Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said the Federal Budget 2026-27 is designed to promote export-led, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, while expanding the tax base and supporting key productive sectors.

Winding up the budget debate in the National Assembly on Saturday, he said the measures would boost productivity and create employment opportunities without overburdening existing taxpayers.

He said the government’s focus was on broadening and deepening the tax net, alongside reforms aimed at improving equity and fairness in the taxation system.

Aurangzeb highlighted tax relief measures for salaried individuals, small businesses, and the export and construction sectors, and said concessional financing had been introduced for agriculture and exports.

He said retailers had been brought into the tax net through a simplified taxation scheme, while enforcement and compliance mechanisms had been strengthened.

On agriculture, the finance minister said the government had launched the “Zarkhez” scheme, under which interest-free and collateral-free loans worth Rs300 billion would be provided to around 750,000 small farmers.

He added that Rs109 billion in loans would also be offered under the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme.

Aurangzeb said import duty relief worth Rs2 billion had been introduced to support agricultural modernisation, while duties on agricultural machinery and equipment had been abolished to promote modern farming techniques and increase productivity.

He said the government had delivered on its commitment to provide relief to the public following economic stabilisation, adding that the budget had received positive feedback from both inside and outside parliament.

The minister said key economic indicators showed improvement, including 6.5% growth in large-scale manufacturing and a current account surplus during the first 11 months of the fiscal year.

The finance minister said remittances had reached $4.25 billion last month and were expected to touch $41 billion for the full year.

He added that IT exports had grown by 20%, reaching a projected $4.5 billion, which he described as a record level.

Earlier, the National Assembly held detailed discussions on charged expenditures, including allocations for pensions, parliament, judiciary, debt repayments, and other constitutional institutions.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry urged the opposition to engage constructively to strengthen parliament, while Minister of State for Law Aqeel Malik rejected objections to charged expenditures, saying reforms were being implemented to ensure speedy justice.

The House will meet again on Sunday at 11am.