The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for a crash on tax evasion in Pakistan’s real estate sector as the negotiations begin to release a loan tranche of $ 1 billion in Islamabad.
This demand is part of the ongoing discussions aimed at securing the next tranche of the $ 7 billion loan program.
Pakistan has assured the IMF that it will activate the regulatory authority for real estate (rera) to tackle tax evasion in the sector.
As part of the plan, the authorities intend to intervene against persons involved in declaring false property values, with sanctions, including imprisonment and fines.
Agents who do not register properties may have fines of up to Rs 500,000, while those who provide false information could fines between Rs 200,000 and RS 500,000.
The regulatory authority for real estate will be authorized to impose prison sentences of up to three years.
Negotiations on loan trucks continue until March 15, 2025 and are divided into two phases: Technical discussions in the first phase, followed by conversations at the political level.
During this time, the IMF delegation is expected to meet with officials from Pakistan’s Finance Ministry, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Power Division and State Bank of Pakistan.
The IMF will also be informed of agricultural income taxes, tax sector for the real estate sector and plans to bring retailers into tax network.
In addition, the IMF delegation will provide suggestions for the upcoming financial year’s budget, and separate discussions will be held with representatives from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
