ISLAMABAD  -   Minister of State for Finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha on Tues­day said that the government would fulfil all the commit­ments with the International Monetary Fund, as the country is still in the IMF programme.

Talking to media here, the minister once again claimed that Pakistan would not default. She said that Pakistan and the IMF are continuously engaged over the 9th review. She clar­ified that the government has not announced any tax amnes­ty scheme in the annual budget. She ruled out the possibility of debt restructuring with Par­is Club and multilaterals but said that Paki­stan is considering discussions with bilat­eral partners regarding debt restructuring.

Earlier, briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, she clarified that the federal government does not intend to raise the levy to 60 rupees but seeks the necessary space and flexibility to effective­ly manage the petroleum levy.

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, on the second day discussed the Finance Bill, 2023-2024. The committee discussed the recommendation to enhance the petroleum development levy by Rs10 per liter to Rs60 per liter on oil products in or­der to achieve the annual non-tax collection target. The committee proposed to allow the federal cabinet to make any changes in the PDL. The government has set PDL target for FY24 at Rs869 billion. Later, the committee deferred the matter concerning a proposed 10% increase in the petroleum levy for addi­tional clarification. The Finance Ministry pro­posed an amendment to transfer the power of fixing the levy from the parliament to the cabinet, seeking greater flexibility in the de­cision-making process. However, the Min­ister of State for Finance clarified that the ministry does not intend to raise the levy to 60 rupees but seeks the necessary space and flexibility to effectively manage the pe­troleum levy. The committee deemed it es­sential to seek further clarification on this matter before making a final decision.

The committee approved repealing the tax rate of 2% for overseas Pakistanis on the purchase of immovable property. It also recommended fixing the super tax at 8% instead of 10% on income exceeding 500 million rupees and 6% super tax on amounts exceeding 400 million rupees, as opposed to the proposed 8%.