Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: Balochistan government has collected Rs7.84 billion revenue so far in the first half of the fiscal year 2019-20, projecting around 164 per cent increase as compared to the corresponding period of last year.



“Balochistan Revenue Authority (BRA) and other departments have collected huge revenue during the first six months of current fiscal year compared to Rs4.90 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19,” Finance Minister Balochistan Zahoor Buledi told APP on Monday. He said the government was determined to achieve the target of Rs21 billion which was set for the current financial year.



The minister said the government was in process of digitalising the land revenue information system in a bid to increase revenue collection of the province. The installation of a comprehensive programme for online taxation system in excise and taxation department of the province was also on the cards, he added.



The minister said the initiative would not only facilitate taxpayers in submitting taxes but also bring transparency in the system. Buledi added that the provincial excise department was drafting laws to accelerate tax collection from real estate and rental sectors.



The Provincial Department of Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control was also considering the proposal of computerised number plates of vehicles that would eventually bring sustainable reforms in the anti- narcotics department, he noted.



The government was also intending to digitalise the transport sector of the province with a cost of Rs70 million to bring the system at par with the global standards. “This project will enhance the revenue returns in transportation sector from Rs12 million to Rs1.5 billion,” he hoped.



Published in The Express Tribune, December 24th, 2019.