No tax relief without NA approval under IMF conditions

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made it compulsory for Pakistan to get the National Assembly's (NA) approval before launching any tax amnesty scheme in order for the country to secure its economic bailout, it was learnt on Tuesday.

According to the Letter of Intent (LoI) sent back to the IMF, the government has assured the Fund that tax amnesty will not be launched through a presidential ordinance. The letter states that the: “Issuance of SRO for tax relief or tax amnesty will be banned. The government will work with the provinces for harmony in sales tax and the World Bank will cooperate for harmonious policy with provinces."

However, the LoI states that an amnesty scheme for construction sector and declaration of secret assets will be approved by the NA.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had recently announced of sending back the letter of intent to the lender which was signed by him and acting governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On August 12, the IMF agreed to the letter of intent forwarded by Pakistan and sent it to Pakistan for getting the required signatures. The letter was prepared by Pakistan a month ago. Earlier on August 2, the lender had confirmed that Pakistan has achieved all the set targets for the revival of Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.