The Balochistan Assembly on Monday passed two key bills, the Balochistan Tax on Land and Agricultural Income Amendment Bill and the Balochistan Civil Servants Amendment Bill, as part of ongoing legislative reforms.Â
The session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Ghazala Gola, began after a 30-minute delay. Parliamentary Secretary Barkat Ali Rind presented the report on the land and agricultural tax bill on behalf of the Standing Committee on the Board of Revenue.Â
Later, Provincial Minister Mir Asim Kurd Gelo introduced the amended tax bill, which was approved by the House. Assembly member Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman opposed the bill, calling it a colonial-era law.
Following this, Rind also presented the Standing Committee on Finance’s report regarding the Balochistan Civil Servants Amendment Bill. The amended bill, introduced by Provincial Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani, was subsequently passed by the assembly.
With this development, Balochistan and Sindh were the last provinces to introduce agricultural income tax legislation, following similar measures already enacted in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier, the Sindh Assembly also approved a revised agricultural income tax structure. Under the new tax slabs, agricultural income exceeding Rs5.6 million annually will be taxed at a maximum of 45%, while incomes above Rs150 million will be subject to a super tax.
The bill also extends taxation to corporate farming. Small farm sector companies will face a 20% tax, while larger agricultural firms will be taxed at 29%. Annual agricultural incomes up to Rs600,000 will remain tax-exempt, and the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) will handle tax collection.
Sindh Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar introduced the bill, while Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah acknowledged that the provincial government was compelled to implement the tax to maintain Pakistan’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
