The Upper House of parliament on Wednesday unanimously adopted recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance Bill 2020, which constituted 40 amendments and 53 general consensus recommendations to the lower house.
The Senate resumed its session on Wednesday with Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani in the chair.
The House unanimously adopted recommendations of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance on the Finance Bill 2020, containing the annual budget statement. The motion was moved by Senator Farooq Hamid Naek.
Earlier, the House unanimously passed a resolution demanding the government ensure writing of Khatim-un-Nabbiyeen with the name of Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in the educational syllabus and official documents.
The resolution was moved by Senator Muhstaq Ahmed.
The House recommended that salaries of government employees be enhanced by at least 10 per cent. The Senate recommended that the federal government should double the budget for education and health sector. It demanded that budget allocation for the Ministry of National Health Services must be enhanced to a minimum of 5 per cent.
The Senate recommended granting of tax relief for the manufacturing and supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Budgetary allocations for online education and Higher Education Commission (HEC) were also recommended by the House.
It demanded that an 11 per cent cut proposed on the share of provinces in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award must be revised immediately. It was also recommended that more funds should be allocated for management of rainwater reservoirs as well as the construction of small dams.
The recommendations say that tobacco must be treated as a crop like wheat, maize, and sugarcane and must be exempted from taxes and duties. However, Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes should be enhanced as per
the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines.