ISLAMABAD: A session of the National Assembly of Pakistan will be held on Monday (today) with the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, commonly referred to as the mini-budget, on its agenda. 

The Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021, which was presented in the lower house of parliament last month, aims to end tax exemptions on nearly 150 items as a prior action for the revival of the IMF program. It will empower the government to level a uniform 17 percent General Sales Tax (GST) on goods that were taxed at 5 percent or 12 percent rates. The amendment will also enable the government to generate over Rs343 billion in additional revenue. 

The National Assembly Secretariat earlier issued a 48-point agenda for the Monday’s session, which included a motion in the name of Pakistani finance minister Shaukat Tarin, seeking the passage of the finance bill.  

In late December 2021, the Pakistani government tabled the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 and State Bank (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the National Assembly to meet one of the five conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of $6 billion loan program Pakistan secured in 2019. 

Pakistan has asked the IMF to delay a board meeting meant to consider 6th review of the loan program until the end of January, its finance ministry said on Monday. 

"Government of Pakistan has introduced both the bills in the National Assembly and IMF has moved the 6th tranche recommendation to its board for consideration on the 12th January," it said in a statement.  

"As soon as the legislative procedures are completed, the IMF board will consider it for approval." 

Five reviews of the IMF loan program had been completed by March. The sixth review has been pending since June 2021. The revival of the IMF program would allow the release of over $1 billion loan tranche to Pakistan, which would bring total disbursements to over $3 billion. The IMF program revival would also unlock significant funding from bilateral and multilateral donors. 

Meanwhile, National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif will preside over a meeting of opposition parties to finalize a strategy to block the passage of the finance bill, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) opposition party said on Sunday. 

Opposition leaders will also hold consultation on the foreign funding case against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and other affairs, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said. 

The meeting has been scheduled for 3pm on Monday afternoon, she added.