The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has again delayed the deadline for disbursing the fourth tranche of its $645 million loan program to Bangladesh. A proposal to release the fourth and fifth tranches together in June will be developed for presentation at the IMF Executive Board meeting. Originally, the plan was to deliver the tranche by February 5; however, this has been rescheduled to March 12.

After the second Finance Ministry session of the District Administrators’ Conference today, Monday, February 17, 2025, at the capital’s Osmani Memorial Auditorium, Finance Advisor Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters that they are not in a rush and are taking their time to finish certain tasks. “We’ve stated that we have some work to do and that we must finish it as much as we can,” he said. We’re not becoming hopeless. We are working from our own point of view, but we will meet the requirements.”

The finance adviser also said, “We know that some work needs to be done as per the IMF loan conditions, but the country’s macroeconomic situation is strong now. The ongoing fiscal account, current account and expatriate income are good.”

Under the IMF loan program, certain conditions have to be met for each tranche, but except for the fourth tranche, all other conditions have already been met. One of the conditions set out in June last year was to increase tax collection. According to sources in the finance ministry, the IMF delegation has repeatedly emphasized the issue of tax collection. However, Bangladesh’s tax collection has not yet reached the desired level, which has put pressure on the government.

The IMF delegation arrived in Dhaka on December 3 to review these issues and put more pressure on the government to increase tax collection. Although the government has taken various steps to increase tax collection, the government’s decision to increase VAT and customs duties late last year drew criticism.

Additional requirements for the IMF loan program include raising the tax-to-GDP ratio and implementing additional revenue collection techniques. However, the nation’s economic difficulties, high inflation, and growing expenses of all types have made it harder for the government to generate fresh money.

Although the government must now adhere to the IMF’s requirements, there is still debate about how best to do so.