The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved a higher monthly subsidy disbursement to the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) on Thursday. Furthermore, the ECC set a turnover tax of 1.25 percent on the USC.
In a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the ECC also approved a request from the Ministry of Industries & Production to officially recognize the Warehousing and Logistics sector as an industry.
ECC was informed that Rs60 billion had been allocated in the 2024-25 budget for subsidies, including Rs50 billion under the Prime Minister’s relief package and Rs10 billion for the Ramazan relief package.
Despite a recent drop in the open market prices of some essential kitchen items, prices at USC remained higher, with the cost of subsidized essential goods generally increasing.
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The ECC approved using the subsidy to provide five essential items at reduced rates to low-income families identified through BISP up to PMT-40. The ECC proposed raising the monthly subsidy per household from Rs2,734 in 2023-24 to Rs3,650 for 2024-25, marking a 25.09% increase.
The Ministry of Industries and Production suggested that the Prime Minister’s Relief Package for FY25, covering 10 months from August 1 to June 30 (excluding Ramazan), should be disbursed monthly by the Ministry of Finance.
