Pakistan has to compulsorily get approval from the National Assembly before launching a Tax Amnesty Scheme, according to IMF conditions for the economic bailout to Pakistan.
The tax amnesty under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions could not be launched through a Presidential Ordinance.
“No tax amnesty scheme, neither tax relief will be allowed without approval from the National Assembly,” according to the details in the Letter of Intent (LoI) sent back to the IMF. “Issuance of SRO for tax relief or tax amnesty will be banned”.
The government will be bound to get approval from the NA for providing tax relief to an economic sector or announcing a tax amnesty scheme for any segment of society.
Pakistan has assured the lender in the letter of intent for the implementation of the condition.
An amnesty scheme for the construction sector and declaration of secret assets will be approved by the National Assembly, according to the LoI.
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The government will work with the provinces for harmony in sales tax and the World Bank will cooperate for a harmonious policy with provinces, according to the letter of intent.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail recently announced that Pakistan has sent back the signed letter of intent to the IMF.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Ismail said that the LoI was sent after being signed by him and the acting governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
On August 12, the IMF agreed to the letter of intent forwarded by Pakistan and returned it back to the country for signing.
The letter of intent was prepared by Pakistan a month back and since then IMF has been satisfied with its points and action plan. On August 02, the lender confirmed that Pakistan has achieved all the set targets for the revival of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
Exclusively talking to a private news channel, International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) resident representative in Islamabad, Esther Perez Ruiz said Pakistan has achieved all the financial targets set by the fund and the last action was accomplished on July 31 by extending the levy on petrol.
