Sri Lanka has failed to achieve the tax revenue target of Rs. 1,300 billion set out for the first half (H1) of 2023 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) as the Government has managed to achieve 92% of the target, Central Bank data revealed.

According to  the recent weekly report published by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Sri Lanka has recorded a total revenue of Rs. 1,317.05 billion for the first six months of 2023, recording a 43% increase year on year (Y-o-Y), out of which Rs 1,198.85 billion are tax revenue.

The staff report of the IMF on Sri Lanka has set out a proposed indicative target for the central government tax revenue of Rs. 1,300 billion for the first six months of 2023 and Rs. 2,940 billion by the end of 2023.

However, Sri Lanka has recorded a primary surplus of Rs. 30.72 billion for H1 of 2023, when the IMF target is a deficit of Rs. 113 billion for the same period.

A statement released by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) showed that IRD had collected Rs. 697 billion for the first half of 2023 which is a 93% increase compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

It was also revealed in May in the Parliament that Sri Lanka Customs was unable to meet their annual revenue target of Rs. 1,226 billion due to the import restrictions on vehicles which is 20% of the total revenue component and could only achieve Rs. 783 billion in revenue at the end of the year.

As of May, Sri Lanka Customs has collected Rs. 330 billion out of the first five months' target of Rs. 510 billion.

An IMF Spokesperson speaking  to Reuters said that  the first review will take place from September 14 through  27 and considers the (IMF) programme's performance until end-June, and if approved by both the staff and the executive board, Sri Lanka would be allowed a disbursement of around $ 338 million.