From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar shared that the tax collection target of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was higher than what had been set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year.
Addressing the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) in Karachi, the minister said: “We are on track for the IMF programme, and ensuring its implementation fast.”
She was also hopeful of Pakistan receiving more funds from multilateral financial institutions once the next tranche from the IMF is approved. The finance czar of the country said that the Fund’s mission would be arriving early next month and it would be briefed about the progress made on implementation of its programme.
Dr Akhtar claimed that there was an improvement in economic growth, and pointed out that improvement in agricultural output would add 2% to 3% to GDP. She noted that industrial activity is yet to pick up massively.
The finance minister said that the rupee had appreciated by 8% and the interbank dollar rate had stabilised at Rs279.
She attributed the appreciation of the rupee to administrative measures by curbing smuggling as well as border management to check its outflow.
She also opined that reforming the regulation of exchange companies also played an important role in that respect, and emphasised that preventing the misuse of currency was the responsibility of all institutions, and a lot of work was being done to stop smuggling and illegal transactions.
The minister admitted that inflation was not controlled fully, but was on a downward trend as Pakistan was an open economy and external influences were immediate, adding that the war in Ukraine had affected oil prices and commodities.
Referring to the interest rate, she said it was determined by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and the results were coming in the form of improvements in the country’s current account.
She also spoke about an “economic recovery plan” to achieve sustainable growth and pointed out that small-scale industries can also play an important role in economic recovery.
About the capital market, she said reforms on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) have been made and their effects would also come out in the days to come. She asked the business community to encourage everyone to take money from the stock exchange instead of the banks.
FBR Chairman Amjad Tiwana said work on reforms and restructuring of the FBR was in progress, and measures were also being taken to broaden the tax base. He said working with other institutions, including the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), was underway and agreements had been signed with foreign institutions on digitisation. He informed that 1.2 million new taxpayers were added against the set target of 0.7 million.
