Islamabad: Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday to review matters related to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Finance Division. Chairman FBR and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and FBR participated in the meeting.
Acting Finance Secretary briefed the Finance Minister on the progress of the various ongoing initiatives of the Ministry of Finance. He said that efforts were in hand to make sure that the strong fiscal performance of first quarter is maintained during the second quarter and beyond.
Acting Finance Secretary also briefed the Minister on the estimates of gross external financing needs during the current fiscal year. He said that a recently published World Bank Report had erroneously indicated Pakistan’s gross external financing needs at US$ 31 billion for the current fiscal year.
He said that the Report is based on misinterpretation of standard definition of the gross financing needs of the country. Based on the international reporting standards, Pakistan’s actual gross financing need for FY 2017-18 is estimated atUS$18 billion (5.3% of GDP) rather than $31 billion (9% of GDP).
He informed the Minister that the matter has been taken up with the World Bank to rectify the error. The Minister was informed that external inflows are expected to be sufficient to meet repayment obligations.
The Finance Minister directed the Finance Division to proactively work with the World Bank to ensure correct reporting of economic data. He also directed to ensure timely and effective implementation of the various ongoing initiatives of the Ministry.
Finance Minister expressed his satisfaction on the progress made by FBR and stated that the last date for filing of returns was extended to 31st October, based on the genuine demands from tax professionals and trade organizations. He said that given this facilitation which has been extended to trade bodies and taxpayers, FBR should now work closely with representative bodies to ensure that returns due for the current year are filed by 31st October 2017.