- IMF has sought mandatory asset declaration by high-ranking officers
- Public officers have to declare all domestic and foreign assets and properties
- The government has prevented holding benami properties
ISLAMABAD: The government has started implementing the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide the assets details of bureaucrats and their families from Grade 17 to 22 before the next tranche of financial assistance is approved.
An IMF mission arrived in Islamabad on January 30 to discuss the stalled ninth review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The global financial institution is demanding the public declaration of the assets of public servants in the country and abroad.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said talks with the IMF team were underway with the economic team led by the finance minister Ishaq Dar, and the global lender is giving the government a “tough time.”
Chairing an apex committee meeting, he said despite IMF’s strict terms and conditions, the government would take decisions keeping in view the national interest supreme. He said the IMF conditions are beyond imagination and the government would take strict decisions to take the country out of the economic quagmire.
In line with the conditions, the government has issued a notification that the asset details of public sector officers and their families from grades 17 to 22 have to be submitted.
The government has prevented holding benami properties. It has also restored the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act 2017 which makes prevents entering into a benami transaction or holding any benami property.
In a bid to provide relief, the notification said the assets of government officials can be cleared of money laundering. However, the IMF has sought mandatory declaration of assets by high-ranking officers and their families holding positions Grade 17 and above.
Government officers have to declare all domestic and foreign assets and properties. The asset details of can also be shared with the relevant institutions. It is mandatory for all government officers to declare the assets details of their families.
The notification said the complete bank account details of officers and their families will be collected. All banks will be required to furnish account details of government officers and their families to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR).
Banks will be required to provide details of officers and their families twice a year to tax authorities on January 31 and July 31. The State Bank of Pakistan will supervise the sharing of bank account details.
Banks have been instructed to appoint Focal Person to assist the FBR. All bank officers are bound to keep the account details confidential and preserve the account details data.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to impose approximately Rs600-800 billion in additional taxes in the second round of talks to revive the stalled loan facility.
FBR officials held a second round of technical talks with the IMF mission, led by Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter on the ninth review of the loan programme.
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