The National Assembly has approved the charged expenditure of Rs 14.729 trillion including payment and servicing of domestic debt.
The charged expenditure is included in demands for grants and appropriations for the financial year ending on June 30, 2021.
The demands and grants are related to:
- A total of Rs 10.1 trillion is repayment of domestic debt
- Rs. 2.631 trillion servicing of domestic debt
- Rs. 1.229 trillion foreign loan repayment
- Rs. 315.14 billion servicing of foreign debt
- Rs. 183.691 billion repayments of short-term foreign credits
- Rs. 229.74 billion external development loans and advances by the federal government.
- Total demands and appropriation of grants-in-aid and miscellaneous adjustments between the federal and provincial governments are Rs. 19 billion
- Rs. 3.716 billion of superannuation allowances and pensions
- Rs. 20 million of Pakistan Post Office Department
- Rs. 46.75 million of other expenditure of Foreign Affairs Division
- Rs. 202.33 million other expenditures of Law and Justice Division
- Rs. 2.242 billion of National Assembly
- Rs. 2.035 billion of Senate
- Rs. 800 million of Pakistan Railway
- Rs. 395 million for staff, household, and allowances of the president (personal).
- Rs. 183.69 billion repayments of short term foreign credit
- Rs. 5.2 billion for audit, Rs. 2.408 billion of Supreme Court
- Rs. 699.6 million for Islamabad High Court, Rs. 3.148 billion for election
- Rs. 72.822 million for federal Ombudsman Secretariat for protection against harassment of women at workplace
- Rs. 793.787 million for Wafaqi Mohtasib
- Rs. 264.81 million for Federal Tax Ombudsman.
Before approval of the charged expenditure, the discussion under clause (1) of Article 82 of the Constitution of Pakistan was held in the National Assembly.
Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar said the debt of government was based on floating terms and the interest rate will reduce according to the policy rate announced by the State Bank of Pakistan.
Govt Optimistic for the Tax collection Target
Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, concluding debate on budget 2020-21, in the national assembly said that the government was fully optimistic to achieve the FBR tax collection of Rs. 4.96 trillion set for the fiscal budget 2020-21.
Minister shared with the house that the tax collection was increasing at a rate of 17 percent compared to last year due to the Corona crisis.
The minister pointed out that the present government inherited a weak economy but due to its concerted efforts, the government succeeded in stabilizing the economy.”All the international financial institutions are praising Pakistan government performance on economic front prior to the outbreak of the pandemic,” he said, mentioning that the COVID-19 had affected the whole world and the world economy was projected to be slowed down causing loss of US$12 trillion.
The Minister said that normally tax collection during the last quarter of the financial year remains highest as compared to the first three quarters but unfortunately, the outbreak of the pandemic dented the overall economy and revised tax target of Rs 4.8 trillion could not be achieved.
