Islamabad, March 03, 2022 (PPI-OT):73rd meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance was held today under the Chairmanship of Mr. Faiz Ullah, MNA, in the Constitution Room of Federal Board of Revenue House, G-5 Islamabad. The meeting commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran. The Honorable Chairman welcomed all participants and afterward decided to proceed with the agenda. The Committee considered the Bill titled “The COVID-19 (Prevention of Smuggling) Bill, 2020 (Ord. III of 2020) (Government Bill)” and decided to defer it till the next meeting.
The Bill titled “The Modaraba Companies (Floatation and Operations) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Government Bill)” was deferred till the next meeting of the Committee, as requested by the concerned department. The Bill titled “The State-owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Bill 2021 (Government Bill), was presented before the Committee. The Committee decided to defer the Bill till its next meeting. The Bill titled “The Tax Law (Third Amendment) Bill, 2021 (Ord. No. XXII of 2021 (Government Bill)” was presented before the Committee.
The Committee decided to defer the Bill till its next meeting with the direction for the Ministry to submit a comparative statement on the Bill, mentioning the requirements and justification by the Ministry. The Chief Executive Officer, EXIM Bank, briefed the Committee regarding the bank, he informed that the EXIM Bank of Pakistan has been declared as Development Financial Institution, under section 3A of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (LVII of 1962).
The Bank has been designated as the official Export Credit Agency of the country to be formed through an Act of the Parliament. The management is targeting to initiate commercial operation in the first quarter of 2022, subject to the approval of the Act and issuance of “Letter of Commencement of operations” from the State Bank of Pakistan.
The Bill titled “The Export-Import Bank of Pakistan Bill, 2021 (Government Bill) was presented before the Committee and after detailed discussion, the Committee recommended that the Bill may be passed by the National Assembly.
The Committee considered the Bill titled “The Controller General of Accounts (Appointment, Functions and Powers) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (moved by Mr. Sana Ullah Khan Masti Khel, MNA) and recommended that the Bill may not be passed by the National Assembly. The Joint Secretary (Development) Finance Division briefed the Committee regarding the budgetary proposals relating to Public Sector Development Project (PSDP), relating to Finance Division, for the financial year 2022-23.
The Committee was informed that the PSDP included 7 projects with 06 ongoing projects and 01 new project. Total funds demanded the PSDP amount to Rs. 3,090.545 million out of which Rs. 1,878.254 million are for completing ongoing projects while Rs. 1,212.291 million are demanded new project. The Committee desired a detailed presentation, in the next meeting, on projects of Finance Division and Revenue Division involving heavy costs.
Hon. Members/MNAs Mr. Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Mr. Amjad Ali Khan, Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Mr. Jamil Ahmed Khan, Mr. Faheem Khan, Mr. Abdul Wasay, Mr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar and the senior officers from the Ministry of Finance, M/o Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Commerce, Federal Board of Revenue, Controller General Accounts, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, EXIM Bank attended the meeting.
For more information, contact:
Secretary,
National Assembly of Pakistan
Automation Centre, National Assembly Secretariat,
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Tel: +92-51-9221082-83
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Email: assembly@na.gov.pk
Website: www.na.gov.pk
