ISLAMABAD  -  The talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continued yesterday as the Fund has sought a report on the losses incurred by the state-owned enterprises.

Pakistan and the IMF had started talks from November 2 under the nine-month stand-by arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan worth $3 billion, which was approved in July this year. The discussion continued on Monday in Islamabad. The IMF would release a second tranche worth around $700 million if it is satisfied with the economic targets of Pakistan. 

An official informed that the visiting IMF delegation has sought a detailed report regarding losses in the state-owned enterprises. Both the sides have also reviewed the performance of the Central Monitoring Unit established regarding the losses of national institutions. The Central Monitoring Unit team will provide the first review report to the IMF delegation. The government of Pakistan has assured the Fund that it will provide the new report by next month.

Earlier, last week, Pakistan and the IMF held negotiations on the tax collection of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The tax collection body had assured the visiting team of meeting the tax collection target of Rs9,415 billion this year. The IMF also sought a progress report on the pending tax cases from the FBR. Officials of tax collection department say Pakistan has collected Rs2,748 billion in the first four months of the ongoing fiscal year. The Fund has also asked for a plan to collect the remaining Rs6,670 billion by June 2024. 

Previously, the IMF asked Pakistan to share a report on the possible tax collection from all sectors during the ongoing technical-level talks between the two sides.

The FBR assured the visiting team of meeting the tax collection target of Rs9,415 billion this year. The IMF also sought a progress report on the pending tax cases from the FBR. 

During the ongoing talks, the government team has generally updated the IMF’s mission chief on the latest situation on the power sector’s circular debt, which was also in line with the indicative targets, as the consumer- end tariff had been rebased in July, as required under the structural benchmark.

The IMF’s team was also updated on the government’s strategies to address the circular debt issue as agreed under the SBA, both in the power and gas sectors, particularly the recent decisions for a massive increase in natural gas tariff to a level that there would be no circular debt addition during the current fiscal year.