The proceedings of the House started with recitation of the verses from the Holy Quran and Hadith. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Babar Awan moved a motion to suspend the question hour and calling attention notices.
The opposition members opposed the motion but it was passed by the House after voice voting. Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin then moved the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021 as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021.
Speaker Asad Qaisar announced that the former bill would not be sent to the committee while referred the latter to the committee concerned for further consideration.
The Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021 aims to give legislative effect to the taxation proposals of the federal government to achieve efficiency, equity in the tax system, broadening of tax base as well as documentation of economy. It will come into force on the next day of assent given to this act by the President except clause 3(6) which shall have effect from December 01, 2021.
The bill proposes that poultry items should be exempted from taxes while tax rate on mobile phone calls will increase.
Meanwhile, the General Sales Tax (GST) on cars above 1,000cc and tax on the import of electric vehicles in CBU conditions will increase. Cottonseed is proposed to be taxed while the bill suggests increasing the tax on machinery for the poultry sector. The GST on silver and gold will increase while tax will also be imposed on computers and laptops. The House also adopted eight resolutions seeking extension of as many ordinances, including the Federal Government Properties Management Authority Ordinance, 2021; the Elections (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021; the Public Properties (Removal of Encroachment) Ordinance, 2021; the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021; the Public Private Partnership Authority (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021; the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021; the Pakistan Food Security Flow and Information Ordinance, 2021 and the Tax Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.
The opposition challenged the voting on a resolution seeking extension of the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.
The Speaker asked for headcount and the opposition was defeated with majority vote on this resolution. The opposition, however, continued protest but Speaker Asad Qaiser gave a ruling declaring the passage of resolutions seeking extension of ordinances as per rules.
On behalf of Chairperson Standing Committee on Federal Education, Professional Training, a member of the committee Sadaqat Abbassi presented a report on the University of Engineering and Emerging Technology Bill, 2021.
Later, the opposition members disrupted the speech of Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi who wanted to respond the issues highlighted by Raja Pervaiz Asharaf (PPPP) and Asad Mahmood (MMAP). They also pointed out the lack of quorum.
The Speaker adjourned the House to meet again on December 31 (Friday) at 11:00 am.