New Age
Jasim Uddin | Jul 06,2020
Revenue collection growth of the National Board of Revenue nosedived in the negative terrain for the first time in history in the just completed fiscal year 2019-2020 due mainly to the adverse impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.
According to the primary data obtained, the revenue board managed to collect 2,15,400 crore in FY20, down by 3.79 per cent, or 8,492 crore from Tk 2,23,892 crore collected in FY19.
Revenue collection also fell Tk 85,100 crore short of the revised target set at Tk 3,00,500 crore for FY20.
The original NBR revenue collection target was Tk 3,25,600 crore for the fiscal year.
Revenue collection on an average grew by 14 per cent in the last five years.
Officials said that overall revenue collection might slightly increase by the end of the month when the final collection figures, particularly those of VAT collection, would arrive from the field-level offices.
They said that the negative growth in revenue collection was not unexpected at all based on the ground reality as economic activities, including production, consumption, import and export, had witnessed a standstill since March following the general holiday and movement restriction the government declared to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Both value-added tax and customs duty collections fell by 6.86 per cent and 4.39 per cent while income tax collection saw a very marginal growth of 0.41 per cent, they added.
According to the data, VAT collection stood at the highest Tk 81,600 crore followed by income tax collection at Tk 73,200 crore and customs duty collection at Tk 60,600 crore in FY20.
In the previous FY19, VAT collection amounted to Tk 87,610 crore, income tax collection to Tk 72,900 and customs duty collection to Tk 63,382 crore.
Policy Research Institute executive chairman Ahsan H Mansur said that the shortfall in revenue collection with negative growth was not unexpected under the prevailing circumstances.
He, however, said that the revenue board received Tk 35,000 crore less due to the adverse impacts of COVID-19, attributing the remaining amount in shortfall to the NBR’s incapacity and the ambitious target set by the government.
He said that the amount of revenue collection might drop again after reconciliation by the finance ministry.
There have been cases of double counting at the NBR’s end in the past while it may also exaggerate the figure to get growth credit, he added.
The revenue board, however, predicted a negative growth due to the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on the economy.
NBR chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem in a letter sent to finance secretary Abdur Rouf Talukdar in June said that it could hardly collect Tk 2.20 lakh crore in the year.
