The second day of discussions between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took place at the Ministry of Finance, where both parties reviewed Pakistan's progress on the $7 billion loan program.
The IMF delegation, led by mission chief Nathan Porter, was welcomed by Federal Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, along with Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik, the State Bank governor, and the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
During the meeting, which lasted for around an hour, progress made so far in the implementation of Pakistan's $7 billion loan program was discussed.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb briefed the IMF delegation on Pakistan's achievements in meeting most of the program’s targets for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. He affirmed the government's commitment to fully implementing the IMF program and pledged to continue reforms aimed at fostering economic stability.
Also Read: IMF team reaches Pakistan, FBR reports Rs2.6tr tax revenue in Q1
Sources said that there will be more talks between FBR and the IMF mission today where the visiting team would be informed about the plan to achieve the annual target of Rs12,970 billion. It will also be briefed about the digitalization strategy of the entire supply chain of various businesses and the plan to expand the scope of the digital monitoring system to more sectors, the sources added.
The meeting would be told that track and track system would also be implemented in petroleum, beverages, pharmaceuticals and steel sectors. The IMF will be briefed on the strategy to curb the sale of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes, while it would also be informed that revenue will be increased through transparency and enforcement in the tax system.
Finance Ministry officials confirmed that the IMF delegation would remain in Pakistan until November 15 to conduct further evaluations.
On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation arrived in Pakistan and commenced discussions with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials on the nation’s fiscal performance. The team, led by the FBR chairman, briefed the IMF on tax collection and revenue figures for the first quarter of the current financial year.
According to FBR officials, tax revenue reached Rs2,625 billion between July and September, covering 96.6% of the target for the first three months. However, in the four-month period from July to October, there was a shortfall of Rs190 billion in meeting the overall tax target.
The IMF delegation was informed that FBR managed to raise an additional Rs8 billion in September, surpassing the target of Rs1,098 billion.
Officials briefed the IMF team that there has been a 76% year-on-year increase in income tax returns, with over 5.2 million individuals filing returns this year, resulting in more than Rs132 billion in revenue. The FBR also achieved its Rs10 billion tax collection target from retailers during the first quarter.
