ISLAMABAD: The government briefed a visiting International Monetary Fund review mission Monday that the Gulf War and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz caused revenue losses in the first quarter and slowed economic activity, and said about 10,000 federal employees will be required to digitally declare their movable and immovable assets by Oct. 30, 2026, under a mandatory asset declaration regime.
Senior government officials told Business Recorder that the first round of meetings between the government and the IMF mission focused on revenue performance, the economic impact of the Gulf conflict and progress on structural reforms, including digitization of the Asset Declaration Scheme under Section 15-A of the Civil Servants Act, 1973.
On revenue, the Federal Board of Revenue briefed the IMF mission on the Gulf conflict's effect on tax collection and expressed confidence that the agreed first-quarter target of 3.053 trillion rupees would still be met by Sept. 30, 2026.
The FBR is expected to collect about 1.330 trillion rupees in September against a monthly target of 1.343 trillion rupees, according to reports.
Tax authorities told the IMF mission the expected September collection would allow the FBR to meet the overall July-September revenue target of 3.053 trillion rupees.
FBR officials said disruption in the Strait of Hormuz after the Gulf conflict pushed up fuel prices and slowed economic activity in Pakistan, hurting tax collection.
The impact was felt particularly in sales tax and withholding tax collection at the import stage, officials said.
The FBR estimates the ongoing conflict has caused revenue losses of about 144 billion rupees to the national exchequer during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
Despite the external shock, tax authorities remained confident of meeting the quarterly target agreed with the IMF.
Separately, the Establishment Division and tax authorities briefed the IMF mission on digitization of the Asset Declaration Scheme under Section 15-A of the Civil Servants Act, 1973.
The government told the fund that about 10,000 federal civil servants would be required to declare their movable and immovable assets under the mandatory scheme.
Officials said the declaration would not be optional and that covered federal civil servants would have to submit asset details through the digitized system.
The government is targeting Oct. 30, 2026, for completion of the asset declaration process.
The digitized asset declarations are expected to be published by December 2026 or January 2027, according to officials.
The asset declaration measure is part of the government's broader effort to strengthen transparency and accountability in the public sector and improve monitoring of assets held by federal civil servants.
Discussions with the IMF mission are continuing, with the fund reviewing Pakistan's fiscal and revenue performance, implementation of agreed structural reforms and the impact of recent external developments on the economy.
The review mission is also expected to examine the government's progress on agreed program benchmarks and revenue mobilization measures during the ongoing talks.
