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reviews FBR’s plan PM HIGHLIGHTS KEY ACHIEVEMENTS, ECONOMIC IMF to generate Rs250b PROGRESS AS GOVT MARKS ONE YEAR from retailers, enforce Wednesday, 5 March, 2025 I 4 Ramazan, 1446
SAYS IT WAS MATTER OF SATISFACTION THAT g TELLS CABINET MEMBERS TO WORK HARD TO NOT A SINGLE CASE OF CORRUPTION PROVIDE SUCCOUR TO HAPLESS AND SURFACED IN PAST ONE YEAR FINANCIALLY WEAKER SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XV No 239 I 8 Pages I Lahore Edition
ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
RIME Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday lauded the performance of his cabinet members during the past one year and urged them to continue contributing towards economic stability with their untiring efforts as all the economic indicators were showing positive trajectory. Addressing a special meeting of the cabinet members held at the Jinnah Convention Center to review the one-year performance of the government, the prime minister said that during the last one year, it was a matter of satisfaction that not a single case of corruption had surfaced by the opposition. The prime minister said that they should have to work hard to provide succour to hapless and financially weaker segments of society with all kind of assistance and compassion especially in the holy month of Ramazan, adding that the government had rolled out Rs20 billion Ramazan package to benefit 4 million deserving families through digital wallets system.
Each family would get Rs5,000 each, thus the new system would shut doors on all kind of allegations of financial mismanagement which had badly marred the functioning of entities like Utility Stores Corporation, he said, terming the relief initiative as ‘quantum jump which will succeed’. He said that they took the challenge of saving the country from running into default. With hard work, the government
succeeded in achieving the economic turnaround and steering the country out of the financial straits. For the first time in country’s history, meeting of the federal cabinet was witnessed by people from different section of society and mediapersons present in the Convention Center besides, it was telecast live by the national TV channels. The prime minister said all the macroeconomic indicators were on the
Planning minister chairs meeting on Gwadar Port’s operationalization plan PROFIT APP
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to finalize the Gwadar Port
Operationalization Plan and address key challenges hindering its full functionality. The meeting was co-chaired by Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan and Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, while Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal participated online, a news
high scale and asked the members to work hard with dedication and commitment as these were prerequisite for making Pakistan one trillion economy till the year 2035. He also thanked leadership of all the coalition partners in the government including PPP, MQM, BAP, IPP etc, for their support in the most difficult times. “We are the bearers of May 28 achievement and not of May 9,” he said, questioning that a political party who was running a provincial government had written letters to IMF pressing against any agreement with the government. The prime minister highlighting government’s efforts towards economic stability, expressed the confidence that Rs400 billion tax cases pending for adjudication in various courts would be decided expeditiously as the one by Sindh High Court which provided relief to the government with Rs23 billion. He underlined the need of plugging 850 billion rupees losses incurred by the loss-making state owned enterprises terming them as’ bottomless pits’ which needed to be plugged, besides the need to end circular debt in the power sector.
release said. The session was attended by the secretaries from relevant ministries, CEO of the Public-Private Partnership Authority (P3A) and other key stakeholders. The primary agenda of the meeting was to review critical issues impeding the operationalization of Gwadar Port, finalize an actionable strategy for its activation, and ensure effective implementation of the plan once approved by the Cabinet. Addressing the meeting, Planning Minister Prof. Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the government’s commitment to making Gwadar a regional trade hub.
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compliance framework g
IMF IS ALSO ASSESSING PAKISTAN’S TAX PENALTY STRUCTURE TO DESIGN A GENERAL ANTI AVOIDANCE RULE FOR IMPROVED COMPLIANCE PROFIT
MONITORING DESK
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reviewed the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) plan to expand the tax net for retailers and implement the Compliance Risk Management (CRM) framework as part of efforts to generate Rs250 billion in additional revenue, according to a news report. The measures, discussed during the ongoing IMF review mission in Islamabad, come amid a Rs604 billion revenue shortfall in the first eight months of the fiscal year. The Tajir Doost Scheme is central to the FBR’s drive to bring retailers into the tax system, alongside CRM enforcement at Large Taxpayer Units (LTUs) in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. The FBR has also integrated its data with 145 agencies under documentation laws and is expanding the compliance improvement plan across 36 more cities. To strengthen tax enforcement, the FBR is introducing AI-driven audits, selecting 3-5% of six million tax returns for review, though full implementation will take time. Independent auditors have also been hired. Other measures include digital invoicing, track-and-trace mechanisms, and stricter enforcement to curb tax evasion. The IMF is also assessing Pakistan’s tax penalty structure to design a General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) for improved compliance. Meanwhile, discussions continue on broader fiscal adjustments for 2024-25 and the framework for the 2025-26 budget, with negotiations potentially extending until the budget’s approval by Parliament if an agreement is not reached at the staff level.