Govt Assures IMF Not to Grant Tax Exemptions Without NA Approval

The government has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not to grant tax exemptions through the Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) without prior approval of the National Assembly in the future. According to the Letter of Intent (LoI) shared by the Pakistani authorities with the IMF, the government has recommitted to not launching any future tax amnesties or granting any further tax exemptions through the Statutory Regulatory Orders without prior National Assembly approval. Additionally, the government has also assured the lender of continually working towards harmonization of service sales tax across provincial jurisdictions. The coalition government has already withdrawn the stimulus package for the construction sector granted by the previous regime. Sources told ProPakistani that as per the contents of LoI, prior approval of the National Assembly would be required for granting any kind of tax concession, reduction in tax rates, or issuing new exemptions.