The fertiliser sector in Pakistan availed a massive sales tax exemption of Rs252.60 billion during the 2022-23 fiscal year, primarily due to the sales tax exemption on local supplies of fertilisers, Business Recorder reported.

The report reveals that the agriculture sector saw a extraordinary growth of 28.1% during the 2022-23 period, according to the new Tax Expenditure Report (2024) issued by the Federal Board of Revenue.

The monetary value of agriculture production rose from Rs14,891.6 billion in 2021-22 to Rs19,079.4 billion in 2022-23, leading to a corresponding increase in the factor input costs of the agriculture sector, including greater consumption of fertilisers.

The import of fertilisers incurred an expenditure of Rs19.9 billion while the local production of fertilisers was granted Rs232.6 billion worth of sales tax exemptions. In total, the fertiliser sector availed a cumulative concession of Rs252.60 billion under the Sixth Schedule (Table I) of the Sales Tax Act 1990, which exempts fertilizers from the sales tax.

According to the report, the tax expenditure (cost of exemption) attributable to the manufacturing sector, including the fertilizer industry, has been calculated at Rs98.2 billion.