Kathmandu, July 10

The government has missed its revenue collection target by Rs 21.07 billion in the 11-month period of fiscal 2014-15 due to the slackness in economic activities after the devastating earthquake of April 25.

Revenue collection stood at Rs 345.36 billion or 94.25 per cent of the set target during the review period. The government had set an annual collection target for this fiscal at Rs 422.90 billion, with a goal to collect Rs 366.43 billion in the first 11 months.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, the government has projected that annual revenue collection will be at around Rs 390 billion this fiscal.

While almost all the major revenue headings were affected due to the earthquake, collection from value added tax (VAT) — the major contributor to the country’s revenue — was hit the hardest. VAT collection target dropped by 8.01 per cent of the target and stood at Rs 100.69 billion till the end of 11 months.

According to the Revenue Division of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), income tax — the second largest contributor — was affected by 6.29 per cent and amounted to Rs 69.04 billion during the review period. Customs tariff, which is the third largest contributor, dropped by 6.99 per cent and collection amount stood at Rs 67.66 billion. The government had set a target of collecting Rs 72.74 billion through customs. Collection of excise duty stood at Rs 46.07 billion against the target of Rs 49.56 billion, which is a drop of 7.06 per cent.

The government missed non-tax revenue collection target by 11.2 per cent. It had aimed to collect Rs 39.52 billion under non-tax heading till the first 11 months of this fiscal, but the actual collection stood at Rs 35.09 billion.

However, collection made under some headings exceeded the target. These include health service tax, registration tax and vehicle tax. Registration tax collection was almost double the set target — it exceeded the goal by 95.34 per cent to Rs 9.5 billion.

To meet the revised target of Rs 390 billion, the government needs to collect Rs 44.64 billion in the last month alone. Nonetheless, officials at the Revenue Division are optimistic about achieving the revised target.