Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee. During the meeting, two separate summaries were presented by the Ministry of Industries and Production for the disbursement of salaries of the employees and clearing the liabilities of retired employees of Pakistan Steel Mills. The ECC agreed in principle that the dues to the retired non- litigant employees should be paid. The forum further decided to seek a detailed report from the Ministry of Industries and Production on the nature of liabilities due to PSM on account of retirement dues, the liabilities that will accrue as a result of the retrenchment plan and other expenditures on account of utilities or any other charges due on PSM.
ECC approved 2 technical supplementary grants (TSGs) for the Ministry of Interior amounting to Rs.111 million for clearing various liabilities of the ICT administration. Two other TSGs were approved for Islamabad High Court (Rs.102 million) and National Heritage & Culture Division (Rs8.5 million) for various expenditures.
ECC also granted a waiver of guarantee fee on foreign loans of K2/K3 projects. According to a report prepared by PAEC and EAD, there will be a benefit of Rs.0.07/KWh to the general public by the waiver of this fee.
For centralized procurement of the vaccines under the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), ECC approved the shifting of Federal EPI from development to revenue expenditure with an allocation of Rs 9. 9 billion through TSG for vaccine procurement in CFY to avoid interruption in the immunization program.
In order to increase the share of manmade fibers (MMF) in the textile goods for better unit prices in the international markets, the Additional Customs Duty (ACDs) and Regulatory Duty (RDs) on selected HS codes of the textile sector were allowed to be removed. The total revenue impact of these exemptions will be Rs. 533 million.
ECC allowed notifying the Kharlachi Border Crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan as a rebatable border point for the export of goods to Afghanistan. Earlier the opening of this border point helped in the release of congested transit trucks at the Afghan border due to COVID-19 restrictions.
ECC allowed the exemption from the re-lending of the funds for Pakistan National Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 to cover the country’s requirements for 12 months through emergency operations. In order to administer the program, Asian Development Bank shall provide a loan of US$ 100 million and an additional US$ 5 million will be from the government of Norway as a grant administered by ADB.
