KPRA collects Rs 34 billion in tax

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: Director General Khyber PakhtunKhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA), Tahir Orakzai said that KPRA has generated Rs 34 billion in tax collections since 2013 while in 2016-17 alone, it has contributed 56 per cent in the total provincial tax revenue.

These views were stated by the Director General during a multi stakeholder’s awareness and sensitization session on the revenue generation by KPRA,held at Pakistan Academy for Rural Development.

While commenting on the performance of the authority, Tahir Aurakzai added that before the 18thamendement, there was no mechanism with the provincial governments to collect GST taxes. “The present government took initiative and established KPRA under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance act 2013.

However, till November, 2017, KPRA has generated Rs 5 billion in taxes against its set goal of 13.6 billion” he added.

The session was informed that KPRA was successful generating Rs 6.2 billion against its set target of Rs 6 Billion in its first year of conception. In 2014-15 KPRA collected Rs 6.2 billion against Rs 12 billion target, in 20105-16 Rs 7.27 were collected against its target of Rs 8 billion whereas in 2016-17 Rs 10.27 billion were generated against its target of Rs 10 billion.

Currently efforts are underway for transparent recruitment of officers from BPS 1 to 19. According to Khyber PakhtunKhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) Director HR, Arshad Afridi, the authority is focused towards enhancing the credibility and transparency in the recruitment process for gaining public trust.

Moreover, in the current year, donor support projects have also been initiated along with developing the organisational structure including establishment of Directorates and Collectorates.

Mr Orakzai further said the authority has the potential to generate between Rs 30-40 billion per year once the authority is fully functional adding that it is set to become the largest contributor in terms of adding revenue to the provincial kitty.