ISLAMABAD: The government has agreed with the IMF on changes to tax policy, budget-making, and public finance management for the upcoming budget.
Sources said that, according to the Ministry of Finance, the technical report on budget proposals for the next fiscal year will be submitted to the ministry in January. The IMF’s technical mission has returned after giving recommendations for major changes in the budget.
It was further revealed that the Ministry of Finance will prepare and share final proposals with the IMF next month regarding changes in the budget implementation process. Fifteen proposals were discussed with the IMF technical mission to improve the budget execution process.
Recommendations from the IMF delegation include creating a digitized public finance management (PFM) plan, forming a committee to oversee the digitized PFM plan, implementing full e-office and e-PADs for budget preparation, and eliminating data inconsistencies.
Sources added that preparing the budget on the basis of updated data and expanding consultations with all ministries during budget formulation were also part of the technical mission’s proposals. The mission also provided recommendations for significant changes in tax policy for the new budget.
