Technical dialogues continue between Pakistan, IMF

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the technical team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have continued its dialogues economic officials in Islamabad for the payment of the next tranche of $6 billion under the extended loan programme, ARY News reported on Friday.

Economic experts from Canada and United States (US) among the visiting IMF team praised the Pakistani government over making a reduction in trade and current accounts.

The spokesperson of the Finance Ministry said in a statement that the federal government is working efficiently towards stabilising the national economy.

The present government possessed the confidence of the IMF and other development partners, the spokesperson said, adding that the authorities are committed to continuing the process of economic betterment.

Read: Financial adjustment needed in Pakistan’s economy: IMF

The spokesperson further said that the IMF technical team arrived in Pakistan to get the policy stance of the government.

During its stay in Pakistan, the IMF team will also visit the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) headquarters to hold talks over the matters related to date collection and regulations, the FBR spokesperson said. Moreover, the visiting team will also give recommendations for bringing the improvements in the tax system.

IMF technical team in Pakistan

A technical team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had arrived in Pakistan to hold dialogues with the economic officials for the payment of the next tranche of $6 billion under the extended loan programme.

Sources told ARY News that the technical team will stay for two weeks in Pakistan, whereas, the first session of the financial talks was held with the economic team.

Read: US-China tariffs drag global growth to lowest in a decade: IMF

The recent visit of the IMF officials was made for the payment of next tranche from the international financial body likely to be dispatched in 2020. Sources said that the visiting team initiated dialogues with Pakistan officials over the tax system.

The technical team urged the Pakistani officials to eliminate exemptions being given on income and sales tax to increase the collections. Sources revealed that the technical team will also review the tax exemption which had been given during the tenures of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

It may be noted here that Pakistan had received $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the first tranche of a bailout package for balance of payment support on July 10.