Kathmandu - The Government of Nepal collected Rs 115.19 billion in revenue during Asoj, the third month of fiscal year 2083/84, achieving 99.8 percent of the monthly target of Rs 115.41 billion, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance. The month's collection also equals about 90 percent of the revenue target set for the quarter. The performance marks a sharp improvement on the same period last year: in Asoj of fiscal year 2082/83, the government had collected Rs 84.41 billion, meaning revenue mobilisation grew by roughly 35 percent year on year.
Collections land just 0.2 percent shy of the monthly goal
Asoj spans mid-September to mid-October on the Gregorian calendar and is the third month of Nepal's fiscal year, which begins in Shrawan and ends in Ashad, running from mid-July of one year to mid-July of the next. For the month, the government's collection of Rs 115.19 billion fell short of the Rs 115.41 billion target by about Rs 220 million, a gap of just 0.2 percent of the goal.
The Ministry of Finance monitors revenue mobilisation against the monthly and quarterly targets fixed alongside the federal budget, and its month-by-month accounting is the standard yardstick for whether the government's income is broadly on course with the plan endorsed by Parliament. Asoj's near-complete attainment of its goal indicates that collections in the opening stretch of the fiscal year are holding close to the pace the government set out for itself.
Key figures for the month
- Revenue collected in Asoj 2083/84: Rs 115.19 billion
- Monthly target: Rs 115.41 billion
- Target achievement: 99.8 percent
- Share of the quarterly target represented: about 90 percent
- Collection in Asoj 2082/83: Rs 84.41 billion
- Year-on-year growth: roughly 35 percent
A steep climb from the same month last year
The most striking element of the latest figures is the pace of growth compared with the previous fiscal year. Revenue collection in Asoj of fiscal year 2082/83 stood at Rs 84.41 billion; the Rs 115.19 billion recorded in the corresponding month of the current fiscal year represents an increase of about Rs 30.78 billion, or roughly 35 percent.
Notably, the monthly target itself was pitched well above last year's actual performance. At Rs 115.41 billion, the goal for Asoj 2083/84 was roughly 37 percent higher than what the government collected in Asoj 2082/83. Coming within Rs 220 million of that benchmark suggests that actual growth of around 35 percent has tracked closely with the trajectory the government projected when it fixed its revenue targets for the year.
Performance in the early months of a fiscal year is watched closely for that reason. It offers an early reading on whether the revenue assumptions underpinning the entire budget are realistic, since the government's spending plans for the year are built on the income it expects to mobilise. An achievement rate of 99.8 percent in the third month of the fiscal year points to collections running broadly in line with the government's planning so far.
The first-quarter reading and why it matters
Asoj also closes the first quarter of the fiscal year, which comprises Shrawan, Bhadra and Asoj. According to the ministry's figures, the month's collection of Rs 115.19 billion represents about 90 percent of the target set for the quarter, a measure of how a single month's mobilisation stands against the broader three-month goal.
Revenue is the principal source of funding for the government's spending plans, covering recurrent obligations such as salaries, pensions, subsidies and debt servicing while also supporting development and capital expenditure. In Nepal, revenue is raised mainly through internal taxes such as value added tax, income tax and excise duty, together with customs duties and non-tax receipts, with consolidated figures reported by the finance ministry against the targets laid out in the budget.
Consistent achievement of monthly targets matters for fiscal management because shortfalls typically force governments to trim spending plans or lean more heavily on domestic and external borrowing to fill the gap, while comfortable collections give the state room to implement programmes as budgeted. Against that backdrop, a month that closes within 0.2 percent of its target, and in which one month's intake equals about nine-tenths of the entire quarterly goal, points to revenue mobilisation keeping pace with the fiscal plan in the early part of the year.
Taken together, the Asoj figures present a picture of collections running essentially on course at the start of fiscal year 2083/84: near-full attainment of the monthly goal, a year-on-year rise of roughly 35 percent, and a single month's collection equal to about 90 percent of the quarterly target. The Ministry of Finance's assessments for Kartik and the months that follow will show whether that momentum carries through the rest of the fiscal year.
