Govt to listen to opposition's take on Finance (Supplementary) Bill

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to listen to the opposition’s point of view on the Finance (Supplementary ) Bill, generally known as mini-budget, in the session of the National Assembly, ARY News reported on Monday, citing sources.

The decision was taken in a meeting between Speaker NA, Asad Qaiser and Parliamentary Adviser, Dr Babar Awan. The meeting decided to listen to the opposition’s take on the Finance (Amendment) Bill during the current session

In this context, the government has decided to inform the opposition leaders.

The session of the National Assembly will begin, later in the day with the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, on its agenda.

The National Assembly Secretariat on Sunday issued a 48-point agenda for Monday’s sitting, which also includes a motion at number 39 in the name of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin seeking the passage of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 that he introduced in the assembly on Dec 30 and which was presently under consideration of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance for preparing recommendations under Article 73 of the Constitution.

Read more: IMF postpones 6th review of loan plan on Pakistan request

The approval of the finance supplementary bill seeking to amend certain laws related to taxes and duties and the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 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) for the disbursement of about $1bn tranche.