IMF visit to help shape Pakistan's 2025-26 budget begins on Friday

Fiscal control and tax strategy on agenda of visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation.

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An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team will begin its visit to Pakistan tomorrow (Friday) to assist in the preparation of the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025–26.

According to sources, the IMF delegation will hold discussions with Pakistani officials regarding future tax measures, revenue strategies, and expenditure control. Talks will also cover the allocation for development spending in the next budget.

The federal budget for FY2025–26 is expected to be presented in the first week of June. The IMF team will collaborate with Pakistani authorities to finalise budget proposals.

The Ministry of Finance has estimated a significant increase in tax collections by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), setting the revenue target for the upcoming fiscal year at Rs15,270 billion.

This marks an increase of Rs2,300 billion compared to the current fiscal year.

In the previous fiscal year, the FBR collected Rs9,311 billion in taxes. For FY2025–26, direct tax collection is projected at Rs6,570 billion, compared to the current year's target of Rs5,512 billion.

Eatrlier, The federal government fulfilled another condition of the IMF and approved the establishment of offices for the Director General of Special Measures and two Directors at the FBR Headquarters for coordination with field formations to address tax evasion.

The notification further mentioned that these measures will help remove complexities that lead to a decrease in revenues and eliminate unnecessary obstacles in the tax collection process.

Last month, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that talks between Pakistan and the IMF for over $1 billion tranche remained successfull.

The finance minister made the statement during a meeting at the Prime Minister's House, which Shehbaz Sharif chaired to hear out the business community's grievances, according to the government sources.

Shehbaz Sharif inquired from his finance minister whether the IMF handed over the Memorandum for Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) to Pakistan – the set of policy documents that define the conditions for the loan tranche.

Everything is in order and the IMF would release the statement on Saturday, Aurangzeb is said to have told the Prime Minister in the presence of the business community.