Tag: Ministry of Finance

  • Everything is going alright with IMF, says Ishaq Dar

    Everything is going alright with IMF, says Ishaq Dar

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that it is expected that the matters between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the conclusion of the 9th review of the $7 billion loan program will be settled today.

    “Everything is going alright,” replied the finance minister when asked about the status of the discussions with the visiting IMF delegation. “The final round is currently underway. I have daily meetings with the IMF team and will do so again today,” he added.

    “It is expected matters will be settled today,” Dar said. “We will give you the news very soon.”

    A delegation from the IMF, led by Nathan Porter, has arrived in Islamabad for discussions surrounding the completion of the ninth review. The discussions are set to conclude on the same day.

    The successful completion of the review would result in the disbursement of $1.2 billion from the IMF and also unlock additional funding from friendly nations and other multilateral lenders, which is crucial for Pakistan to avoid default.

    Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha informed journalists on Wednesday that the government and the IMF are in close proximity to finalizing the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP).

    Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha stated that the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) would be delivered to Pakistan by the IMF once all issues have been resolved. The Minister noted that significant progress had been made, but added that the IMF was seeking clarification on certain aspects, which the government team is working to address.

    In a written statement, the ministry said the talks with the IMF continued on Wednesday and “focused on fiscal table, financing, etc. There is a broad consensus on the reform actions and measures”.

    Additionally, the mission chief also held a meeting with the finance minister to provide an update on the discussions. “The mission is working on putting it all together and will finalise the MEFP,” stated the finance secretary, who declined to comment on the possibility of extending the scheduled talks in order to reach a staff-level agreement.

    According to Dawn, it is of utmost importance for Pakistan to reach a agreement with the IMF, as the foreign exchange reserves have depleted to a low of $3.09 billion as of January 27th, which is only sufficient to cover 18 days’ worth of imports.

  • Pakistan receives $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

    Pakistan receives $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

    The government of Pakistan on Tuesday received $500 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday.

    “Government of Pakistan has today received $500 million from AIIB. The funds are deposited with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and will augment our reserves,” the ministry said.

    The funds by AIIB are crucial for the cash-strapped country, which has seen its foreign exchange reserves dwindle in recent months. The country’s reserves stood at $7.8 billion as of November 18.

    “During the week ended on November 18, 2022, SBP’s reserves decreased by $134 million to $7,825.7 million due to external debt repayment,” said the SBP on Friday.

    It is important to note that on October 26, 2022, the SBP got $1.5 billion from ADB as a loan disbursement for the government of Pakistan.

    An agreement between the ADB and Pakistan was inked last month to offer a $1.5 billion loan for budgetary support as well as assistance with flood-related repair and reconstruction efforts.

    The government’s $2.3 billion countercyclical development spending programme, created to lessen the effects of external shocks like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was funded in part by a loan issued under the BRACE Program.

  • Govt plans to launch Ehsaas petrol cards for motorcyclists

    Govt plans to launch Ehsaas petrol cards for motorcyclists

    The federal government has planned to launch Ehsaas Petrol Cards for motorcyclists to enable them to buy petrol at a subsidised rate.

    Earlier this week, Naya Pakistan Qaumi Sehat Card was distributed by the government, which will provide free medical treatment to all citizens at government and private hospitals.

    In a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin, several other proposals were also considered such as subsidised fuel, tax reliefs, rise in income/minimum wages, internships, record tax collection and removal of bureaucratic hurdles.

    The government also intends to raise the pay of public sector employees in the upcoming fiscal year 2022-23 budget. Moreover, it has been reported that no consideration was made regarding monetising of bureaucratic perks and privileges.

    A meeting was also held to discuss the Kamyab Pakistan Programme progress. It was informed that the first phase of the programme is going successfully and that the loans are being disbursed after fulfillment of requirements to the deserving applicants.

  • Video: Female MNAs physically fight during the mini-budget session

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers got involved in a physical fight during the National Assembly’s session at the time of the presentation of the controversial finance bill i.e. mini-budget.

    In a video, PTI’s Ghazala Saifi and PPP’s Shagufta Jumani can be seen shouting and pushing each other when the protesting opposition members had gathered in front of the seats of ministers.

    However, immediately after that the members of the treasury and the Opposition separated the two members of the National Assembly.

    PTI’s Saifi issued a statement claiming that she had got her thumb fractured. She said, “I am appalled at the way Shugafta Jumani has conducted herself. To behave in such a way, in a space which has such specific codes of ethics, a place for us to voice the concerns of the people we represent, for it to be reduced to this sort of brawl-like behaviour should be a cause of intense shame for Ms Jumani.”

    On the contrary, according to PPP’s Jumani and other party members, Jumani was attacked by Saifi and she only retaliated.

    PPP MNA Raja Pervez Ashraf said that Jumani had come to him complaining that a PTI lady had attacked her. He claimed that she also received a minor injury and termed the incident unfortunate, reports Dawn.

  • Cabinet rejects audit report of Rs40 billion irregularities detected in PM’s Covid package

    Cabinet rejects audit report of Rs40 billion irregularities detected in PM’s Covid package

    Minister of Information Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday rejected the recently released audit report, which shows Rs40 billion irregularities detected in PM’s Covid package.

    “The cabinet rejected the audit report on Covid-19 spending and asked three relevant organisations to give their presentations in this regard,” revealed Fawad in a press conference after the cabinet meeting.

    Fawad said the finance ministry had already rejected the audit report and prime minister’s aide Dr Sania Nishtar had also clarified the position of her organisation, Ehsaas programme.

    The audit report was released last week as Pakistan gave in to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) pressure by releasing the audit report of expenditures incurred on Covid-19.

    The release of the report by the Ministry of Finance was one of the five prior actions that the IMF has asked Pakistan to implement if it wanted to get the $1 billion loan tranche by January next year.

  • Another Rs8 hike in petroleum prices on the cards, again

    The government is likely to increase petroleum prices by up to Rs8 per litre for the next 15 days if it decides not to increase existing tax rates, reports Dawn.

    On the basis of existing tax rates, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and Petroleum Division have worked out about Rs6 per litre increase in the price of petrol and of high speed diesel (HSD) by about Rs8 per litre. The increase for other products, which includes kerosene and light diesel oil, was also estimated to be in the same range.

    An official said the government was considering an increase of petroleum levy by Rs4 per litre, either on Sunday or November 16. This would depend on its engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of its programme.

    However, no official decision has been made yet. The official announcement would be made after consultations with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday.

    Currently, the government is charging about Rs5.62 per litre petroleum levy on petrol and Rs5.14 per litre on HSD. In addition, it is also charging about Rs9.29 per litre and Rs8.81 per litre customs duty on petrol and HSD respectively besides Rs9 and Rs13 per litre GST on these two products.

    Energy Minister Hammad Azhar had said that the government was coming under pressure for giving up taxes on petroleum products.

    At present, the price of petrol stands at Rs137.79 per litre and the price of HSD is at Rs134.48 per litre.

    Earlier, the Finance Ministry of Pakistan warned the public about increasing the prices and transportation costs in the country.

  • Petrol price goes up by Rs 5 per litre

    The federal government has issued a notice to increase the price of petrol by Rs 5.0 per litre and diesel by Rs 5.1 per litre, reported Geo News.

    Apart from this, the prices of kerosene and light-diesel oil (LDO) have also been increased by Rs 5.46 and Rs 5.92 per litre, respectively. Now the new price for petrol will be Rs. 123.30 per litre, diesel will be 120.4 per litre, kerosene will be 92.26 per litre and LDO will be 90.69.

    Earlier the price of petrol was increased by Rs 5 per litre in July.

    According to Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin the prices will be implemented from today (Thursday).

  • OGRA proposes slashing petrol, jacking diesel price

    OGRA proposes slashing petrol, jacking diesel price

    Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has proposed slashing petrol, and increasing diesel prices due to existing tax rates.

    According to reports, the authority has calculated and proposed a two percent increase in diesel prices. It has moved a summary with calculations of petroleum prices on the basis of existing rates of the general sales tax (GST) and petroleum demand. 

    The Ministry of Finance is expected to announce a detailed list of prices of petroleum products based on the import parity (the price that a purchaser pays or can expect to pay for the imported goods). 

    PROPOSED RATES

    OGRA says about Rs2.47 per litre of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) and Rs1.10 per litre in Light Diesel Oil (LDO) should be increased. 

    On the other hand, the regulatory has calculated six paisas and 66 paisas per litre reduction in the price of petrol and kerosene oil respectively. 

    The rate of HSD has been calculated at Rs129.73 per litre instead of Rs127.26, showing an increase of 1.9pc. In addition, light diesel oil (LDO) has been worked out at Rs85.61 per litre instead of the existing rate of Rs84.51, showing an increase of 1.3pc.

    On the contrary, petrol price has been proposed to go down to Rs116.54 per litre from the existing rate of Rs116.60, down 0.1pc.

    The ex-depot price of kerosene has been proposed to be reduced by 0.7pc to Rs98.79 per litre from the existing rate of Rs99.45 per litre.

    The government has already increased GST on all petroleum products by a standard rate of 17pc across the board to generate additional revenues.