Revenue collection slowed in the first nine months of 2017-18, making it harder for the National Board of Revenue to hit its full fiscal year's goal.

Taxmen logged in 14 percent year-on-year revenue growth to Tk 144,311 crore in the July-March period. The growth was 20 percent in the same nine-month period in 2016-17, according to data of the NBR.

The revenue generation was Tk 23,001 crore shy of the target of Tk 167,318 crore in July-March, according to the tax administration. 

Now, the NBR will have to collect Tk 103,879 crore in the final quarter ending in June or post 72 percent growth to reach the full-year target of Tk 248,190 crore.

The tax data came at a time when the finance ministry is revising down the mobilisation target for the fiscal year.

The target may be cut by Tk 25,000-Tk 30,000 crore, said NBR Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan at an event at the Large Taxpayers' Unit last week.

“We expect to reach the revised target or more than that,” he had said.

Bhuiyan said the tax collection target is 45 percent higher than the Controller General of Accounts' (CGA) record of Tk 171,510 crore.

Economists have described the tax goal ambitious and unrealistic and said the target would not be met.

Last week, the Centre for Policy Dialogue said revenue shortfall may be Tk 50,000 crore at the end of the fiscal year.

Abdur Rouf, director-general of the NBR's research and statistics department, however, said the collection would rise in the fourth quarter.

“We will intensify monitoring of collection of tax and VAT at source. We are also working to realise arrears from state-run Petrobangla and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation,” he said.

Rouf expected the overall receipts to grow 25 percent at the end of the fiscal year over the collection recorded by the CGA for 2016-17.

The NBR maintains that it collected Tk 185,003 crore in the last fiscal year.

NBR officials said the 2016-17 receipts were shown higher as there were double entries of the collection.

A section of field-level officials also claimed tax collection higher than the actual receipts in order to receive plaudits from the high-ups, said a senior official seeking anonymity.

Revenue collection from customs grew 15 percent year-on-year to Tk 45,486 crore in July-March. VAT receipts rose 15 percent to Tk 55,033 crore and income tax collection increased 11 percent to Tk 43,790 crore, NBR data showed.