Staff Reporter
Islamabad/Karachi
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has assured that Rs 50 billion agriculture package recently announced by the government would be targeted and every attempt would be made to ensure its beneficiaries were the farmers and crop growers for whom this relief package was intended.
The government has approved this package with a view to extending relief to the farmers community and its direct disbursement to the farmers and crop growers remains a key objective of the government, he said while chairing a meeting with a delegation of the Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP) that met the Adviser and members of the government’s economic team at the Finance Division on Monday.
Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh welcomed various proposals and recommendations put forward by the delegation regarding extending direct relief to the farmers, including possible reduction of electricity tariff for tube-wells, reduction of import duty on fertilizers, reduction of mark-up and waiver of agricultural loans, deregulation of the import and export of agriculture products and livestock.
Meanwhile, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) was given assurance by Dr. Hafeez Shaikh that the upcoming budget for FY2020-21 will be a Relief Budget and most of the recommendations of KCCI will be adopted in the budgetary measures to be announced by the government on 12th June 2020. The assurance was given in a meeting held on Monday via video link between the KCCI’s team led by Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli with Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, to deliberate on the proposals of KCCI for the Federal Budget 2020-21.
On the occasion, President KCCI Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan stated that the budget for the year 2020-21 is being prepared at a time when the country is facing an unprecedented crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic and every business and industry has been badly affected. In these extraordinary circumstances, people of Pakistan in general and the business community in particular are looking forward to a budget which provides substantial relief measures to rescue the economy from the brink of disaster.
Chairman BMG Siraj Teli highlighted major macroeconomic issues during the meeting and elaborated on the measures which KCCI has recommended to rescue the trade and industry from devastating impact of a global economic meltdown caused by the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. He reiterated that today the Name of the Game is survival of trade and industry which should be on top priority in the budget rather than the revenues. Revenues can be recovered later only if the trade and industry survive hence the budget should focus on relief through these macroeconomic measures.
