The National Assembly approved the "tax-free" federal budget 2020-21 on Monday by a majority vote with a total spending of more than 7.2 trillion rupees. Minister of Industry and Production, Hammad Azhar, has submitted the Finance Act 2020-21 to the House of Representatives to protect it legally and to amend certain laws.
Parliament passed the Finance Act 2020 and rejected the amendments of the opposition parties in the Finance Act. Prime Minister Imran Khan also attended the meeting and witnessed the passing of the law. On the floor of the house, Hammad said that the government had introduced a "tax-free" budget and that it is not only planning measures for the construction industry, but also promoting the production of mobile phones and electric vehicles.
He said customs and import duties on 1,600 raw materials had been reduced to zero. The minister said the government has raised prices for petroleum products as a result of the upward trend in the international crude oil market and clarified that no VAT or development tax was levied on petroleum products. "Mafias in the oil, sugar and flour sector are being tried," he added.
Pakistani People's Party (PPP) leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari threw the banks on the treasury, saying that the recent rise in oil prices would contribute to the suffering of the masses and depress the prices of important goods. Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), parliament leader Khawaja Asif, expressed similar concerns and urged the government to calm the masses.
In response to criticism from the opposition, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran had received a mandate from the people of the country and was fully supported by legislators. He said that the PTI-led government would not compromise on its accountability ideology and that its allies agreed with Prime Minister Imran's view.
The budget for 2020-21 has a total expenditure of 7 294.9 billion. Rs, while the county's share of federal taxes for the period 2020-21 is estimated at Rs 2,873.7 billion. Under the leadership of health care and services, a total allocation of 25,494 million was made. Rs in the 2020-21 budget estimates, which is 130.55% higher than the 2019-20-20 budget.
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Allocation to hospital services is the most important part of Rs 22.774 million, corresponding to 89.33% under this classification. Estimated net income for fiscal year 2020-21 will be Rs 3,699.5 billion, an increase of 6.7% compared to the budget estimates for 2019-20.
Total expenditures for the period 2020-21 were estimated at Rs 7,294.9 billion, of which current expenditures amount to Rs 6,345 billion. Development costs outside of PSDP were estimated at $ 70.0 billion in the budget 2020-21. The Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for 2020-21 is $ 1.324 billion. Rs, of which 676 billion has been allocated to the counties, while the federal PSDP is estimated at $ 650 billion. In the federal PSDP, $ 418.7 billion was available.
For federal ministries / departments, Rs 100.4 billion. For companies, 3 billion to the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (ERRA) and Rs. 7 billion other natural disaster programs. Under the leadership of the General Public Service, the majority is responsible for executive and legislative, financial, tax, and external matters, for an amount of Rs. 663,740 million.
The main cost areas are retirement benefits and pensions, foreign debt service, repayment of foreign debt for domestic debt and others. Wire transfer payments are another important commodity.
Under the auspices of public order and security, an amount of Rs 169.927 million was allocated in the 2020-21 budget, compared to Rs 152.919 million in the 2019-20 estimates and Rs 153.269 million in the revised 2019-20 financial estimates. Rs 158.621 million) with a 93.35% share as the main component of the total allotment under this heading.
The economically guided budget allocation in the 2020-21 budget was estimated at 71,751 million rupees compared to 84,167 million rupees in the 2019-20 estimates and 106,411 million rupees in the revised 2019-20 estimates.
The bulk of this item is intended for construction and transport and represents 21.79% of the total credit for economic affairs. An amount of 431 million was calculated under environmental protection management. Rs in the 2020-21 budget for wastewater management, which was 8.3% lower in budget 20-21.
Most of the expenditure is 70,741 million. In the 2020-21 budget, R's are made available for tertiary business and services, which is 84.86% of the total allocation under this heading. Led by social protection, Rs 230.907 million was allocated in the budget 2020-21, which is an increase of 21.15% compared to the estimates for 2019-20.
Most of the expenditure of 208.258 million rupees was earmarked for social protection (not in other classes) in the budget 2020-21, which is equal to 90.19% of the total credit in this heading. The sales tax rate at the point of sale was reduced from the current 14 percent to 12 percent to provide relief to ordinary people and retailers after COVID-19.
The federal excise tax on imported cigarettes and tobacco has been increased from 65 percent to 100 percent, and e-cigarettes and other tobacco substitutes have also been included on this list. To avoid consuming caffeine-based energy drinks, the FED has been increased from 13 percent to 25 percent.
The GDP growth target was set at 2.1 percent, while the current account deficit was limited to 4.4 percent. The aim was to reduce inflation from 9.1 percent to 6.5 percent and to increase foreign direct investment by 25. Sufficient resources have been made available for CPEC projects, including the Western Route.
To this end, 118 billion rupees were made available. Likewise, Rs 24 billion is earmarked for ML-1 and other Pakistani rail projects, and Rs 37 billion is earmarked for other communications projects. Rupee 20 billion was provided to improve capacity in health facilities and the production of health equipment, provide better health care and fight disease in the country.
In total, 30 billion rupees have been allocated to innovations in higher education to improve research and development in areas such as artificial intelligence, automation and space technology.
Fund allocations to the University Commission have risen from the current 59 billion rupees to 64 billion rupees. The budget for the Ehsaas program has increased from the current 187 billion rupees to 208 billion rupees.
In total Rs. 30 billion To Naya Pakistan housing authority to provide people with affordable housing. 55 billion rupees were allocated to Azad Kashmir and $ 32 billion. Rupees to Gilgit-Baltistan.
56 billion rupees have been allocated to pooled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A special credit of nine billion rupees and Baluchistan of ten billion rupees were made in addition to their share of the NFC. In total, 40 billion rupees have been allocated to the railways in Pakistan. Due to the economic crisis caused by the corona virus, the salaries and pensions of civil servants in the 2020-21 budget have remained unchanged from the previous year.
