FBR warns PM of Rs560b shortfall

The tax machinery on Thursday told Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that it may miss the first half-year's downward revised target by Rs560 billion without support from the office of the attorney general, amid a warning by the Ministry of Finance about the implications of a huge revenue shortfall for government expenditure. The meeting on fiscal affairs came a day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Resident Representative, Mahir Binici, met PM Sharif and delivered a message from the executive board. There were no official details on the meeting between the IMF's country head and the PM, but one official said that Binici had been invited merely for a cup of tea. PM Sharif had convened a regular meeting on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)'s matters, but it became evident that the FBR was relying on others to do its job, while the wider economy also remained unprepared for take-off. According to sources, participants opined that any reduction in interest rates could propel economic growth but could again put pressure on already thin foreign exchange reserves.