Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
The Upper House of parliament on Thursday unanimously adopted various recommendations furnished by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance for incorporation in the Finance Bill 2022-23.
The recommendations were moved by the committee Chairman Senator Saleem Mandviwalla. Twenty-seven recommendations were related to the money bill, while 217 others were about the Public Sector Development Programme.
These recommendations include, withdrawal of seventeen percent sales tax on purchase of pharmaceutical raw material, zero tax duty on import of goods for charitable hospitals and other non-profit making institutions, exemption of Federal Excise Duty to newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and enhancing Federal Excise Duty on natural gas from ten rupees to twenty rupees per MMBTU.
The Senate also recommended a number of infrastructure schemes which include establishment of a campus of Gomal University at South Waziristan, construction of official residences for Chairman Senate in the Minister’s enclave, Mega water supply scheme for Hinglaj Mandir and Naani Mandir in Lasbella district, installation of sewerage treatment plants in Islamabad, and construction of Sargodha-Tiarza road. It also proposed extension of scholarship programme and provision of higher education opportunities for the students of Balochistan and erstwhile tribal areas, upgradation of agriculture and livestock research system in all agriculture universities of Pakistan.
Winding up discussion on the budget for the next fiscal year in the Senate, Minister of State for Finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha said the government has announced a substantial cut in its expenditure.
She said efforts are being made to reduce the budget deficit and we should all join hands to steer the country out of the current difficult situation.
She said subsidy is being given on five essential items, including sugar, ghee, wheat flour, and pulses to provide relief to the poor. Dr Pasha also assured the House that due consideration will be given to the recommendations it has made regarding the Budget 2022-23.
