Consensus over NFC Award

LAHORE – The longstanding issue of 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award was resolved amicably in the Punjab capital on Friday, as the Chief Ministers of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan termed the Punjab as a sincere elder brother, offering special thanks to Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif for showing grace in acceptance of their demands.
The Chief Ministers of all the four provinces congratulated the nation on this occasion, terming the decision a ‘historic move’ for promoting harmony and solidarity among the federating units.
Speaking on this occasion, the Chief Ministers of Balochistan, NWFP and Sindh unanimously said, “the credit goes to Punjab for resolving the longstanding issue and indeed Punjab is our sincere elder brother.” One NFC me-mber said Shahbaz had secured man-of-the-match award for playing key role in settling the longstanding issue.
The issue of NFC Award had been lingering on for the last 19 years, which has now been resolved with unanimity and owing to accommodating approach of the Punjab province. However, the federation has made historic sacrifices over the division of national resources among the provinces. The federation too has raised the provinces share by 8.5 per cent.
According to the new NFC formula, the provincial share of the divisible pool in the vertical distribution has been increased from the present 47.5 per cent to 56 per cent in the first year of the NFC and 57.5 per cent in the remaining years of the Award.
In another development, the federal government considering it a provincial subject has allowed the provinces to collect Sales Tax on Services at their own. Long standing demand of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan to distribute the divisible pool according to multiple indicators has been accepted. The NFC expressed its special thanks to the government of Punjab for showing generosity in acceptance of this demand. “The federation and the provinces reciprocated to the spirit of accommodation shown by each in reaching an amicable agreement on vertical and horizontal distribution of resources for the purpose of the 7th NEC Award,” Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin told reporters while addressing a news conference at Chief Minister’s Secretariat.