Finance Minister’s worry for failing to meet revenue target
By Our Reporter
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel seems worried about the poor revenue collection.
It is evident from his frequent instructions to the concerned government officials to carry out their works effectively to collect tax as per target.
Addressing a programme organised on the occasion of the ‘National Tax Day, 2081’ recently, he said that the performance of the Inland Revenue Department and the subordinate offices must not be slow off the mark. Minister Paudel also expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the Department and its subordinate bodies. “Be more serious to achieve revenue target,” Paudel said.
The Minister’s concerns look relevant considering the revenue amount collected in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Only around Rs. 323.27 billion has been collected in the first four months of the current fiscal year 2024/25.
According to the daily report of the Financial Comptroller General Office under the Ministry of Finance, the revenue collection of the government stands at Rs. 323.27 billion which is 22.78 per cent of the annual target (Rs. 1,419.30 billion).
Out of this, tax revenue stood at Rs. 289.92 billion or 22.58 per cent of the target and non-tax revenue stood at Rs. 33.35 billion or 24.69 per cent of the annual target.
Of the total revenue collection target of Rs 1,419.3 billion, the target has been set to collect Rs. 1,284.2 billion under tax revenue and Rs. 135.09 billion under non-tax revenue in the current fiscal year.
However, revenue collection has increased by 16 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last fiscal year 2023/24. But it is not enough to meet the increasing expenditure.
During the review period of the current fiscal year 2024/25, no grant amount was received.
The government has set a target to receive Rs. 52.32 billion in grants in the current fiscal year.
However, the government has obtained Rs. 5.77 billion under other recipients in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
During the review period, the total income of the government stood at Rs. 329 billion. This is 22.36 per cent of the annual receipt target of the government.
During the review period, the government has spent around Rs. 415 billion. The government is in deficit in the first four months of the current fiscal year due to higher expenses than the total income.
The government budget is in deficit of Rs. 86 billion during the review period. During the review period, there has been a deficit in the budget due to less revenue collection than the target.
The government has spent only 22.31 per cent budget in the first four months from the total budget of Rs. 1,860.30 billion for the current fiscal year.
Of the total budget expenses, capital expenditure stands only at 9.8 per cent of total allocation in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
Of the Rs. 352.35 billion allocated under capital expenditure, only Rs. 34.53 billion has been spent by November 16, 2024.
The recurrent expenditure of the government stood at 25.65 per cent (Rs. 292.52 billion) during the review period. The government has allocated Rs. 1,140.66 billion under the heading of recurrent expenditure for the current fiscal year.
Likewise, the government has spent Rs. 87.96 billion under the heading of financing in the first four months of the current fiscal year.
