Provinces to get Rs2.59 trillion from federal revenue

ISLAMABAD: Provinces will get Rs2.59 trillion in the fiscal year 2018-19 from their share in the federal revenue and straight transfers, reflecting 11.8 percent increase over revised budgetary estimates of Rs2.23 trillion.

After transfer to provincial governments, the net revenue of the federal government is estimated at Rs3.07 trillion as compared to revised estimates of Rs2.676 trillion in the current fiscal. The provincial development programme for 2018-19 has been estimated at Rs850 billion as against Rs800 billion in revised estimates, showing an increase of 6.3 percent.

While presenting the budget for the next fiscal year 2018-19, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Miftah Ismail said that after the 7th NFC Award, the fiscal space of the federal government shrunk by 10 to 11 percent while its expenditure could not be reduced.

“Provinces received an additional transfer of Rs2.5 trillion in eight years which otherwise could have been spent by the federal government,” he said, adding that the federal government also had to allocate substantial resources for special security and rehabilitation of temporarily displaced persons (TDPs).

Out of the total revenue of the federal government, Punjab stands to get Rs1.28 trillion, Sindh Rs648 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs426.605 billion, including 1 percent war on terror, and Balochistan Rs233 billion.

In the outgoing fiscal year, Punjab was allocated Rs1.16 trillion, but the revised estimates were Rs1.13 trillion, Sindh was allocated Rs612,590 billion for the current fiscal year, yet in the revised estimates for the ongoing fiscal year their allocation will be 584.322 billion, KP was allocated Rs389.85 billion for the current fiscal year.

But in the revised estimates, they will get Rs381.03 billion and Balochistan was allocated Rs219.97 billion for the current fiscal, whereas its allocation has been revised at Rs2,012.177 billion, according to budget documents.

Provinces agreed sharing divisible pool under the NFC Aaward that will take place on the basis of 82 percent population, 10.3 percent poverty and backwardness, 5 percent on revenue collection/generation and 2.7 percent on inverse population density.

The budget documents also revealed that in accordance with the framework for distribution of resources structured by the 7th NFC Award, the net transfers to provinces are 2.71 trillion in the budget estimates of 2018-19.

According to the budget documents, the provincial development programme for 2018-19 has been estimated at Rs850 billion as against Rs800 billion in revised estimates 2017-18, showing an increase of 6.3 percent.