The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has instructed the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to collaborate on finding a solution for the financing of the Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI), a scheme designed to encourage remittances through official channels.
According to a news report, this was disclosed by the finance secretary during a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday, which was chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar.
The committee highlighted concerns about the growing circular debt issue related to the reward paid to banks and exchange companies for facilitating remittances.
The finance secretary informed the committee that, due to fiscal constraints, no funds had been allocated for the PRI in the current fiscal year, compared to the Rs89 billion allocated in the previous fiscal year. Despite this, the actual expenditure on the scheme had exceeded Rs100 billion.
He added that any funding provided by SBP would result in an indirect payment by the Finance Ministry. The ministry is in talks with SBP to identify a solution for financing PRI, and it has been decided to revise the scheme.
The finance secretary also shared details of changes to the reward structure under PRI, with a new flat rate of 20 riyals for all transaction sizes. Additionally, the minimum transaction threshold for eligibility has been raised from $100 to $200.
The committee further discussed the “Parliamentary Budget Office Bill 2025,” which aims to establish a parliamentary budget office to improve fiscal oversight and transparency.
The finance secretary expressed doubts about the need for such legislation and suggested that if the office were to be established, it should be a lean one.
A sub-committee, led by Dr. Nafisa Shah, was formed to further deliberate on the bill and submit its report in 30 days.
In the meeting, the committee also deferred discussions on other agenda items, including the new electric vehicle policy, the non-implementation of minimum wages in federal departments, and issues regarding Islamic banking.
