NFC meeting today: New revenue sharing plan on the table
- Official sources revealed that ahead of the huddle, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has firmed up a set of key demands
ISLAMABAD: After months of delay, the National Finance Commission (NFC) is scheduled to meet on Thursday (Dec 4), marking a critical step toward initiating formal negotiations for a new revenue-sharing arrangement between the federation and provinces.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will preside over the session, which has been postponed multiple times — including the last scheduled sitting on November 10 due to members’ unavailability. If held as planned, today’s meeting will constitute the inaugural sitting of the 11th NFC, formally notified by the President on August 22.
Sources said all the provinces have confirmed their presence in the meeting.
Aurangzeb optimistic on NFC consensus
Official sources revealed that ahead of the huddle, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has firmed up a set of key demands, including: updating the 7th NFC Award to incorporate the merged FATA districts; increasing the “war on terror” share from 1 percent to 3 percent; resolving Article 161 disputes relating to excise duty on oil; revising excise duty on gas and the windfall levy framework and instituting a monthly schedule for NFC meetings to ensure continuity.
The province prepared another point while saying that the current NFC is not consistent with Article 160 and Ultra vires due to the non-inclusion of Ex FATA after the 25thamendment.
The maiden meeting, originally slated for August 28, was deferred at the request of the Sindh government owing to the province’s flood-related emergency. The NFC Secretariat subsequently rescheduled the session.
According to sources, the inaugural sitting is expected to approve the formation of technical sub-groups, and endorse a structured negotiation roadmap for the coming months.
Senior officials acknowledge that the upcoming negotiations are likely to be complex, given the Centre’s constrained fiscal space, rising debt servicing obligations and growing provincial demands for a larger share of national resources.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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