With just over 41% VAT collection target met in the first seven months of this fiscal year, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is mounting pressure on its field offices to boost the collection to shore up revenues amid the challenges posed by the pandemic. It has asked the offices to attain the target keeping the present situation in mind and put emphasis on establishing intensive communication with the big companies. In the 2020-21 fiscal budget, the total revenue collection from VAT wing was fixed at Tk 1,277.47 billion. But until January this year, the collection has been Tk 530.81 billion, which is only 41.55%. No Smooth Sailing The VAT collection target from the import level was Tk 455.54 billion. But till January of this year, the NBR has been able to collect Tk 196.59 billion. In January, the collection was Tk 29.52 billion. In the first seven months of the last fiscal, the collection was Tk 178.14 billion while the collection in the month of January 2020 was Tk 26.76 billion. It means the growth on a month-to-month basis is 10.32% while it is 10.35% considering the collection of the first seven months of the two fiscals. On the other hand, the target for VAT collection from the local level was Tk 821.92 billion. But till January of this year, the NBR collected Tk 334.22 billion where in the month of January the amount was Tk 55.66 billion. Also read: NBR to prioritize local industries in 2021-22 budget, says its chairman