Latest news with #FinanceBill2025
Express Tribune
23-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Industry awaits SRO on 18% cotton import tax
Listen to article The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has called on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately issue a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) for imposing 18% general sales tax (GST) on imported cotton, as outlined in the Finance Bill 2025. In a statement, the PBF emphasised that despite clear announcement in the federal budget to tax the imported cotton, its implementation was pending due to the absence of the required SRO. "More than three weeks have passed since approval of the budget, yet the delay continues without any justifiable reason." According to the PBF, credible reports indicate that certain influential interest groups are obstructing the issuance of the SRO. "The government must ensure transparency and move forward in the interest of local cotton growers and the economy," said PBF Chief Organiser Ahmad Jawad. The forum cautioned that cotton imports had exceeded domestic production for the first time in Pakistan's history – a development that poses serious risks to sustainability of textile and agriculture sectors. "The FBR must act urgently, keeping in view the seriousness of the issue and release the SRO without further delay," it said. The forum disclosed that importers had already entered into agreements for 7.5 million bales of cotton from international markets. "After much effort, local cotton farmers finally achieved a level playing field through legislation. The time has come to translate that into action," Jawad said. To reclaim Pakistan's status as a leading cotton-producing nation, he underlined the need for federal and provincial governments to launch a nationwide cotton revival programme. He recommended that the import of raw material, especially those impacting domestic industries, should be entirely excluded from the Export Facilitation Scheme. The forum also expressed concern over the current state of cotton crops. According to the latest figures, Sindh's performance remains particularly troubling, with reported supply of only 152,650 bales so far this year, compared to 327,666 bales in the same period of last year – a decline of 53%. In contrast, Punjab has shown relatively better results, with supply of 145,101 bales, reflecting a 27% rise over last year. Notable growth has been observed in several districts, including Khanewal (28,825 bales), Vehari (33,950 bales), Dera Ghazi Khan (19,397 bales) and Rajanpur (9,200 bales) – all recording improved yields.
Express Tribune
22-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Only one in four MNAs attend budget session
A total of 78 Members of the National Assembly (25%) attended all 13 sittings of the 17th (Budget) session held from June 5 to 27, while 10 members (3%) remained absent throughout the session, according to official attendance records. The session began with strong participation — 83% attendance was recorded on the opening day when the Finance Bill 2025 was introduced. However, attendance declined to a session-low of 57% during the third sitting, which featured general budget discussions. Participation gradually recovered, peaking at 93% on the day the Finance Bill was passed. Lawmakers repeatedly voiced concern over the absence of key ministers during budget debates, prompting the Chair to direct relevant finance portfolio holders to attend. Records show that 235 MNAs (75% of the House) missed at least one sitting. Of these, only 79 (34%) formally submitted leave applications — 13 applied in advance, while 46 submitted applications after returning. Twenty lawmakers had their leave requests read mid-absence. Notably, 156 members (66% of absentees) failed to apply for leave altogether. Additionally, six MNAs submitted leave requests for previous sessions. Attendance varied across demographics: Female MNAs: 22 women (41% of all female members) — 19 on reserved and three on general seats — attended all sittings. Minority MNAs: All seven attended more than half the sittings; three attended every session. Male MNAs on general seats: 10 (4%) missed the entire session, 35 (14%) attended less than half, and 208 (82%) were present in more than half of the sittings, including 54 (21%) with full attendance. Regional attendance trends showed Islamabad Capital Territory leading with 100% attendance from all three of its MNAs. Punjab and Sindh followed, with 85% and 86% of MNAs respectively attending more than half of the sittings. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 39 MNAs participated in over half of the sittings, with 15 attending all. Balochistan recorded 75% attendance in the same category. Party-wise attendance was highest among MNAs from PML-N, PPPP, MQMP, and SIC, most of whom attended more than half of the sittings. The sole MWMP lawmaker marked full attendance. Lawmakers from BAP, NP, and PML-Z were also largely present. However, PKMAP's only representative attended less than half of the session. The "Others" category includes parties with fewer than eight MNAs — such as BAP, MWMP, NP, PKMAP, PML, PML-Z, and IPP. The BNP's sole member has tendered resignation, but it has yet to be officially accepted. To prioritise budget debate, the National Assembly suspended routine proceedings, including Question Hour, Calling Attention Notices (CANs), and public importance matters. This suspension was approved in the second sitting, though only one of seven concerned ministers was present on that day.
Business Recorder
19-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Widening the tax base
EDITORIAL: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while chairing a meeting to review progress of reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), a weekly meeting held on Mondays, reiterated a decades-long exhortation by his predecessors: 'widen the tax net and reduce the burden on the poor'. And like his predecessors his administration continues to focus on raising revenue rather than on undertaking structural changes that would render the structure fair, equitable and non-anomalous. Pakistan's tax structure to this day relies heavily on indirect taxes, whose incidence on the poor is greater than on the rich, which effectively implies that the burden on the poor continues. Direct taxes, based on the ability to pay principle, accounted for nearly 49 percent of total collections; however, this does not take account of the fact that 75 to 80 percent of these collections are withholding taxes levied in the sales tax mode, which is an indirect tax — an exercise that the Auditor General of Pakistan noted and recommended to the FBR to abandon though with no success. The Federal Finance Minister is on record as having stated that the extraordinary law enforcement powers of the FBR, approved in the Finance Bill 2025, envisage effective implementation of sales tax regimen rather than on income, and Chairman of the FBR, Rashid Mahmood Langrial, is on record as having stated that the increase in collections from sugar industry are attributable to improved enforcement. In this context, it is relevant to note that successive governments, including the incumbent, focused on increasing the number of filers through access to NADRA data; however, this led to a rise in the number of filers with little increase in revenue. At the same time the FBR continues with its long-term practice of: (i) sustaining the reliance on indirect instead of direct taxes to ensure that the relatively poorer sections of society are not paying the bulk of revenue collections. In this context, it is relevant to note that the steady rise in reliance on petroleum levy (even though it is not collected by the FBR) is budgeted to generate 1.468 trillion rupees this year, which is an indirect tax and impacts on the transport costs of the poor and vulnerable; (ii) making the tax structure non-anomalous by taxing all units operating within a sector equally irrespective of ownership; (iii) failure to rationalise digital infrastructure taxes with the intent to make them more competitive against a basket of countries and fixing the tax rates for at least 10 years and fixing future spectrum flood prices while delinking the price from the dollar as suggested by a recent Asian Development Bank report; (iv) resistance to taxing certain sectors to enable their manipulation, example being the low tax prevalent on the stock market. It is relevant to note that India on average collects more than 100 billion rupees from this source against Pakistan's less than 5 billion rupees per annum; and (v) farm income tax, tax on traders, and retailers and builders, sectors which under the ongoing IMF programme will be taxed from this year onwards; however, time will tell how successful they have been. The government would no doubt argue that the attempt to raise FBR collections through raising existing taxes or bringing more items under the sales tax net or better enforcement is to ensure that the budget deficit is sustainable yet a better option would have been to reduce its own current expenditure for the time that is required to implement these structural tax reforms. Sadly, the budget for the current year envisages a rise in all items (10 percent raise in civil administration) except subsidies (for the poor though they remain untargeted) and mark-up which is expected to decline not because government borrowing is budgeted to decline but because the cost of borrowing, dependent on the discount rate, is projected to decline which the IMF, as per its reports on its website, does not appear to regard as a done deal. To conclude, structural reforms to amend the existing tax structure are the way forward rather than the measures currently in focus to increase revenue. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Monsoon session from July 21: Govt eyes key bills; whats's on the agenda?
NEW DELHI: The upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, set to begin on July 21 and conclude on August 21, is expected to see the introduction and passage of several significant bills in the Lok Sabha. This will be the first session after Operation Sindoor , which was launched in May following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people. The government is preparing to bring forward a series of amendments and new legislative proposals across sectors including taxation, sports, education, mining, and shipping. The session will also introduce a new attendance system for MPs, requiring them to mark their presence through a digital device at their designated seats—an effort aimed at increasing transparency and reducing misuse of allowances. During the last Budget session, which ran from January to March, key legislation like the Waqf Amendment Bill and the Finance Bill 2025 were passed. Discussions and votes were held on Demands for Grants across various ministries, including Manipur-specific allocations. Bills expected to be introduced or passed in the Monsoon session: The Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025 The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025 The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 The Geoheritage Sites and Geo-relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2025 The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2025 The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill, 2025 The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024 The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2024 The Indian Ports Bill, 2025 The Income Tax Bill, 2025
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Express Tribune
03-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
K-P enacts Finance Act 2025
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor has signed the Finance Bill 2025, officially enacting it into law. With the governor's assent, the bill has now become effective from July 1, 2025, implementing a series of new tax measures, amendments, and revisions aimed at expanding the province's revenue base. The new finance law introduces several notable changes, including the expansion of the existing tax net, exemptions for low-income individuals and small properties, and adjustments in various sectors to encourage formalization and compliance. As per the bill, property tax has been waived for houses smaller than five marlas, while professional tax on individuals earning up to Rs36,000 per month has been abolished. Similarly, the stamp duty on the allotment and transfer of residential and commercial properties has been reduced from two per cent to one per cent, aiming to facilitate property transactions and reduce costs for buyers and sellers. The bill also mandates that all vehicles across the province must now be registered in order to obtain permits, a move expected to streamline transport regulation. In addition, property tax exemptions have been extended to residential and commercial properties up to 4.9 marlas, while electric vehicles have been granted a token tax exemption until June 30, 2028. The hotel bed tax has been reduced from 10 per cent to seven percent. For rickshaw owners, specific penalties have been introduced for violations, and the professional tax on doctors and tailors has been lowered. The provincial government has asserted that no new taxes have been levied in the former FATA and PATA regions. However, the bill proposes strict penalties for any fraud, forgery, or manipulation of driving licenses, including imprisonment for up to two months or a fine of up to Rs100,000. Under the revised property tax regime, five to 10 marla houses in divisional headquarters will be taxed up to Rs3,000, and up to Rs2,000 in district headquarters. Properties ranging from 10 to 15 marlas will be subject to Rs3,500 and Rs3,000 in divisional and district headquarters respectively.
