Islamabad: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review delegation will visit Pakistan by the end of February and review various issues related to the next tranche of the loan.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said this in an informal conversation with the media outside the Parliament House on Thursday. He said that the IMF review delegation will come to Pakistan in late February or early March, but the delegation has not yet fixed the final date.
During the visit, the IMF delegation will review some issues related to the agreement and if they are satisfied, the way will be paved for the release of the next tranche of one billion dollars.
However, the Pakistani government has failed to fulfill some conditions under the agreement, including the implementation of agricultural tax, collection of tax from retailers and failure to achieve the six-month revenue target. The Finance Minister said that discussions are underway with the Balochistan and Sindh governments regarding the approval of new agricultural tax laws.
He further said that the federal government is also working on a new law under which buyers, whether they are taxpayers or not, will have to declare their sources of income before buying any property. However, there is pressure from the coalition parties and business circles to exempt property worth Rs 10 million to Rs 25 million from this condition.
In this regard, FBR policy-making member Dr. Najeeb Memon told the National Assembly Standing Committee that the FBR is also considering this exemption and no final decision has been taken yet.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance has formed a sub-committee headed by Bilal Azhar Kayani to suggest the limit of the exemption. The committee held its second meeting on Thursday, which also remained inconclusive.
The Association of the Builders and Developers recommended to the standing committee to allow property up to Rs 25 million without first disclosing the source and up to Rs 50 million in the case of first-time home purchases. Najeeb Memon said that the Rs 50 million exemption means a permanent tax exemption.
Bilal Kayani said that the sub-committee will recommend to the central committee to look at the technical solution of the FBR before passing the law. He said that the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance will examine any proposed system so that the public is not left at the mercy of the FBR.
