LAHORE: The Punjab Revenue Authority has collected Rs54.8 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year, its highest-ever collection for the period and an increase of Rs11.5 billion over the same two months a year earlier.
According to an official statement issued by the authority on Wednesday, the figure compares with Rs43.3 billion collected in July and August of the previous fiscal year, a rise of close to 27 per cent.
“For the first time, Rs54.8 billion has been collected during the first two months of a fiscal year,” the PRA spokesperson said, adding that the result was the best for the period in the previous 13 years.
The spokesperson attributed the improvement to the establishment of Special Units and the Large Taxpayer Commissionerate, both set up on the directions of the Chief Minister of Punjab. Large taxpayer units are a standard revenue-administration tool, concentrating audit and enforcement capacity on the small number of filers who account for the bulk of receipts, and the PRA’s two-month numbers are the first full indication of what the new structure has produced.
The statement also carried a warning for the collection chain itself, noting that misappropriation of taxes paid by the public is a punishable offence under the law and that strict action is being taken against those involved in fraudulent practices.
A meeting on monthly revenue targets was held under the chairmanship of PRA Chairman Moazam Iqbal Sipra, who said tax compliance, enforcement and digital tax administration in Punjab would see further significant improvement.
He said digital monitoring and direct payment mechanisms had enhanced transparency in collection and contributed to higher revenue generation. The chairman directed enforcement teams to accelerate field operations and to ensure the timely redressal of public complaints.
The PRA collects sales tax on services, the province’s single largest own-source revenue stream and the one that determines how much of Punjab’s development spending is funded from Lahore rather than from the federal divisible pool. A two-month lead of Rs11.5 billion gives the province early headroom in a year in which provincial surplus commitments remain a live fiscal question.
The test now is whether the July-August pace survives the second quarter, when collection typically flattens and enforcement, not seasonality, decides the number.
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