ISLAMABAD (MNN); The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has failed to meet its IMF-linked revenue target for the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year, posting a shortfall of Rs336 billion, The News reported on Thursday.
Against the agreed collection goal of Rs6,490 billion for the July–December period, the tax authority managed to raise Rs6,154 billion. Earlier projections had cautioned that the revenue gap could widen further, potentially reaching Rs400–500 billion.
Earlier, the FBR revised its annual tax collection target downward from the Rs14,130 billion approved by parliament to Rs13,979 billion, in accordance with its understanding with the IMF. However, this revised target has yet to receive parliamentary approval.
During December 2025, the FBR collected Rs1,421 billion compared to a set target of Rs1,446 billion, resulting in a shortfall of Rs25 billion for the month.
FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial told The News on Wednesday night that the final figures could rise by a few billion rupees, which would further increase the overall tax collection.
A significant portion of income tax was collected on December 31, 2025, and it remains unclear how much of this amount reflected advance payments by corporate entities aimed at closing the gap with the target.
An IMF mission is scheduled to conduct a virtual review of the FBR’s tax collection performance next week. The Fund has signalled that if revenue gaps widen further, the government and the FBR would be required to introduce contingency taxation measures. However, if current trends continue and the IMF is satisfied, the government may seek permission to offset the shortfall through proportionate cuts in expenditures to stay within agreed primary balance and fiscal deficit limits.
FBR officials rejected claims of any abnormal reliance on advance tax payments, noting that while the corporate sector deposited around Rs305 billion on the final day of December 2025, it had also deposited Rs278 billion during the closing days of the previous fiscal year.
In December 2025, the FBR recorded total collections of Rs1,421.1 billion after issuing refunds worth Rs38 billion. This included Rs828 billion from income tax, Rs434.3 billion from sales tax, Rs72.6 billion from federal excise duty and Rs123.5 billion from customs duty.
