{"id":2726,"date":"2025-06-11T14:45:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/?p=2726"},"modified":"2025-06-11T14:03:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:03:46","slug":"aurangzeb-links-tariff-reforms-to-export-driven-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/2025\/06\/11\/aurangzeb-links-tariff-reforms-to-export-driven-growth","title":{"rendered":"Aurangzeb Links Tariff Reforms to Export-Driven Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday emphasized that tariff reforms are essential for building an export-led economy, while defending the federal budget for FY2025-26 in a press conference overshadowed by a journalist walkout.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The finance minister stated that while fiscal consolidation remains a priority under the IMF framework, the government has still provided targeted relief to the salaried class and incentives for sectors like real estate and construction.<\/p>\n

Journalists, upset over the lack of a technical briefing from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on the Finance Bill 2025, exited the press conference early in protest.<\/p>\n

Tariff Adjustments Aim to Help Exporters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aurangzeb highlighted major changes under the National Tariff Policy, explaining that additional customs duties were eliminated on four key lines and reduced across 2,700 tariff lines.<\/p>\n

These adjustments, he said, are directly linked to raw materials used by exporters and will help stimulate exports.
He described this move as the beginning of a broader structural overhaul planned for the upcoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n

He also defended the government’s decision to benchmark salaries and pensions with inflation, asserting that such an approach is standard globally.<\/p>\n

Despite limited fiscal space, Aurangzeb said the government tried to provide relief wherever possible, including a 0.5% cut in super tax for mid-sized companies.<\/p>\n

Focus on Revenue, Enforcement, and Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regarding revenue generation, Aurangzeb disclosed that Rs312 billion in new taxes are expected to help meet the FBR’s Rs2.2 trillion additional revenue target.<\/p>\n

He stressed that enforcement\u2014not just new taxes\u2014will be key, noting that recent enforcement efforts alone generated Rs400 billion.<\/p>\n

He urged Parliament to support enabling legislation for long-term reform.<\/p>\n

On agriculture, the minister revealed that an initially planned tax on fertilisers and pesticides was dropped after negotiations with the IMF, recognizing their importance as critical inputs for farmers.<\/p>\n

He also called for increased financing for small farmers and a reduction in the role of intermediaries.<\/p>\n

Aurangzeb acknowledged that public expenditures had been a concern, but said they increased only 1.9% this year.
Subsidies and debt servicing were reduced, although certain key development and defense expenditures grew.
He emphasized that continued borrowing to finance deficits is unsustainable and reforms are necessary.<\/p>\n

Other Key Remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aurangzeb clarified that salary hikes for National Assembly and Senate leaders came after a nine-year gap.
On NFC-related questions, he reassured that all decisions will be made in full consultation with provinces.<\/p>\n

Concluding, the finance minister admitted that reversing long-standing economic imbalances would take time, but asserted that recent budget steps signal the government\u2019s commitment to reform.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged the burden on the formal sector and salaried class and said the government must show it is serious about change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday emphasized that tariff reforms are essential for building an export-led economy, while defending the federal budget for FY2025-26 in a press conference overshadowed by a journalist walkout. The finance minister stated that while fiscal consolidation remains a priority under the IMF framework, the government has still provided targeted …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1301,160,1367,1134],"class_list":["post-2726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-export","tag-headline","tag-reform","tag-tariff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2728,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2726\/revisions\/2728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youdigital.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}