Parliament approves Budget FY2020-21

The National Assembly (NA) has approved the Rs7.23 Trillion outlay Budget FY 2020-21 on Monday.

Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar on Monday moved the Finance Bill, 2020 at the NA to give legal effect to the budgetary proposals for the next fiscal year. The amendments proposed by the Opposition in the Finance Bill, 2020 were rejected by the House.

Addressing the NA, Hammad Azhar said the government has presented a tax-free budget and it envisages relief measures not only for the construction sector but also for the promotion of mobile phone manufacturing and electric vehicles.

The minister informed the lower house that duties and taxes on the import of sixteen hundred raw materials have been brought to zero. He said it is the first time that the Annual Development Plan carries the biggest allocations for Balochistan and Sindh.

Talking about the latest hike in petroleum products price, Azhar clarified that the government has not increased the sales tax or petroleum development levy on petroleum products. He said their prices have been increased keeping in view the upward trend in the international oil market.

He added that the mafias in oil, sugar, and flour will be brought to justice.

BILAWAL BHUTTO BLAST AT GOVERNMENT

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticized the government for increasing the prices of petroleum products saying it will add to the woes of the masses and lead to the price hike.

He said our aim should be providing relief to the people. He was also critical of the increase in the prices of flour, sugar, and medicines.

Bilawal demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address, saying that the PM should apologize for destroying the economy of the country.

PML (N) Parliamentary Leader Khawaja Asif also criticized the government for the increase in the prices of petroleum products, saying that the government should provide relief to the masses.

SALIENT FEATURES OF BUDGET 2020-21

• The total outlay of budget 202021 is Rs. 7,294.9 billion. This size is 11% lower than the size of budget estimates 2019-20.

• There source availability during 2020-21 has been estimated at Rs. 6,314.9 billion against Rs. 4,917.2 billion in the budget estimates of 2019-20.

• The net revenue receipts for 2020-21 have been estimated at Rs. 3,699.5 billion indicating an increase of 6.7% over the budget estimates of 2019-20.

• The provincial share in federal taxes is estimated at Rs. 2,873.7 billion during 2020-21, which is 11.7% lower than the budget estimates for 2019-20.

• The net capital receipts for 2020-21 have been estimated at Rs. 1,463.2 billion against the budget estimates of Rs. 831.7 billion in 2019-20 reflecting an increase of 75.93%.

• The external receipts in 2020-21 are estimated at Rs. 2,222.9 billion this shows an decrease of 26.7% over the budget estimates for 2019-20.

• The overall expenditure during 2020-21 has been estimated at Rs. 7,294.9 billion, out of which the current expenditure is Rs. 6,345 billion.

• The development expenditure outside PSDP has been estimated at Rs. 70.0billion in the budget 2020-21.

• The size of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for 2020-21 is Rs. 1,324 billion. Out of his, Rs. 676billion has been allocated to provinces.

• Federal PSDP has been estimated at Rs. 650 billion out of which Rs. 418.7 billion for Federal Ministries/Divisions, Rs. 100.4 billion for Corporations, Rs. 3 billion for Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority(ERRA), and Rs. 7 billion for COVID-19 responsive and other Natural Calamities Program.