The IMF team is not happy with the Ministry of Finance’s claim that they’ve met all the goals of their financial program with the IMF before the IMF team has finished reviewing the data.
IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter and his team are unhappy that the finance ministry announced their verdict before the IMF could finish reviewing everything. They are still analyzing the official data about Pakistan’s economy.
The finance ministry claimed they met all targets before getting feedback from the IMF. Questions were asked to the ministry but they didn’t answer.
During the review talks, the IMF team questioned the finance ministry team, but no one seemed to know how to respond. Finance Minister Aurangzeb acknowledged the mistake and promised it wouldn’t happen again.
Pakistan and the IMF are having discussions to finish the second review of their financial arrangement. They need to agree on policies for economic growth and stability. Once this is done, Pakistan could receive $1.1 billion from the IMF.
There might be changes to taxes, like increasing the General Sales Tax (GST), if the tax collection target for March 2024 isn’t met. The IMF team asked about plans to meet the annual tax collection goal and about introducing a simpler tax scheme for retailers, but the FBR officials didn’t have clear answers.
The IMF also talked about the energy sector and asked for plans to reduce debt. The Ministry of Energy wants to stop gas subsidies for fertilizer plants but needs guidance on making fertilizer cheaper for farmers.
The IMF mission met Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to discuss Pakistan’s economic indicators, efforts for fiscal stability, energy sector plans, and state-owned enterprise management. The minister thanked the IMF for their support and hoped for productive meetings.