Islamabad: (Staff Reporter) In order to secure the much-needed deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar presented the Finance Supplementary Bill 2023 in the lower house.
According to the sources, the bill was presented in the National Assembly session in order to fulfill the conditions of the international lender to secure the much-needed loan program that would help the country stave off default.
As per details under the budget proposals, General Sales Tax (GST) on luxury items will be increased from 17% to 25% and Federal Excise Duty (FED) on business and first-class air tickets will also be increased to Rs.20,000 or 50% whichever is higher. The finance minister also proposed imposing 10% withholding adjustable advance income tax on bills of wedding functions, and an increase in FED on cigarettes, soft and sugary drinks.
Furthermore the FED on cement will be raised from Rs1.5/kg to Rs2/kg and an increase in GST from standard 17% to 18% was also proposed in the Finance Supplementary Bill 2023, while GST will not be imposed on essential goods including wheat, rice, milk, pulses, vegetables, fruits, fish, eggs and meat.
Moreover under the Finance Supplementary Bill 2023, Ishaq Dar said that the government had suggested a Rs40 billion increase in the budget of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) to protect downtrodden segments of the society from the impact of increasing inflation.
Meanwhile “The government has proposed to increase the BISP budget from Rs360 billion to Rs400, allocating Rs40 billion addition funds to benefit the (BISP) beneficiaries,” he said while presenting the Finance (Supplementary) Bill-2023 in Lower House of the Parliament.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.