- The budget of the next financial year will be finalized after IMF consultation.
- IMF agrees to remove federal excise duty on first property sale
- If the terms of the deal are not met, the Pakistan climate risk losing money.
Islamabad: The federal government will present the budget for the financial year 2025-26 after consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sources in the Finance Ministry said that Live news On Thursday that another IMF delegation is expected to visit Pakistan soon to discuss.
According to officials, both in-tradition and online consultation with the IMF will continue before finalizing the budget, which is to be presented in the first week of June.
Discussions will include major economic policies and revenue measures required to align with IMF recommendations.
Sources also said that the IMF has agreed to provide limited relief in the real estate sector. Under the new budget, the federal excise duty will be removed on the first sale and property procurement, while the current restriction and income tax rates will remain unchanged.
Similarly, the tax rate on property vendors will also remain the same.
According to the ongoing IMF agreement, the lender’s executive board is expected to approve the recommendations by the end of May or June, by which the budget will already be ready.
However, if Pakistan fails to follow the agreement, it may lose access to climate -related financial aid.
The meeting of the IMF Executive Board to review Pakistan’s program will be scheduled only after finalizing the budget details. Due to the upcoming spring meetings in April, the board will not discuss Pakistan’s program during that period.
The Vikas follows the Staff-Terminal Agreement (SLA) between the Washington-based lender and Pakistani officials, which relates to the first review of the ongoing 37-month bailout program.
Waiting for the approval of the IMF Executive Board, the deal will get access to about 1 billion dollars under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which will increase the total disbursing of about $ 2 billion under the program.
