SBP - Banking Sector / Federal Board of Revenue

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Pakistan's GDP growth for FY26 to remain above govt estimate, says SBP chief​

• Workers' remittances estimated to hit above $41.5bn

July 3, 2026
Salman Siddiqui
B Recorder

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad on Friday projected that the country’s economic growth will be higher than the government’s provisional growth number at 3.7% for FY26.

Speaking at a press conference, Ahmad said that the country’s GDP growth is expected to be around 3.75-4.75% in FY26.

“Earlier, we expected GDP growth of over 4%, but due to the ongoing Middle East crisis, the growth is expected to be lower than that,” he said.

 

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During FY 2026, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, held by the central bank, surged to $18.4 billion, up from $13 billion registered FY 2025.

“The FX has increased despite a debt repayment of $8 billion in June alone,” he said.

 

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Aurangzeb says digital tax reforms a must to boost revenue​

July 4, 2026
B Recorder

FAISALABAD: A fully digitalised taxation system is imperative to eliminate leakages in addition to enhancing collection without creating any hassle to the taxpayers, said Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Addressing the business community here at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) on Friday, he said that this is not a post-budget conference but actually the beginning of preparations for the budget for FY 2027-2028.

He said that the finance division is responsible for budget preparation while the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would look after the matters of tax administration and tax collection only.

Underlining the importance of the private sector, he said that it has to lead the economy to put Pakistan on a growth trajectory.

About financing, the minster said that the interest rate has been trimmed from 22 percent to 11.5 percent. “It could be further brought down if the Iran conflict is resolved immediately,” he opined.

 

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FBR excludes agri income from tax expenditure purview​

July 4, 2026
Sohail Sarfraz
B Recorder

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has excluded agricultural income, which falls outside the scope of federal income taxation, from the purview of annual tax expenditure (cost of tax exemptions).

According to the FBR’s new report on tax expenditure-2026, the cost of tax exemptions has not been calculated on the agricultural income. The revenue loss on account of agricultural income is not part of the FBR’s tax expenditure.

The report said that certain concessions and exemptions are treated as structural elements of the tax base or are granted in compliance with international obligations. Such provisions are not regarded as deviations from the benchmark tax system and are therefore excluded from the estimation of tax expenditures in this report.

 

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ADB keeps Pakistan's growth outlook unchanged at 3.7pc for current fiscal year​

Khaleeq Kiani
July 9, 2026

A farmer uses a tractor to plough a field on the outskirts of Lahore on July 8, 2026. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday left its forecast for Pakistan’s economic growth unchanged at 3.7 per cent and projected inflation at 8.3pc for the current fiscal year, slightly higher than the government’s estimate.

In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) July 2026, the Manila-based lender, however, lowered its growth forecast for developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.9pc for 2026 from 5.5pc in 2025, marking a 0.2-percentage-point reduction from its April projections.

 

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Central bank keeps policy rate unchanged at 11.5pc​

News Desk
July 27, 2026



SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed addresses a press conference. — DawnNewsTV

The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Monday kept the interest rate unchanged at 11.5 per cent.

The decision was announced by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed during a press conference.

At the outset of the press conference, the governor said, “MPC has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11.5pc”.

“There were several reasons for this, but I would like to explain some background: every time we hold committee meetings in January and July, we also issue projections for the next six months and what would be the level of economic growth, inflation outlook and situation of the external account; I will share that assessment as well.”

The governor explained that in the first half of the previous year, inflation was declining; however, “the fallout from the Middle East crisis impacted our domestic situation”.