Federal Cabinet Discusses Tax Reforms and Ramadan Package - Android

The meeting of the federal cabinet held was in Islamabad with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair. Addressing the… Read More

The post Federal Cabinet Discusses Tax Reforms and Ramadan Package appeared first on .

The meeting of the federal cabinet held was in Islamabad with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair.

Addressing the cabinet, Prime Minister Imran Khan said a track and trace system is essential for the monitoring of taxpayers.

Quoting past experiences, he revealed that some industries were hiding their taxes. The premier directed FBR to work on a uniform system for every industry. He said that the Federal Board of Revenue, who is currently working on the system, should bring a track and trace system at the earliest.

The FBR had said that 45 million tonnes of cement, over four billion sticks of tobacco cigarettes, four million tonnes of sugar, and 30 million tonnes of fertilizer would be brought into the tax net.

“Approximately 40 percent of cigarettes are sold [without paying taxes] which causes the country to suffer. For the past 15 years, the FBR has been trying to introduce the system, to bring in automation but it is sabotaged each and every time,” the prime minister said.

The Federal Cabinet has approved the Ramadan Relief Package worth Rs. 7.8 billion on 19 essential items to facilitate the population during Ramadan through the network of Utility Stores across Pakistan.

Briefing media regarding the decisions taken by the Federal Cabinet, which met in Islamabad, today, with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Minister for Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar, informed that the subsidy was previously available on five items only. He said the sales of the Utility Stores Corporation are likely to reach 100 billion rupees this year, and it is expected that USC would earn some profit.

Hammad Azhar said that the cabinet has also approved to run two urea small plants of private sectors from this month to meet the requirements of the farmers. He said large-scale manufacturing showed a growth of 9.1 percent in January this year.

Speaking at the occasion, Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry, Fawad Hussain, said the cabinet ordered a forensic audit of the loss-making entities, and in the first phase, ten such entities will pass through this process, which will be completed by 30 June this year. He said it is worth mentioning that 51 out of 85 loss-making State-Owned Enterprises have become profitable due to prudent policies of the government.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the cabinet also accorded approval to the new arms license policy about prohibited and non-prohibited bore.

He said the cabinet approved the issuance of smart cards to Afghan refugees, having Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for facilitating and swiftly resolving their problems.

The Minister for Science and Technology said tax exemption was granted on auto-disable syringes to prevent the spread of various diseases.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the cabinet was informed that only 27 percent of Pakistan’s population is availing the facility of piped gas, and the government is working on formulating a mechanism to extend this facility to the majority of the population.

He said the cabinet also validated decisions of the Institutional Reforms Committee, and Prime Minister Imran Khan directed to expedite the reforms process. He said the cabinet gave ex post facto to 17 platoons of Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts for security duty.

The Minister for Science and Technology said that accountability and transparency in elections are the two pillars of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s politics, for which Prime Minister Imran Khan directed that the Federal Cabinet be briefed on weekly-basis on electronic voting machines, to make the polling process credible and transparent.

He said the cabinet also expressed concern over growing cases of COVID-19.

The post Federal Cabinet Discusses Tax Reforms and Ramadan Package appeared first on .