Government of Pakistan, sources in the Finance Ministries told ProPakistani, could fall short of delivering on five essential indicators involved in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
According to sources, achieving these targets within the timelines specified between December 2024 and January 2025 is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Key hurdles: The two DISCOs are supposed to privatize themselves by January 2025. As Privatization Commission sources informed, the IMF has ensured successful privatization at a decided time, but the matter remains ambiguous.
Likewise, the revenue collection target for December 2024, putting up a tax over agricultural income from 1 January 2025, and asset declaration are high chances of not meeting those requirements. The Ministry of Finance is fighting for levying small farmers through federal personal income tax rates and commercial farmers under corporate income tax rates. However, these measures may take some time to come into effect, thus affecting IMF compliance, sources added.
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Sources said that foreign exchange reserves are set so that up to March 2025 the government will have three months of import bills covered. Prakash adds there isn’t enough belief that authorities could achieve such a level.
Inside the Finance Division, if we do not meet the targets, then it would aggravate the disbursement of the third IMF tranche post the second disbursement and would enforce for much stricter conditions from the lender.