The federal government has approved a 7.8 billion rupees aid package to Ramazan to offer key messages at controlled prices in Utility stores across the country during the holy month, which is expected to begin April 12.
The cabinet's Economic Coordination Commission (ECC) approved the package at a meeting on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was in charge of the dispute. Under Ramazan, Utility Stores Corporation (USC) will subsidize 19 key elements under the proposed aid package, including a grant of approximately Rs 7.8 billion.
However, a large part is spent on subsidies for wheat flour, sugar and ghee, which differ greatly from domestic prices.
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Wheat Flour
The ECC approved a proposal to deliver 70,000 tons of wheat flour at 30 to 50 rupees per hectare Kg reduced rates.
Sugar
The 50,000 tons of sugar are delivered at 40 rupees each Kg below the market price and the 30,000 tons of ghee are sold at prices 43 rupees below the market price.
The USC (Utility Stores Corporation) executive told ECC that sourcing would begin April 1 to ensure availability of discounted commodities in 4,000 USC stores nationwide.
The ECC also approved the proposal to streamline electricity subsidies to comply with a previous IMF (International Monetary Fund) measure.
New Fertilizer Plants Approval
In addition, the profit margins of the oil marketing companies were revised upwards and a subsidy of Rs 13.6 billion. Two fertilizer plants were approved.
In an official leaflet, the Ministry of Finance announced that the Energy Department had presented a summary of the restructuring of subsidies to the energy sector in phase I.
"The committee reviewed and approved the proposals that the energy division should conduct the analysis based on the stated principles and submit specific recommendations on thresholds and tariffs to consumers to the ECC by March 31, 2021," he added.
The rationalization of all electricity subsidies is one of the previous measures taken by the IMF for Pakistan to revive its $ 6 billion bailout program.
The ECC approved the principles for targeted subsidization of people using 50 to 100 units of electricity and for the withdrawal of people not covered by the revised criteria.
The principles have also been approved for categories from more than 100 units to 300 units each Monthly consumption.
ECC allowed the Agritech and Fatima fertilizer plants to supply subsidized gas to produce urea from Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) plants from March to November 2021.
The government gives these fertilizer factories a subsidy of 13.6 billion euros. Rs to produce 70,000 tons of urea. ECC has been informed that local production will be 50% cheaper than imports.
The ECC approved the proposal to abolish the 27% tax on land-imported raw materials for the production of syringes with automatic deactivation.
The Minister of Health informed the forum about ongoing efforts to switch from traditional syringes to syringes with automatic deactivation, as recycling traditional syringes in Pakistan leads to blood-borne illnesses such as hepatitis, HIV, etc.
The ECC approved the summary in principle and instructed the Department of Health to hold a follow-up meeting with the Legal Department to clarify the details.
A committee was established to consider the possibility of a federal tax exemption for 10 soft-skinned vehicles imported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and used by the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) to combat grasshoppers.
The Department of Commerce submitted a summary to the ECC requesting permission to import cotton from Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries by land across the border to Torkham in order to bridge the gap between supply and demand and ensure adequate availability of cotton to promote textile exports.
It had previously authorized the necessary precautions with reference to quarantine regulations to meet the requirements for the import of cotton ashore.
The Ministry of Commerce has asked the ECC to renew the permit for importing cotton by land in the current financial year.
The ECC approved this application subject to the code formalities. It approved a proposal to increase the margins of oil marketing companies (OMC) and dealers by 5.9%, further increasing the prices of petroleum products.
The ECC approved the immediate revision of the OMCs and dealer margins based on 85% of the latest major average inflation rate and ordered an investigation conducted by the PIDE to be expedited, the Treasury said.
It also approved Rs 9.7 million for Pakistan National Shipping Corporation to pay M / s Coniston's fees against Pakistani steel mill.
The government had set aside Rs 149 million in the budget to pay the South African company's fees, but the Treasury cut Rs 9.7 million as part of the austerity measures.
The ECC also approved Rs. 67.4 million to the cabinet department for the maintenance of high-security vehicles.
