PTI government to impose 17% GST on 140 goods in the mini- budget

 The government has prepared the mini budget of worth Rs 360 billions to present in the parliament

The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to impose 17% General Sales Tax (GST) on 140consumable and industrial goods. The government has finalised the mini-budget worth  Rs360 billion to table in the parliament. The FBR has prepared the plan and now finance ministry is finalising the proposals to present in the national assembly for the approval.

A major share of the revenue of Rs300 billion will be generated by imposing 17% tax at the import stage on nearly 80 items. The majority of these items are essential goods and do not fall in the category of luxury goods.

Some of consumer-sensitive goods that will also attract sales tax at import are raw materials for the manufacturing of medicines, cereals, live animals, birds and eggs, meat, fish, fresh vegetables, fish feed and animal feed and journals and periodicals. 

The government has decided to bring the mini-budget after reaching agreement with IMF to resume its $6 billion bail out programme. The government also trying to meet the other conditions of IMF.   

The government also wants to increase the tax on mobile phone calls.  The mini-budget will bring another wave of  price hike in the country. The poor and working class people are already suffering due to high inflation. Inflation jumped to 11.5% last month and the State Bank of Pakistan has also upward adjusted its inflation projection to the range of 9 to 11% for the current fiscal year.

The prices of goods, including milk, cereals, bakery items, meat, chicken, gold, bicycles, cars including electric cars, mobile phones will rise, unleashing another wave of inflation in the country.

The government also has prepared a plan to provide Rs41 billion subsidy to the poor people to reduce the burden on them. But this subsidy might not been able to fully mitigate the affects of mini-budget. 

The finance advisor Shaukat Tareen has said that the IMF had demanded imposing Rs700 billion in new taxes but he had convinced the global lender to levy only Rs350 billion on account of withdrawal of sales tax exemptions.

 After the endorsement of the finance adviser, the mini-budget will now be presented before the federal cabinet for approval before its submission in parliament.

The government has committed to introduce over Rs525 billion taxation measures in addition to slashing Rs200 billion development funds as well as Rs20 billion for non-uplift projects as part of the IMF condition to create primary budget surplus in this fiscal year.

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