Cabinet approves Finance Bill 2021, will be tabled in NA today: Fawad

ISLAMABAD: A special committee of the cabinet on Thursday approved the ‘Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021’ which would now be presented in the National Assembly at 4pm during which Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin will present a mini-budget to meet certain conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The cabinet has approved the Finance Bill, which will now be tabled in the National Assembly,” announced Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Twitter.

کابینہ نے فنانس بل کی منظوری دے دی ہے، اب یہ بل قومی اسمبلی کے اجلاس میں پیش کیا جائیگا۔ https://t.co/S5skxZfxQf

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 30, 2021

Meeting of Federal Cabinet held in Islamabad with Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI in the chair. pic.twitter.com/IB3IHrd2Pq

— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 30, 2021

Read more: NA issues 18-point agenda for today’s session over mini-budget, SBP bill

The mini-budget aims to impose an extra burden of taxes on the public to meet the requirement agreed with the International Monitory Fund (IMF).

As expected a much-heated session of the National Assembly will be held at 4:00 pm and the opposition has already vowed to resist the government’s move for presenting the mini-budget in the House.

According to the order of the day of the National  Assembly, Minister for Finance and Revenue, Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin will introduce the bill seeking to amend certain laws related to taxes and duties.

Another controversial bill seeking complete autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is not part of the agenda. However, this bill may also be introduced in the House as the supplementary agenda.

The federal cabinet has already approved a revised draft of the SBP Amendment Bill 2021, which promises complete autonomy for the SBP and puts a complete restriction on the government’s borrowing from it.

The proposed law, which has been heavily criticised by all major opposition parties gives unprecedented autonomy to the SBP to target inflation rather than economic growth. This has been one of the requirements for Pakistan to meet demand under the programme agreed with the IMF in July 2019.

Under the programme, the IMF has approved a 39-month $6 billon arrangement for the country under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to support Islamabad’s economic reform programme.

The lawmaker of PML-N Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Wednesday during the sitting of the National Assembly had strongly criticised both these bills and had vowed to resist them. He had said that Pakistan had become financial colony of the international lenders.

During Wednesdays’ proceedings of the National Assembly, the government had been successful to meet the quorum. During the first three sittings of the current session, the government had failed to meet the quorum and the sittings were adjourned by the chair whenever the opposition pointed out the quorum and it was found incomplete on counting.

Read more: Mini-budget to leave Pakistan’s economy dependent on external support: Shehbaz Sharif

Meanwhile, Vice President of PPP Senator Sherry Rehman has strongly criticised the government on its plan to present the mini-budget in the National Assembly by proroguing the session of the Senate for indefinite period.

In a statement issued on Thursday she said under the Article 73 of the Constitution it was mandatory that copy of finance bill be submitted to the Senate. She said that the government would explain the Article 73 as per its own wishes.

“Will the Senate be bypassed on the mini-budget valuing more than Rs600 billion,” she raised the question. She said PPP has already rejected this anti-people mini-budget.