FBR to no longer prepare budget, confirms Finance Minister

Islamabad: Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has stated that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will not prepare the budget for the next fiscal year.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was held under the chairmanship of Saleem Mandviwalla, attended by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the Attorney General.

During the committee meeting, the issue of FBR appealing against a presidential order was discussed. The committee chairman said the presidential order had been challenged, but the FBR did not comply with it. “We were advised to summon the Attorney General to the committee regarding this matter,” he added.

The lawyer representing the affected citizen said that the FBR had challenged the presidential order in the Sindh High Court. “According to the law, the FBR is obligated to comply with the President’s orders. By not doing so, the FBR has violated the law on three occasions,” the lawyer stated.

He added that there are clear directives from the Prime Minister’s House and the Ministry of Law to act on the presidential order. Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Awan said that if the matter relates to goods classification, the FTO (Federal Tax Ombudsman) can file an appeal. To this, the affected citizen responded that under the law, the orders of the Federal Ombudsman and the President must be implemented, and institutions are not permitted to interpret those orders. The Senate Standing Committee on Finance instructed the Attorney General to resolve the matter.

Briefing the committee on the economic situation, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that macroeconomic stability has been achieved in the country. He stated that the government plans to initially issue $250 million worth of Panda Bonds by the end of November this year, with a total issuance target of $1 billion.

He informed the committee that the government has already made a $500 million Eurobond payment, and the next payment of $1.3 billion, due in April 2026, will also be made on time. Arrangements for this payment are in place, and the economy will move forward through the benefits of these measures.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb further said that the next fiscal year’s budget will not be prepared by the FBR. The responsibility for tax policy has now been taken away from the FBR. The new budget will be prepared by the Tax Policy Office under the Ministry of Finance. This office will conduct consultations on the budget throughout the year.

He remarked, “There are always rumors and speculation, but the direction of the economy is now correct.” He added that the Prime Minister is personally overseeing the FBR transformation and receives both monthly and weekly reports on its progress. The Tax Policy Office is close to becoming operational.