The Federal government has unveiled the third budget of it tenure with an outlay
of Rs8,487 billion with an ambitious tax collection target of 5,829 billion.
According to the Forbes magazine “Pakistan has succeeded in reviving its
economy, which is expected to grow by nearly 4% in 2021”
Significant points of the budget regarding overall development and engineering
industry are
Total outlay – Rs. 8.49 trillion, nearly 19 percent higher than last year’s
outlay, with Rs. 2.1 billion for the Public Sector Development Program.
Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocated with Rs.
900 billion, while provincial PSDP has been set at Rs. 1,235 billion, a boost
of 45 percent over last year
Minimum wage has been increased to Rs20, 000.
The government has also allocated Rs. 200 million for the Pakistan Nuclear
Regulatory Authority; Rs. 2.35 billion for the Petroleum Division
Rs. 19.245 billion for the Planning, Development and Reforms Division
Rs. 30.025 billion allocated for the Railways Division
Rs. 8.3 billion have been allocated for the Science and Technological
Research Division; Rs. 7.36 billion for SUPARCO.
Providing a much needed relief in the automobile sector the federal excise
duty and value added tax on locally produced cars, having engine capacities
of up to 850cc, have been abolished. In addition, the government has also
decreased the sales tax rate on such cars from 17% to 12.5%.
118 billion has been allocated to sort the country’s power distribution
issues
14 billion allocated for climate change mitigation
From the federal PSDP, the government has allocated Rs. 628.224 billion for
federal ministries; Rs. 183.235 billion for corporations such as the National
Highway Authority; Rs. 70 billion for COVID-19 response and other natural
calamities
Similarly, the Water Resource Division has been allocated Rs. 103.472
billion; Rs. 3.55 billion for the Aviation Division; Rs. 451.32 million for the
Communication Division; Rs. 1.977 billion for the Defense Division; Rs.
1.745 billion for Defense Production Division
Rs. 24.2 billion has been allocated for the Housing and Works Division; Rs.
2.9 billion for the Industries and Production Division;
Rs. 1.899 billion have been allocated for the Information and Broadcasting
Division; and Rs. 9.36 billion for the Information Technology and Telecom
Division
This budget proposes a special technology Zone be established aimed at 10
year tax holiday.
