ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will chair a meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday (today) to discuss several emerging issues and sign off on economic decisions taken earlier.

This will be the second cabinet meeting after the prime minister’s heart surgery earlier this year, and the first to be held following a Supreme Court decision that made it mandatory for the cabinet to approve every piece of legislation and decision taken by the government.

Before his surgery in London, PM Sharif had conducted a meeting of the federal cabinet ahead of the budget session, where he gave his formal assent to the finance bill via video link.

Following apex court ruling, all major decisions must be endorsed by federal cabinet

The July 15 meeting was the first formal meeting of the cabinet to be held this year, after a gap of nearly seven months.

On August 18, the Supreme Court ruled that the prime minister could not move any legislation, finance or fiscal bill or approve any budgetary or discretionary expenditure on his own, without taking the cabinet into confidence.

The ruling came on petitions by Karachi-based importers of cellular phones and textile goods, who had filed appeals against the federal government’s decision to withdraw certain tax exemptions on imported goods through notifications issued on April 4, 2013 and May 30, 2013.

In their appeals, the petitioners maintained that the notifications were not issued by the federal government, but by an additional secretary, who was not competent to do so.

A senior government official privy to developments in the matter told Dawn the government would not file a review in this case, adding: “We will comply with the order”.

Cabinet meetings are held to ensure a collective decision on several important issues and ensure transparency in the making of key decisions, he said.

Another official told Dawn that it usually takes three days to prepare summaries that need to be placed before the cabinet for approval. Earlier, such decisions were taken in the meeting of the cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which is headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

In the light of the Supreme Court order, however, all decisions endorsed in the ECC will also need the approval of the federal cabinet.

As per practice, tax officials said, the ECC has been extending the last date of lower tax rate of 0.4pc on banking transactions every month since July 2015; making changes to sales tax rates on petroleum products on the last date of every month, as well as making other changes in tax related issues.

But following the SC decision, the tax official said, all these and other decisions will have to be placed before the cabinet for approval. Cabinet approval will also be mandatory before the promulgation of any ordinance, the official said.

On Wednesday, the cabinet is expected to accord confirmation to decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Restructuring (CCoR) in meetings held in December 2013, July 2014, November and December 2014, August, September and October 2015.

A special presentation will be given to prime minister on progress on sustainable development goals. The cabinet will also accord approval for the introduction of a Rs5 and Rs10 coin with metal composition.

The Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 will also be placed before the cabinet for approval, which will also determine the rate of sales tax on petroleum products.

The cabinet is also expected to give approval to the bilateral agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation with Switzerland. After the accord, the treaty will be signed with Swiss authorities as both countries have finalised a draft agreement.

The cabinet will also be briefed on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters with the 34-member international body, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The cabinet is also likely to approve the re-establishment of the Pakistan-Iran banking relationship, which will significantly boost bilateral trade.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2016