IMF wants ‘strict compliance’ as budget enters final stages

Amid final consultations on the budget, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants strict compliance with programme requirements, including the coverage of agriculture income tax in provincial budgets to ensure effective collection starting no later than September 2025. The Fund also does not agree with a plan for incentivising enhanced power consumption desired by the federal government to absorb surplus capacity. Informed sources said the IMF wanted a strong commitment from the provinces for expenditure control, notwithstanding expansionary development plans presented by the provinces and approved by the National Economic Council (NEC). The four provinces have already exceeded their development allocations for next year by almost Rs850 billion than the IMF’s estimates.