ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly session will convene on Monday (today) to present amendments relating to taxes and duties as the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021, generally known as mini-budget, is on the agenda.
Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting of the strategic committee of the joint opposition in Parliament House before the start of the sitting to devise a strategy to block the bill’s passage. Sharif is also expected to meet PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and discuss issues related to the bills.
The National Assembly Secretariat issued a 48-point agenda for Monday’s sitting which also includes a motion seeking amendments in the bill. The bill was under consideration of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance for preparing recommendations under Article 73 of the Constitution.
On December 30, 2021, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin introduced the ‘mini-budget’ in the National Assembly amid protests by opposition lawmakers. The treasury benches remained unfazed and moved on with the agenda items. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 was also presented in the House, which was referred to the standing committee for vetting.
The approval of the finance supplementary bill is necessary to ensure that Pakistan’s sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility gets cleared by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board.
The government had planned to get the bill passed by parliament before the January 12 meeting of the IMF. There are reports that the global financial institution has accepted Pakistan’s request to postpone the review of the financial assistance programme which is now expected to take place either on Jan 28 or 31.
Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry expressed the hope that the finance bill would be passed by the assembly in mid-January and the IMF had already been asked to reschedule its January 12 meeting.
The opposition members had earlier announced that they would block the government’s move to present the bills and accused the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf of surrendering the country’s economic sovereignty
They said the bills would cause more economic difficulties for Pakistanis who were already reeling under unprecedented price hikes and unemployment. However, the treasury benches remained unfazed and moved on with the agenda items in the absence of opposition leaders.
The opposition’s efforts to counter the proposals were in disarray by the absence of its key leaders as it had already failed to meet the required majority to oppose bills.
In the last session, Tarin had proposed amendments in income tax, sales tax and federal excise laws to impose Rs375 billion taxation measures amid strong protest by the opposition parties.
