IMF Deadline, Demand To Present Agriculture Tax Bill In Provincial Assemblies: IA Hashmi

 

ISLAMABAD (EWN) Despite no major success in harmonizing the General Sales Tax (GST) on goods and services and bringing property under the ambit of a single tax, the National Tax Council (NTC) have decided that the amendments to the Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) rules will be tabled in their respective Provincial Assemblies and the first draft of the negative list of GST on services will be tabled in the National Tax Council by January 1, 2025. Ga, will be implemented from July 1. Although the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has hailed the introduction of uniform GST returns for cellular mobile operators (CMOs) as a major success, their input adjustments are still problematic. However, a uniform GST return format for the entire telecommunication sector is still a long way off.

On the Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) laws, the Finance Ministry said that the IMF has not raised any objection to the AIT law of Punjab where no specific rate has been fixed in AIT. Sindh took the stand that the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has prepared amendments to its draft and it will be a political decision of the provincial leadership to submit it to the cabinet and get it approved in the provincial assembly. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan have also committed to introduce it in their assemblies by January 1, 2025. With regard to GST harmonization, it was decided that a uniform rate would be introduced on goods and services, so the Executive Committee of NTC further will deliberate so as to finalize its details. Regarding the negative list of GST on services, it has been decided that it will be changed from positive list to negative list and it will be implemented from 1st July 2025.

However, the first draft will be submitted to the NTC by January 2025. There were sharp differences between the FBR and the provinces over the final draft of the negative list of GST on services as the FBR believed that the provinces could encroach on the Centre's purview in several areas when changing from positive to negative list. When contacted, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Muzamil Aslam said that this was the first meeting of the NTC after a gap of 18 months and promised to hold at least one meeting every three months. Of the sources Accordingly, the meeting discussed bringing the Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) system into line with the federal laws from January 1, 2025 through necessary legislative amendments, for agricultural income in the second half of the financial year 2024-25. To be levied in July 2025, transfer of GST on services from positive list to negative list to prevent tax evasion to be implemented from the beginning of financial year 2025-26, provincial tax Efforts should be made to increase overall revenue through GST on agriculture and services, implement necessary administrative reforms to increase collection under the Joint Property Tax Strategy, and reduce the tax compliance gap.

In the official statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, it was said that the meeting of the National Tax Council (NTC) was held in the Ministry of Finance under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Finance, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb. In the meeting, important stakeholders of the federal and provincial levels discussed important issues related to tax reforms and harmonization., which has been signed between the Federation and the provinces, and emphasizes on achieving the full potential of taxation of low-tax sectors, particularly property, agricultural income and wealth. I am Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervez Malik, Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Mohmazmal Aslam, Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Noshrwani, Chairman FBR, Chairman Provincial Revenue Boards, and Finance Secretaries of Federal and Provincial Ministries participated.

In addition, experts from the World Bank and senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and Provincial Finance Departments were also present. The agenda of the meeting included promoting cooperation between federal and provincial authorities, improving tax systems, improving compliance and revenue. Actions were emphasized to increase the collection of Key discussions included data sharing and digitization of taxation, harmonization of GST, provincial tax reforms, and transition to a broader framework of GST on services. The Council discussed effective policy implementation, capacity building, and strong stakeholder engagement. Emphasized the importance of governance to achieve sustainable reform goals. The Finance Minister reiterated the government's firm commitment to promote cooperation among all stakeholders to establish a unified and effective tax framework. The meeting was concluded with practical steps to take forward these reforms in a timely manner.