Govt all set to pass finance bill from parliament today

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is all set to introduce Rs 170 billion mini-budget (Supplementary Finance Bill 2023) in parliament, for which separate sessions of the National Assembly and Senate have been convened for today, ARY News reported.

According to the agenda released by NA secretariat, the National Assembly will meet at 3:30pm and Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar will present the Finance Supplementary Bill, 2023 in the lower house.

Agenda for today’s session of the National Assembly.#NASession @AliyaKamranJUI @MIshaqDar50 @RTanveerPMLN @MurtazaJavedAbb @PTVNewsOfficial @appcsocialmedia @MoIB_Official pic.twitter.com/840LtaGuQX

— National Assembly of 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) February 15, 2023

A session of the Senate has also been summoned at 4:30 pm to move the bill in the upper house. After the passage of finance bill from both houses, the bill will be then sent to President Arif Alvi for assent.

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According to sources, the president could hold the bill for 10 days but he had assured Finance Minister Ishaq Dar of giving his assent soon after receiving the bill.

The federal government decided to pass the Finance Bill from the parliament, which is also being termed ‘mini-budget’, after President Dr Arif Alvi raised objections.

“The president advised that it would be more appropriate to take parliament into confidence on this important subject, and that a session be called immediately so that the bill is enacted without delay,” a statement issued by the President House said after the meeting.

Govt raises GST to 18%

In a late-night move, the federal government on Tuesday enhanced taxes on cigarettes with immediate effect to collect Rs115 billion out of the planned Rs170 billion mini-budget.

According to the notification issued by FBR, the standard rate of General Sales Tax (GST) has been jacked up from 17 to 18 percent with effect from February 15, 2023. The Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes has also gone up.

The government has increased FED on expensive brands from Rs6.5 per cigarette to Rs16.5 – an increase of 153%. For less expensive brands, per stick increase is from Rs2.55 to Rs5.05 – an increase of 98%.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued the notification after the cabinet approved the finance bill.