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After two decades, Pakistan reports Rs 1.70 trillion surplus budget in first quarter of FY25

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan achieved its first budget surplus in over 20 years in the first quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year, driven by increased revenues and a substantial surplus profit from the State Bank of Pakistan.

The budget surplus totaled Rs 1.70 trillion, or 1.4% of GDP, in Q1 FY25, marking the first such surplus since FY04, according to finance ministry data. This contrasts sharply with a budget deficit of Rs980 billion (0.9% of GDP) during the same period last year.

Additionally, the primary surplus reached Rs 3 trillion (2.4% of GDP) in Q1 FY25, compared to Rs 399 billion (0.4% of GDP) in Q1 FY24. As a result, the government repaid Rs 1.54 trillion in domestic debt and Rs 157 billion in external debt over the three months.

Total revenue surged by 117% to Rs 5.83 trillion from Rs 2.70 trillion in Q1 FY24. Tax revenue grew by 25.2% to Rs 2.78 trillion, while non-tax revenue skyrocketed 551% to Rs 3 trillion.

Within tax revenue, direct taxes contributed the largest portion at Rs 1.23 trillion, followed by sales tax at Rs 904.76 billion, customs at Rs 277 billion, and Federal Excise Duties at Rs 151 billion.

Non-tax revenue was primarily bolstered by the State Bank of Pakistan’s surplus profit, which amounted to Rs 2.5 trillion, compared to just Rs 972 billion for FY24. Petroleum levy collections added another Rs 261.70 billion, up from Rs 222 billion in the same quarter last year.

On the expenditure side, government spending totaled Rs 4.13 trillion (3.3% of GDP) for the quarter, a 12.7% increase year-on-year. Of this, approximately 86% (Rs3.54 trillion) was allocated to current expenditures, including Rs 1.31 trillion for mark-up payments, Rs 410 billion for defense, Rs 239 billion for grants, and Rs 223 billion for pensions.

Province-wise, only Punjab reported a deficit, amounting to Rs160 billion. Meanwhile, Sindh posted a surplus of Rs131 billion, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) with Rs104 billion, and Baluchistan with Rs 85 billion.

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I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.

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