Jul-Nov revenue grows 15%, but misses target by Tk24,000cr
Experts say the gap between actual collections and the target will widen further in the coming months, and warned that a record shortfall will be seen this year
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) saw revenue collection rise by more than 15% year-on-year in the first five months of FY2025-26, but the tally still missed the target by Tk24,047 crore.
According to statistics published by the NBR, revenue collection during the five-month period stood at Tk148,976 crore against a target of Tk173,023 crore.
In November alone, revenue collection was about Tk6,667 crore below the target.
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However, collections in that month increased by slightly more than 14% compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Experts warn record revenue shortfall as NBR target being raised
NBR officials and experts have blamed the unusually high revenue target for the large gap between actual collections and the target.
They say even the target set in the budget was not realistically achievable, and that the target has recently been increased further.
In this situation, some believe the gap between actual collections and the target will widen further in the coming months, and warned that a record shortfall will be seen this year.
Although revised targets are usually lowered midway through a financial year, this year is an exception, as the government has increased the revenue target for FY2025-26 by Tk55,000 crore, raising it from Tk4.99 lakh crore to Tk5.54 lakh crore.
This means the existing target has been raised by about 11%. Compared to revenue collected in FY2024-25, the new target requires a 49% increase, something some experts believe is practically impossible.
A review of NBR revenue collection data for the past five months shows that average monthly revenue collection stood at Tk34,604 crore. To meet the target, average monthly collections of nearly Tk58,000 crore will be required in the remaining months.
An analysis of the figures shows that VAT collection recorded relatively strong growth of around 22% over the past five months, while import tax collection lagged behind the most, growing by just over 5%. Income tax collection grew by 17%
