The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to withdraw the proposed 18 percent sales tax on stationery items following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s intervention, in a move that will bring relief to students, educational institutions, and households across the country.
Sources told ProPakistani that the IMF accepted the government’s request not to increase the tax from 10 percent to 18 percent in the upcoming federal budget for 2026-27, marking one of the more visible concessions secured by Islamabad during the ongoing budget negotiations.
Stationery items, including notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, geometry boxes, and other basic school supplies, are essential purchases for millions of households at the start of every academic year. An 18 percent sales tax on these items would have directly raised the cost of education for families already grappling with high inflation and stagnant real incomes.
Pakistan’s stationery market is largely import-dependent, with a significant portion of finished products and raw materials sourced from China and other regional suppliers. Industry estimates suggest the domestic stationery and office supplies market is worth tens of billions of rupees annually, serving not only the country’s vast school-going population but also universities, offices, and government departments.
