The country’s budget deficit surged by 23.9 percent to Rs 6.521 trillion during the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23) from Rs. 5.260 trillion during FY22.
According to the latest figures on fiscal operations compiled by the Ministry of Finance, the government borrowed Rs. 7.2 trillion from internal (domestic) resources and paid back Rs. 679 billion in external financing to bridge the budget deficit.
In the case of internal financing, the government borrowed Rs. 3.528 trillion from the banking sector while the remaining amount (Rs. 3.672 trillion) was borrowed from the non-banking sector.
The data further reveals that the primary budget deficit was recorded at Rs. 690 billion during the last fiscal year.
The total government expenditure surged to Rs. 16.154 trillion during FY23, with the current expenditure clocking in at Rs. 14.583 trillion amid mark-up payments of Rs. 5.831 trillion and Defence bills of Rs. 1.585 trillion.
The development expenditure and net lending were calculated at Rs. 1.952 trillion, while the statistical discrepancy was determined to be Rs. 380 billion during FY23.
On the income side, total revenue saw a substantial increase from Rs. 2 trillion during July-September FY23 to Rs. 9.633 trillion by the end of FY23, according to the data.
According to official data, tax revenue surged to Rs. 7.818 trillion during FY23. The federal government collected Rs. 7.169 trillion of the total tax revenue while provinces collected Rs. 649 billion.
Meanwhile, the total non-tax revenue by the end of FY23 stood at Rs. 1.814 trillion, a 672 percent jump compared to Rs. 234 billion recorded in July-September FY23. Out of the total non-tax revenue, the federal government collected Rs. 1.648 trillion, while provinces collected Rs. 165 billion.
Non-tax revenue included mark-up (PSEs and others) Rs. 144.683 billion, surplus profit of State Bank of Pakistan Rs. 371.186 billion, Defense receipts Rs. 21.133 billion, Rs. 34.495 billion passport fees, Rs. 23.081 billion discount retained on crude oil, among others.
Provincial non-tax revenue included a budget surplus of Rs. 90.067 billion by Punjab, Rs. 50.397 billion by Sindh, and Rs. 16.644 billion by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Balochistan had a negative budget surplus of Rs. 2.254 billion.
Source: ProPakistani