The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has introduced 11 new structural benchmarks for Pakistan under its ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, with a major focus on ending the powers of the Board of Investment (BOI), Board of Approval (BOA), and existing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to grant tax incentives through the upcoming federal budget.
In the energy sector, the government will continue semi-annual gas tariff adjustments and annual power tariff revisions to maintain tariffs at cost-recovery levels, with implementation deadlines scheduled between July 2026 and February 2027.
The IMF program also calls for strengthening the autonomy and transparency of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) through amendments to the NAB Ordinance.
Proposed changes include introducing an open, merit-based, and competitive selection process for senior management based on pre-determined qualification criteria, supervised by a multi-sectoral stakeholder committee in line with recommendations contained in the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic report.
According to the IMF report, Pakistan has agreed to amend laws governing Special Economic Zones and Special Technology Zones to gradually phase out existing fiscal incentives as part of broader reforms aimed at creating a more transparent and competitive investment regime.
The proposed reforms include shifting from profit-based incentives to cost-based incentives, discontinuing the authority of the BOA, BOI, and SEZ authorities to independently grant tax concessions, and phasing out all fiscal incentives for Special Technology Zones by 2035.
Under another structural benchmark, the government will seek parliamentary approval for the FY2026-27 budget in line with program targets, including maintaining an underlying primary surplus of 2 percent of GDP.
Pakistan has also committed to centralizing the tax audit case selection process through administrative prioritization and a Compliance Risk Management system designed to identify and monitor high-risk cases using data-driven mechanisms. Authorities will additionally prepare a comprehensive audit manual and audit policy to standardize procedures and improve transparency in tax administration.
As part of governance reforms, Pakistan will amend Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules to eliminate preferential treatment for state-owned enterprises in public procurement contracts awarded without competition. The measure aims to ensure transparency and create a level playing field for all market participants.
Authorities will also publish NAB’s investigation and prosecution rules, along with annual statistics on corruption investigations, prosecutions, and convictions.
On the social protection front, the government has committed to annual inflation-linked adjustments and enhanced benefit generosity for the unconditional cash transfer component of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) Kafaalat initiative. Quarterly reviews of benefit levels will be conducted to protect vulnerable households from inflationary pressures.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan will develop a roadmap for the gradual liberalization of the foreign exchange regime, including appropriate sequencing to safeguard macroeconomic and financial stability.
The report further states that Pakistan will establish the Pakistan Regulatory Registry as a comprehensive and legally authoritative source for business regulations applicable to the federal government and the Islamabad Capital Territory.
There are tax exemptions for some other organizations not mentioned in this news item. Did IMF demand an end to such exemptions? If not, why not? IMF’ s demands should be clearly shared with the public.
EVERY PAKISTANI SHOULD GET COPY OF EVERY COLLECTED TEX AND C EVERY MONTH where and how much tex go where AND KEEP AND COMPARE
Pakistan too much dependency on imf policies is increasing year by year because of volatile economy which is not a good sign for future. Imf policies are short term and not efficient for long term growth of a country. Now escaping from imf policies is not possible instantly, but govt should do reforms in it’s economy by itself with imf policies. Pakistan is a country and country needs a long term policies for it’s survival not short term bailout from imf.