The Government of Sindh has presented data on General Sales Tax (GST) collection to the National Finance Commission (NFC), highlighting a significant gap between collection potential and actual revenue gathered by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
According to the submission, the total GST potential on goods in Pakistan is estimated at around Rs110 trillion annually, whereas the FBR currently collects only Rs16 trillion. The provincial government noted that with the total value of goods in the country estimated at Rs640 trillion, GST revenue at the standard 18% rate could reach up to Rs160 trillion, but actual collections remain far below this potential.
On this basis, the Sindh government is demanding that GST collection be devolved to the provinces, allowing them to generate better revenue, particularly from major industrial and commercial hubs such as Karachi.
The figures presented at the NFC forum underscore a large discrepancy in Pakistan’s tax administration, which the Sindh government says reflects structural inefficiencies and significant revenue leakages.
