Business
Pakistan Surviving On IMF Reviews But Economy Remains Vulnerable As Ever: Report
New Delhi: Pakistan is witnessing the institutionalisation of a “survivalist” economy where every policy choice is dictated by the need to pass the next International Monetary Fund (IMF) review, regardless of whether that policy erodes the tax base for the next decade, while the economy remains vulnerable as ever — headed nowhere except, most likely, into another IMF programme, as per a news report.
The report in Business Recorder by Shahid Sattar reveals that Pakistan suffers from a chronic twin deficit: a fiscal gap (spending more than it collects) and a balance of payments crisis (consuming more foreign exchange than it earns).
“For fifty years, our imports have hovered at double the rate of our exports as a percentage of GDP. Simply, Pakistan is a country that has failed to produce,” it added.
The report argued that the fundamental flaw in the IMF’s approach is a “dogmatic adherence to revenue extraction at the cost of value creation”.
“By forcing the government to meet rigid fiscal targets, and through any means necessary at this point, the Fund has encouraged policies that stifle the very export-led growth required to break the debt cycle,” it further stated.
The historic economic model of state patronage was flawed and resulted in suboptimal allocation of resources.
“But there is a difference between weaning an addict off drugs and starving a healthy person. The IMF programme appears unable to distinguish between withdrawing support and subsidies, and actively destroying the ecosystem required for legitimate businesses to function,” the report further argued.
On paper, the IMF deals with the Finance Minister and the Governor of the State Bank. Technically, all policies within the Letter of Intent are the government’s own ideas.
“In reality, the programme reflects the behest of those holding the greatest political and economic leverage. When policies fail, the IMF claims the government designed them; the government claims the IMF demanded them. This ambiguity serves everyone but the country and its citizens,” the report lamented.
“Unless we reclaim our policymaking from the narrow, revenue-centric confines of IMF programmes, we are not just managing a crisis but rather our own decline,” it added.
New Delhi: Missed the December 31 deadline to file a revised or belated income tax return for FY 2024–25? Don’t panic just yet. While the window to revise your ITR has officially closed, it doesn’t mean your tax refund is gone for good. The rules simply take a different turn now and there’s still a way you may be able to claim what’s rightfully yours.
What happens after the December 31 deadline?
Up to December 31, taxpayers still had the option to file a belated return if they missed the original due date or submit a revised return to fix mistakes in an already filed ITR. However, once the calendar turned to January 1, both these options were shut for AY 2025–26. This means you can no longer file or revise your return now even if the Income Tax Department has not yet processed your earlier filing.
Is your tax refund still safe?
Yes, there’s some good news here. If you have already filed your ITR within the due date and are eligible for a refund, you can still receive it even after December 31. The Income Tax Department can process returns and release refunds later as well. That said, if there are mistakes in your return, the way to fix them now depends on what kind of error it is.
How can you claim your refund now? Here are the available options
Rectification request under Section 154 (most commonly used)
If your return has already been processed and you have received an intimation under Section 143(1), but the refund amount is incorrect or has been denied due to an error, you can file a rectification request. This option is useful when the issue is related to TDS or TCS mismatch, wrong tax or interest calculation, arithmetical or clerical mistakes, or incorrect carry-forward of losses. Rectification requests can be filed online through the income tax e-filing portal and remain available even after the December 31 deadline. For most taxpayers, this is the main route to claim or increase a refund in 2026.
Wait it out if your return is still under processing
If your ITR status shows “under processing”, there is no need to rush. The Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) has a fixed time limit to process returns and issue an intimation. If a refund is due and no discrepancies are found, it will be credited automatically along with applicable interest. In case the processing gets delayed beyond the allowed period, taxpayers can raise a grievance on the e-filing portal or through CPGRAMS.
Updated Return (ITR-U): Use with caution
From January 1 onwards, taxpayers can file an Updated Return (ITR-U), but this option has clear limitations. ITR-U can only be used to report additional income or correct under-reported income. It cannot be used to claim a new refund or increase an existing one. In fact, filing an ITR-U usually means paying extra tax along with interest, making it an unsuitable option for those hoping to get a refund.
Next steps to avoid missing your refund
Taxpayers should first check the status of their ITR on the income tax e-filing portal and keep an eye out for the intimation notice once it is issued. If you spot any mismatch or error affecting your refund, file a rectification request without delay. Also, make sure your bank account details are correctly entered and verified on the portal, as incomplete or unverified information can lead to unnecessary refund delays.
China’s BYD is set to overtake Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles (EVs), marking the first time it has outpaced its American rival for annual sales.
On Thursday, BYD said that sales of its battery-powered cars rose last year by almost 28% to more than 2.25 million.
Tesla, which is due to reveal its total sales for 2025 later on Friday, last week published analysts’ estimates suggesting that it had sold around 1.65 million vehicles for the year as a whole.
The US firm has faced a tough year with a mixed reception to new offerings, unease over Musk’s political activities and intensifying competition from Chinese rivals.
Chinese firms such as Geely, MG, and BYD – now the country’s largest electric car company – have put pressure on Western rivals by pricing their vehicles below established brands.
In October, Tesla responded by launching lower-priced versions of its two best selling models in the US in a bid to boost sales.
Musk, who is already the world’s richest man, is tasked with significantly boosting Tesla’s sales and stock market value over the next decade to secure a record-breaking pay package. The deal, which was approved by shareholders in November, could see him getting a payout of as much as $1tn (£740bn).
As part of the agreement, Musk also has to sell a million humanoid robots over the next ten years. Tesla has invested heavily in its “Optimus” product and self-driving “Robotaxis”.
Tesla sales slumped in the first three months of 2025 after a backlash against Musk’s role in US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Besides Tesla, the multi-billionaire’s business interests also include the social media platform X, the rocket firm SpaceX and the Boring Company, which digs tunnels.
Those commitments, along with running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), led some investors to suggest that Musk was not focusing enough on Tesla.
Since then Musk has pledged to “significantly” cut back his role in the US government.
Despite BYD’s rise in recent years, its sales growth slowed in 2025 to the weakest rate in five years, in part due to fierce competition in China, its key market.
Still, BYD remains a global EV powerhouse as its prices often undercut rival carmakers.
The Shenzhen-based company’s rapid expansion – especially in Latin America, South East Asia and parts of Europe – comes despite many countries imposing steep tariffs on Chinese EVs.
In October, BYD said the UK had become its biggest market outside China. The firm said that its sales in Britain surged by 880% in the year to the end of September, driven by strong demand for the plug-in hybrid version of its Seal U sports utility vehicle (SUV).
Tom GerkenTechnology reporter
Getty ImagesThe cost of lots of the devices we all use could be forced up in 2026 because the price of Ram – once one of the cheapest computer components – has more than doubled since October 2025.
The tech powers everything from smartphones to smart TVs, as well as things like medical devices.
Its price has shot up because of the explosive growth in the data centres which power AI, which need Ram too.
That’s caused an imbalance between supply and demand which means everyone has to pay more.
Manufacturers often choose to swallow small cost increases, but big ones tend to get passed on to consumers.
And these increases are anything but small.
“We are being quoted costs around 500% higher than they were only a couple of months ago,” said Steve Mason, general manager of CyberPowerPC, which builds computers.
He said there “will come a point” where these increased component costs will “force” manufacturers to “make decisions about pricing”.
“If it uses memory, or storage, there is the potential for price increases,” he said.
“The manufacturers will have choices to make, as will consumers.”
Ram – or random access memory – is used to store code while you use a device. It is a critical component of almost every kind of computer.
Without it would be impossible for you to read this article, for example.
And with the component being so ubiquitous, Danny Williams from rival computer building site PCSpecialist said he expected price increases to continue “well into 2026”.
“The market has been very buoyant in 2025 and if memory prices do not fall back a little I would expect a reduction in consumer demand in 2026,” he said.
He said he’d seen “a varied impact” across different Ram producers.
“Some vendors have larger inventories and therefore their price increases are more subtle at perhaps 1.5x to 2x,” he said.
But he said other firms did not have a large amount of stock – and they had increased prices by “up to 5x” more.
AI making prices rise
Chris Miller, author of Chip War, called AI “the main factor” driving demand for computer memory.
“There’s been a surge of demand for memory chips, driven above all by the high-end High Bandwidth Memory that AI requires,” he said.
“This has led to higher prices across different types of memory chips.”
He said prices “often fluctuate dramatically” based on “demand and supply” – and demand is significantly up right now.
And Mike Howard from Tech Insights told the BBC it came down to cloud service providers finalising their memory requirements for 2026 and 2027.
He said that gave the people who make Ram a clear picture of demand – and it was “unmistakeable” that supply “will not meet the levels that Amazon, Google, and other hyperscalers are planning for”.
“With both demand clarity and supply constraints converging, suppliers have steadily pushed prices upward, in some cases aggressively,” he said.
“Some suppliers have even paused issuing price quotes, a rare move that signals confidence that future prices will rise further.”
He said some manufacturers will have seen this coming and built up their inventory ahead of time to help mitigate the price rises – but called those firms “outliers”.
“In PCs, memory typically accounts for 15 to 20 percent of total cost, but current pricing has pushed that toward 30 to 40 percent,” he said.
“Margins in most consumer categories are not deep enough to absorb these increases.”
The bottom line for 2026
With prices trending upwards, customers will likely be left deciding whether to pay more or accept a less powerful device.
“Most of the market intelligence we have received would suggest pricing and supply will be a challenge worldwide throughout 2026 into 2027,” Mr Mason said.
And some big firms have turned their nose up at the consumer market altogether.
Micron, previously one of the biggest sellers of Ram, announced in December it would stop selling its Crucial brand to focus on AI demand.
“It removes one of the biggest players from the market,” Mr Mason said.
“On the one hand, that’s less choice for consumers – on the other hand, if their entire production ploughs into AI, it should free up capacity for the others to make more for consumers, so it may balance out.”
Mr Howard said a typical laptop, with 16GB of Ram, could see its manufacturing cost increase by $40 to $50 (£30 to £37) in 2026 – and this “will likely be passed on to consumers”.
“Smartphones will also see upwards pressure on their prices,” he said.
“A typical smartphone could see it’s cost to build increase $30 which, again, will likely get passed on directly to consumer.”
And Mr Williams said there might be another outcome of increased prices too.
“Computers are a commodity – an everyday item that people need in a modern day world,” he said.
“With the increase in memory prices, consumers will need to decide to either pay a higher price for the performance they need, or accept a compromise in a lower performing device.”
There is, of course, another option, says Mr Williams – consumers might have to “make do with old tech for a little longer.”
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