Special focus likely on poverty reduction, expansion of social safety nets
National budget today
FE Report
6/8/2006

Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman presents the national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2006-07 in the Jatiya Sangsad at 3.00 pm today (Thursday).

He likely to unveil a Tk 697.40 billion national budget with a special focus on achieving the objectives of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and expanding the social safety net.
The budget will include an Annual Development Programme (ADP) worth Tk 260.00 billion.

The eighth parliament began its last budget session at 5:40 pm Wednesday with Deputy Speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui in the chair.
The budgetary outlay is expected to be about 8.32 per cent higher than that of the original for the outgoing fiscal. The fiscal deficit in the new budget is likely to be shown at four per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), finance division sources said.

Saifur may announce some measures to contain the price spiral of imported products.

One percentage point cut in the supplementary duty on some four thousand products may be proposed under the fiscal measures, which may also recommend reduction of import duty on some most essential products like sugar.

The new fiscal budget may not extend the much-talked-about provision for legalisation of black money on payment of 7.5 per cent tax.

But continuation of at least three other existing provisions that create opportunities for whitening black money by procurement of posh flats, lands, and luxury cars above 1500cc may continue, but with increased tax rates.
Main opposition Awami League (AL) will attend the budget session and may raise different issues like labour unrest in the readymade garment factories, price hike of essentials and prevailing power crisis.

Saifur, who will earn the rare distinction of presenting national budget for a record 12th time, tabled his first budget in 1980-81. His first budget involved only outlay of Tk 41.08 billion.

But the total budget outlay for FY 07 is almost 17-times higher than that of the first one.

The ADP is 21 per cent higher than the revised ADP of the outgoing fiscal.
Of the total ADP allocation for FY 07, Tk 148.12 billion or 57 per cent will be mobilised from local resources while the remaining Tk 111.88 billion will come from external sources.

A total of 937 development projects, including 51 new and 685 unapproved projects, are included in the new ADP.

Saifur Rahman may propose an ambitious revenue earning target of Tk 525.41 billion in FY 07, up Tk 68.19 billion from the original target of the outgoing fiscal.

He may also set a collection target of Tk 410.55 billion for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in the new fiscal, which will be higher by Tk 54.03 billion over that of the original target of FY 06.

Earning target of Tk 18.60 billion is likely to be proposed from the non-NBR tax sources and Tk 96.26 billion from the non-tax revenue in the new budget.
Meanwhile, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Jatiya Sangsad at a meeting Wednesday decided that the 22nd session of parliament will have 25 working days and 40-hour discussions on the budget, which will be passed on June 29.

Deputy Speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui chaired the BAC meeting.
Members of the main opposition AL walked out from the meeting when the chair refused to accept their 12-point demand for discussion during the current session of parliament.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Whip Khandaker Delwar Hossain and Law Minister Moudud Ahmed of the ruling BNP, advocate Rahmat Ali and Abdus Shahid of the AL and Begum Rawshan Ershad of the Jatiya Party (E). The revised budget for FY 06 will be passed in the House on June 13.

The session will neither have discussions on call attention notices under rule 71 nor any private members' day.