REJAUL KARIM BYRON and DWAIPAYAN BARUA

Revenue collection grew 15.51 per cent year-on-year to Tk 300,179 crore in the just-concluded fiscal year of 2021-22, according to the provisional data of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

This is for the first time the NBR’s revenue collection crossed the Tk 3 lakh crore mark.

Revenue collection underwent a drastic fall in FY20, the first-ever negative growth in the country’s history, against the backdrop of the pandemic, which put the economy in a state of induced coma for essentially a quarter.

The tax receipts, however, rose 20 per cent year-on-year in fiscal year 2020-21. As the base year went into the negative zone, it caused a jump in growth in FY21.

A finance ministry official said the 15.51 per cent growth in the just-concluded fiscal year amidst the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine was satisfactory.

He said though they have been targeting to cross Tk 3 lakh crore mark in revenue collection for the last couple of years, this was for the first time they were able to achieve it.

It indicates that the country’s economy is on the path of recovery from the pandemic-induced loses, he opined.

In FY22, income tax collection grew the highest 20.08 per cent to Tk 1,02,337 crore, up from Tk 85,224 crore in FY21, according to the NBR’s provisional data.

The highest growth in terms of income tax indicates a recovery of the domestic economy, said the ministry official, adding that the government was laying emphasis on enhancing the coverage of the income tax net.

However, receipts of VAT did not see much of a growth, which contradicts the official’s remarks on the revival of the domestic economy.

The collection of VAT, the biggest source of revenue for the government, was up by only 11.19 per cent to Tk 1,08,418 crore, against Tk 97,507 crore in the previous year.

Receipts from customs tariff at the import and export stages shot up 15.91 per cent year-on-year to Tk 89,423 crore in FY22, compared to Tk 77,150 crore in the previous FY21.

Such a rise might have been caused by a hike in import costs due to rising prices in the global market.

Apart from this, the government’s receipts of non-NBR revenue saw a significant drop in the just concluded year.