The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar, Tuesday deferred the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Bill 2025 until its next session, while voicing sharp criticism over the carbon levy and high interest rates, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) presented its recommendations on the CSR Bill, noting consultations with the American Business Council, Pakistan Business Council, and OICCI. Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani told the committee that the key question was whether CSR should be implemented on a mandatory or voluntary basis.
“If CSR is made mandatory, it will amount to a new tax — and any new tax should be seen as a new budget,” Kayani said, adding that many businesses had opposed mandatory CSR but were already voluntarily spending, in some cases exceeding one percent of their budget allocations. Some companies, however, cautioned against raising the CSR requirement beyond one percent.
Committee Chairman Syed Naveed Qamar questioned the effectiveness of such legislation. “Why will companies that have not implemented CSR laws do so today?” he asked, warning that forcing CSR contributions could hurt businesses.
The session also turned heated over the Ministry of Industries and Production’s absence from the briefing on the new Electric Vehicles Policy. Expressing anger, Qamar said, “The government thinks that once they impose a levy, parliament doesn’t matter. This attitude is unbearable.” He announced that an amendment would be brought to return the carbon levy.
On monetary policy, members voiced concern over the central bank’s decision to keep the interest rate at 11 percent. Javed Hanif noted that the rate was four percent higher than inflation. “Sometimes the economy needs support from a reduction in interest rates,” Qamar remarked, while Sharmila Farooqi urged for a rate cut to spur growth. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig stressed that the interest rate should fall to single digits.
State Bank officials defended the policy, saying it was necessary to avoid a boom-and-bust cycle, and noted that the next monetary policy meeting would be held on September 15.
