The government's revenue collection in the first seven months of fiscal 2022 surpassed its target by 3.7% as a result of the expansion of product import volume, in line with the economic recovery, says Pornchai Thiraveja, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office.
He said the Revenue Department's collection during the period exceeded the target because of higher collection from personal and corporate income tax.
The significant growth in imported products also contributed to the higher value-added tax collection.
The government's net revenue collection in the first seven months of fiscal 2022 stood at 1.27 trillion baht, exceeding the target by 45.8 billion baht or 3.7%.
The total revenue amount represents a 4.5% expansion from the same period last year.
The Revenue Department collected around 1 trillion baht of revenue in the period, an increase of 127 billion baht or 14.5% year-on-year.
The Excise Department collected 320 billion baht, down 3.3% year-on-year or 11.1 billion baht, while the Customs Department collected revenue of 61.7 billion baht, up 4.8% year-on-year or 2.83 billion baht.
The Excise Department's lower revenue collection was partially attributed to the government's reduction of the excise tax on diesel by 3 baht per litre to alleviate the impact of the rising global oil price.
This three-month cut in diesel excise tax ended on May 20 and cost the state coffers 17 billion baht.
The government also decided to cut the excise tax on diesel by 5 baht from May 21 to July 20, which is expected to cost the Excise Department 19.8 billion baht.
The government projected expenses of 3.1 trillion baht in fiscal 2022, with a revenue target of 2.4 trillion baht.
Earlier finance permanent secretary Krisada Chinavicharana said if government revenue exceeds the target, the ministry is ready to spend the excess revenue on mitigating hardships caused by the ailing economy.
