The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has reported a drop in tax collections from electricity bills in the fiscal year 2024-25. According to official data, Rs. 490 billion were collected through Withholding Tax (WHT) and General Sales Tax (GST) via power bills, marking a decline from Rs. 600 billion in the previous fiscal year.
This reduction in tax revenue came alongside a decrease in electricity consumption, which fell by 3.6 percent. Power usage during July to March FY25 stood at 80,111 GWh, compared to 83,109 GWh in the same period of FY24. Industrial usage saw a major dip, shrinking from 28,830 GWh to 21,082 GWh year-on-year.
Despite the downturn in consumption-based tax, revenue from salaried individuals rose significantly. The FBR collected Rs. 552 billion from this segment in FY25, up from Rs. 367 billion the year before.
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The real estate sector also showed an upward trend. Tax earnings under sections 236C and 236K of the Income Tax Ordinance reached Rs. 235 billion — Rs. 118 billion under 236C and Rs. 117 billion under 236K — surpassing last year’s Rs. 90 billion and Rs. 104 billion, respectively.
In total, the FBR raised Rs. 5.8 trillion in direct taxes during FY25. Of this, the corporate sector accounted for Rs. 3.8 trillion. The banking sector alone contributed between Rs. 1 trillion to Rs. 1.5 trillion through income and withholding taxes.