President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday gave his assent to the Finance Bill 2024, which imposes taxes on the government for the new fiscal year.
The government, which presented the budget two weeks ago, was heavily criticized by the opposition, especially the PTI, and its coalition partner, the PPP.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb moved the finance bill in parliament, which was opened for amendment and debate by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the ruling coalition led by the opposition.
Opposition parties, particularly MPs backed by now-imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, rejected the budget, saying it would lead to high inflation.
The DHP, which boycotted the budget debate earlier this week, said it would vote for the finance bill despite some reservations.
On Friday, the National Assembly passed the budget with several amendments. The proposal was preceded by fierce protests by the opposition, which said the budget was unrealistic, anti-people, anti-industry and anti-agricultural.
President Zardari has now given his approval to the bill under Article 75 of the Constitution, which will be implemented from July 1 (tomorrow), said the press wing of the Presidential House.
According to Article 75, Clause 1, the President has no power to reject or challenge the financial law, which is considered the law of money in the Constitution.
The article states that “When a bill is presented to the President for approval, the President must within [ten] days- (a) assent to the bill; or (b) in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, return to the Majlis e-Shora ( Majlis) with a request to reconsider the Bill or any provision and make any changes indicated. The message will be considered,” he said.
Correction during criticism
On Friday, the government announced new tax measures in several areas to raise additional revenue in the next fiscal year that meet International Monetary Fund criteria and expand exemptions in certain sectors.
Opposition MPs in the NA assembly, especially from the PTI, criticized the budget and said it was now an open secret that the document was presented by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan condemned the budget as “economic terrorism against the people”.
Pakistan is in talks with HPG for a loan of between $6 billion and $8 billion.
Earlier this week, Chief Minister Shehbaz confirmed that the budget was prepared in collaboration with HPG.
The amendment includes introducing a basic property tax in Islamabad, introducing a new tax measure for builders and developers and raising the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on diesel and petrol by $10 instead of the proposed $20.
The House approved 53 additional requests for grants to various ministries and departments for 2022-23 and 25 requests for the fiscal year 2023-24. In addition, 26 claims have been approved for 2022-23 to cover the excess expenditure of various ministries and departments.
Through the amendment to the Finance Bill 2024, the NA unanimously approved the amendment to increase the rights and privileges of members of the DPRD.
According to the amendment, the traveling allowance of MNA has been increased from 10/km to 25/km. It has been announced that airline tickets that are not used by members will not be canceled and will remain valid for another year.
The government expects the fiscal deficit to narrow to 5.9 percent of GDP for the new fiscal year, down from an estimated increase of 7.4 percent for this year.
The central bank also warned of possible inflationary effects from the budget, which means that limited progress in structural reforms to broaden the tax base must come from tax increases.
The growth target for next year is set at 3.6 percent, with inflation forecast at 12 percent.
