Sindh urges centre to finalise 9th NFC Award before budget
Sindh Minister for Finance, Planning & Development, Energy and Irrigation Syed Murad Ali Shah has urged the federal government to convene an immediate meeting of the 9th National Finance Commission (NFC) with an objective to finalise its recommendations before the commencement of the next fiscal year 2016-17. In a letter written to Federal Fiancé Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Murad Ali Shah has said that NFC Secretariat, Government of Pakistan, has convened only one meeting of 9th NFC on 28th April 2015 since its notification on 24th April 2015, over a year ago.
The Government of Sindh has repeatedly been approaching the NFC Secretariat for finalisation of 9th NFC recommendations within the stipulated period. Sindh has emphasised this again during the 1st meeting of 9th NFC and reiterated the need to finalize its recommendations by 31st May 2016 through weekly meetings in Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and KP. The 9th NFC in its first meeting had constituted four working groups with following tasks:-
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Province Working Group Topic assigned
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Punjab Working Group-I Resource Mobilization at the Federal and Provincial Level
Sindh Working Group-II Delayed Vs Integrated Tax Structure- Evaluation of the Tax Collection Framework in Pakistan
KPK Working Group-III Allocation Efficiency and Expenditure Analysis at the
Federal and Provincial Level.
Federal Government Working Group-IV Rationalization of Subsidies and Grants
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Sindh has completed its task on "Delayed Vs Integrated Tax Structure- Evaluation of the Tax Collection Framework in Pakistan" well in time and circulated its draft study paper to all sister provinces and federal government for comments/feedback. Sindh further took lead in convening the first meeting of the Working Group on 9th NFC in Karachi on 17th August 2015. In the meeting, it was decided that the Federal Government would convene the next meeting of 9th National Finance Commission at the earliest, however, in contradiction to this, the Federal Government did not convene a meeting till date, despite a series of letters reminding the same.
It is constitutional responsibility to announce NFC Award for a period of five years under Article 160 of the Constitution of Pakistan, Clause (i) of the Article 160 states as "within six months of the commencing day and thereafter at intervals not exceeding five years, the President shall constitute a National Finance Commission .........". Clause (2) of the same article further emphasizes as "It shall be the duty of the National Finance Commission to make recommendations to the President. It may be recalled that previous Government of Pakistan People's Party had fulfilled this constitutional obligation in letter and spirit and announced 7th NFC Award well before time of its commencement.
It is most unfortunate that through its apparent and persistent disregard, the Federal Government had proven that it is in no frame of mind to announce the 9th NFC Award. This serves to reiterate the Government's callous attitude towards provinces, residents of which will be ultimate beneficiaries of the new Award. Finance Minister further wrote that he records his strong reservation at the Federal Government's unwillingness to undertake this important constitutional activity, to the detriment of its citizens. As a result, the provinces are being deprived of their constitutional right of having a new resource sharing formula.
Shah urged upon the Federal Finance Minister to ensure the principles enshrined in the Constitution are followed, as pertained to matters of finance. It is most unfortunate that this has not been the case to date. Accordingly, he requested to adhere to the Constitution, and in the best interest of the people, and convene an immediate meeting of the 9th NFC with an objective to finalize its recommendations before the commencement of the next Financial year 2016-17. If the federal Government is willing to dedicate time, it is still possible to finalize the next NFC award before the budget. The Federal Government must fulfill its constitutional obligation for the announcement of the 9th NFC Award without any further delay, the letter concluded.-PR
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