MD ASADUZ ZAMAN

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) fell short of its revenue target by 28 percent during July-February of fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26), leaving a gap of Tk 71,472 crore.

As per provisional data released yesterday, the shortfall came despite a 12 percent year-on-year rise in collections to Tk 2.54 lakh crore, buoyed largely by robust VAT (value-added tax) receipts from domestic trade and economic activity.

The deficit underscores the widening gap between the tax authority’s ambitions and ground reality. The board has consistently missed its target over the last decade.

Yet, in late November, the previous interim government had revised the NBR’s full-year target upward to Tk 5.54 lakh crore from Tk 4.99 lakh crore, following strong first-quarter collections.

Meeting that goal would now require mobilising around Tk 3 lakh crore over the remaining four months of the fiscal year, an outcome economists say is highly unrealistic given persistent inflation, sluggish development spending, and broader economic weakness.

Amid this sluggish revenue performance, the government is increasingly turning to borrowing to finance its expenditures.

According to provisional data from Bangladesh Bank, net borrowing from the banking sector crossed Tk 48,800 crore by January 25, nearly five times higher than the Tk 10,558 crore borrowed during the same period a year earlier, highlighting the growing fiscal strain.