IMF wants Pakistan to focus on rightsizing measures to cut expenditure
Business
The delegation also held discussions with State Bank of Pakistan officials
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for timely implementation of the rightsizing measures to reduce expenditure.
The IMF mission made the demand during ongoing discussions with Pakistani authorities regarding first economic review under the $7 billion loan program.
The delegation held negotiations with the officials of the Cabinet Division, Ministry of Finance, and the secretary of the Cabinet for rightsizing.
The visiting officials also sought a plan to cover the revenue shortfall in the upcoming quarter.
The IMF has urged Pakistan to ensure that the shortfall of Rs300 billion in tax collection is covered in the next quarter. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should take actions under the compliance risk management and risk improvement plan to cover the shortfall.
During the negotiations, the Pakistani officials briefed the IMF delegation on major retailers outside the tax net in large cities and measures to recover tax in high risk cases in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore.
The global lender emphasised that the revenue shortfall should be covered through the recovery from high-risk cases in these cities.
Official documents revealed that discussions were also held between IMF, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to review the performance of these sectors. The IMF delegation also held discussions on Islamic banking practices and procedures.
The IMF officials also held discussions with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regarding the re-finance scheme transition and development finance and the operationalization of the bank resolution framework for the banking sector.
