Punjab to Set Up Single FBR-Like Tax Authority Across Province

Punjab plans to establish a unified revenue authority in the next fiscal year, consolidating all provincial taxes under a single institution modeled after the Federal Board of Revenue as part of efforts to improve collections and expand the tax base.

Speaking at a post budget press conference on Wednesday, Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said the province achieved 99 percent of its tax collection target in the outgoing fiscal year and has increased its revenue target for FY27 by 46 percent.

He expressed confidence that the higher target would also be met, adding that Punjab’s own source revenues are expected to grow by 30 to 40 percent.

The minister said the Punjab Revenue Authority exceeded its target by collecting 30 percent more revenue during the current fiscal year, while the Excise and Taxation Department recorded a 12 percent increase in collections. For FY27, the Punjab Revenue Authority has been assigned a collection target of Rs. 528 billion, the Excise and Taxation Department Rs. 124 billion, and non tax departments Rs. 461 billion.

Rehman said the government has proposed only modest revisions in some existing tax rates and attributed the move partly to Punjab’s decision to provide a grant of Rs. 546 billion to the federal government, which reduced the province’s development budget from Rs. 1,240 billion to Rs. 752 billion. He maintained that spending cuts would not affect development priorities or public services.

The minister also announced plans to digitize the Board of Revenue’s collection system following the online transition of Excise and Taxation collections. He said the property tax regime is being fully digitized to curb corruption and improve efficiency, while the Punjab Revenue Authority’s human resource capacity is being strengthened to support its expanded mandate.

Separately, provincial ministers rejected reports that agriculture and southern Punjab were being neglected, noting that 5,000 acres out of a planned 5,500 acre aquaculture initiative are located in south Punjab. Officials also denied claims of a Rs. 145 billion traffic fine target, saying the actual target is Rs. 45 billion, and confirmed that PC 1 documents for 493 new development schemes will be finalized by June 30.