ISLAMABAD (Eshfak Mughal):- The Federal Government has consumed 52 percent revenue on payments of debt servicing during the first nine months of the current fiscal year instead of providing resources to the poor segment of society who have not even resources to buy two time meal.
The Finance Ministry has issued Fiscal Operations Report (July-March) of the current fiscal year on Friday night.
The government has consumed Rs.3.582 trillion on debt serving against public debt during the first ninth months of the current fiscal year against the total estimate of Rs4.1 trillion for the current fiscal year. The spending on the debt servicing was increase due to increase in policy rate and currency devaluation. The Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank has increased the policy rate from 13.75 percent to 21 percent during the current fiscal year in compliance of the prior conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for reaching at Staff Level Agreement under the Ninth Review meeting which is suspended from Feb to curb the inflation in the country.
The IMF wants to increase the Policy rate to equal of inflation rate which is currently blinking on 28 percent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year.
The high-ups of the Finance Ministry believe that the debt servicing could accelerate to Rs.5.3 trillion against the original estimate of Rs4.1 billion due to elevation in the policy rate suggested by the IMF to secure the IMF loan program which is still pending.
The total expenditures of the government has been reached at Rs10 trillion during the current fiscal year mainly due to heavy payments of the nine months of the current fiscal year. The government has spent Rs. 9.244 billion for current and Rs1060 billion for Development Expenditure & net lending during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
Out of total government spending, the government has consumed Rs.3,582 billion for mark-up payments including Rs. 3,108 billion on domestic debt and Rs.474 billion for external debt. The govt has also spent Rs.1000 billion for defense expenditures, Rs. 486.696 billion for payments of pension, Rs396 billion for running of civil government, Rs.432 billion for subsidies and Rs617 billion for Grants to Others during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
According to the Fiscal Operations Report, the government has earned Rs6,938 billion including Rs.5,617 billion tax revenue and Rs.1,320 billion for non-tax revenue of the federal and provincial governments. The Federal Govt has received Rs.5,155 billion from the collections of Federal Board of Revenue and Rs461 billion were collected from the tax revenues of provincial governments during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
The Federal Govt has collected Rs1215 billion while the provincial governments have collected Rs106 billion through through non-tax revenue during the period.
The government has received Rs. 85 billion through Mark-up (PSEs & Others), Rs52 billion from dividends, Rs.61 billion from Profit PTA & others, Rs371 billion from Surplus Profit of State Bank of Pakistan, Rs. 14 billion from Defence Receipts, Rs25.7 billion from Passport Fee, Rs.16 billion from discount retained on Crude Oil, 88 billion from Royalties on Oil/Gas, Rs.19 billion Windfall Levy against Crude Oil, Rs.11.7 billion from Natural Gas Development Surcharge and Rs. 362 billion from Petroleum Levy and Rs97 billion from other resources during the three quarters.
The budget deficit was increased to Rs.3078 billion due to high expenditures and low revenues of the government during the first half of the current fiscal year.
The first nine months’ shortfall in revenue collection reached Rs.278 billion as total collection stood at Rs5.156 trillion in the first nine months of 2022-23 against the target of Rs5.433 trillion.
The data shows that the federal government has transferred Rs2.953 trillion to provinces under the NFC Award during the first half of the current fiscal year. The Federal government has transferred Rs. 1,455 billion to Punjab, Rs727 billion to Sindh, Rs.484 billion to KPK and Rs.286 billion to Baluchistan during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
The provinces have surrendered Rs.456 billion before Federal Government to decrease the budget deficit during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. The Punjab govt has provided Rs.262 billion, Sindh Rs145 billion, KPK Rs5.4 billion and Baluchistan has provided Rs43 billion surplus budget to federal government under the commitment with the IMF to decrease the budget deficit.