Dr. Arif Alvi signed the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023, also known as the mini-budget.
The government hurried to meet the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) requirements in order to receive an economic bailout that the country needs to avoid the possibility of default.
The Prime Minister Secretariat forwarded the bill for approval to the President Secretariat on Wednesday evening, two days after the National Assembly passed it.
President House Media Wing
The media wing of the President’s House said in a statement today:
“The president gave the approval to the bill in accordance with Article 75 of the Constitution.”
The Constitution regards the finance bill as a money bill, and Article 75 (1) prohibits the president from rejecting or objecting to it.
The Article Reads:
“When a Bill is presented to the President for assent, the President shall, within [ten] days,–(a) assent to the Bill; or (b) in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill,
return the Bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with a message requesting that the Bill or any specified provision thereof,
be reconsidered and that any amendment specified in the message be considered”.
Pakistan is aiming to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week, after implementing all major prior actions.
This agreement would enable credit flows from other bilateral and multilateral lenders.
A well-placed source previously stated:
Pakistan and the IMF plan to sign the staff-level agreement on February 28.
That is followed by an IMF executive board meeting in the first week of March.
To fulfill the IMF’s requirements:
The government received a request to generate an additional Rs170 billion in tax revenue.
The government implemented the bulk of the tax measures through Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) on February 14.
Following the president’s formal approval, the remaining Rs55 billion in tax measures will come into effect.
Pakistan is facing a severe economic crisis, with foreign exchange reserves.
And that is dropping to approximately $3 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of controlled imports.
An agreement with the IMF would not only release a $1.2 billion bailout but also unlock other funding avenues for the country.
