PRAL, PSW import figures raises questions over credibility of data; ministries worry against making revisions public
ISLAMABAD
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to publicly disclose $11 billion worth of discrepancies in trade data reported by two government entities over the last two fiscal years, raising questions about the credibility of the country’s external sector indicators.
The imports reported by Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) were $5.1 billion lower than those reported by Pakistan Single Window (PSW) for fiscal year 2023-24. The difference widened further to $5.7 billion in the following fiscal year, they added. PSW’s import figures, which are considered more comprehensive and include all import entries, were also higher than the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s freight-on-board (FoB) based import data, said the sources. The current account surplus for the last fiscal year was calculated using the central bank’s data.
The Pakistani authorities briefed the IMF this week after the global lender approached the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) before the start of review talks, according to the sources. The issue was later discussed in sessions with PBS and the Ministry of Planning and Development.
During the discussions, the IMF recommended that Pakistan adopt a clear communication policy to explain the discrepancies in trade data and the changes in methodology to avoid mistrust between the government and data users.
Pakistan reportedly admitted to the IMF that the trade data, submitted to the Geneva-based International Trade Center (ITC) by PBS, was not comprehensive and that some import figures were missing from its reporting. However, officials maintained that the underreporting was not due to any malafide intent but rather stemmed from the transition of the trade data source from PRAL to PSW.
PRAL operates under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), while PSW is an independent legal entity, although most of its officers come from the Customs Department.
