target remains fully consistent with achieving the revised annual revenue goal.
