PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will present its budget for the next fiscal year on Friday (May 24), even before the announcement of the federal budget for the first time.

Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on finance Muzammil Aslam confirmed that the provincial government had decided to present its budget on May 24.

He said the Federal Board of Revenue’s tax target was likely to be around Rs 11.2 trillion, and in light of this target, they have prepared their budgetary estimates.

The adviser said the federal and provincial finance authorities usually shared their respective estimates.

He said that the provincial finance department had also prepared its revenue mobilisation proposals beforehand.

Mr Aslam said the federal budget was likely to be presented on June 6-7 and in the case of presenting the budget after the federal government, Eid holidays were likely on June 17–18, so they decided to present the budget on May 24.

Also in the day, the provincial finance department also wrote two letters to the administration and law and parliamentary affairs departments to arrange cabinet meetings and the assembly’s budget sessions on Friday.

The letter addressed to the secretary of the law and parliamentary affairs department said that, upon the approval of the chief minister, it has been decided to present the annual budget of the KP for the fiscal year 2024–25 on May 24.

“I am directed to request that the session of the provincial assembly kindly be convened at 3pm on May 24,” the letter read.

In another letter, the finance department asked the administration department to convene the provincial cabinet meeting on May 24 at 11am for the approval of revised estimates for 2023–24, budgetary estimates for 2024–25, the annual development programme for 2024–25, resource mobilisation measures and finance bills for 2024–25, and provincial finance commission recommendations for 2024–25.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2024