The Ministry of Finance has fallen short of its tax revenue target. In the last fiscal year, which ended on December 20, the govt collected Afs177 billion ($2.29 billion) in taxes in 1398 (2019). But it has only collected Afs174 billion ($2.25 billion) this year, the ministry said. 

Finance Minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal said the COVID-19 pandemic is the main reason behind the reduction in national revenue. 

He said the Afghan government vowed during the last Geneva Conference to achieve self-reliance within the next four years.  

“We promised to donor countries to increase our incoming resources to a level that would allow our ordinary budget of the country,” Arghandiwal said. 

Deputy Minister of Finance Abdul Habib Zadran said their target for the last fiscal year was Afs200 billion ($2.59 billion).  

“There is an Afs31 billion ($402 million) reduction in our target. Besides that, the budget that was allocated for COVID-19, Afs36 billion ($467 million) created additional expenses for us,” Zadran said. 

The international community vowed roughly $13 billion for the next four years in the Geneva Conference that was held last month.