Finance Minister Wagle Pledges Tough Action on Smuggling, Governance-Focused Budget

Swarnim Wagle has stated that the upcoming fiscal year's budget will be prepared in line with the commitment paper presented by the Rastriya Swatantra Party during the elections, along with its governance reform agenda and the government’s policies and programmes.

Speaking at today’s meeting of the Finance Committee under the Federal Parliament’s House of Representatives, he assured that the government would make necessary arrangements to implement these priorities, despite acknowledging that resource management remains a major challenge for the next fiscal year’s budget execution.

He stressed that the government would adopt a strict stance against revenue leakage. “The government will take firm action to curb smuggling that negatively affects domestic production, while remaining as flexible as possible regarding the daily needs of ordinary citizens,” he said.

The Finance Minister noted that the government’s regular obligations alone amount to around Rs 13.3 trillion, leaving a funding gap of nearly Rs 7 trillion. He added that the Ministry of Finance has already set and dispatched budget ceilings to various ministries, clarifying that sector-specific matters would be addressed by the respective ministries.

Minister Wagle also announced that the government would soon introduce the ‘Alternative Financing Bill’. He informed the committee that since assuming office, the Ministry of Finance has completed more than 300 small and large-scale tasks. The principles and priorities of the upcoming budget are scheduled to be presented in Parliament on May 14.

He further pledged to incorporate suggestions provided by Members of Parliament into the budget formulation process.

Clarifying the government’s policy on border trade, Wagle said the government would facilitate the purchase of daily essentials for people living in border areas while taking stringent measures against organized smuggling and revenue leakage.

He explained that the provision requiring customs duties on goods valued above Rs 100 was not introduced by the current administration but has existed for decades and is also included in the current fiscal year’s budget.

The Finance Minister added that the government plans to modernize border security through the use of cameras, facial recognition systems, night vision devices, and AI-based surveillance technologies.

Regarding the capital market, Dr Wagle said the government has adopted a liberal policy to support the development of the securities market, while acknowledging that certain groups have manipulated the market through insider trading and exploited investors. He informed lawmakers that a committee formed to restructure the stock exchange has already submitted its report, which will be implemented gradually.

Minister Wagle also remarked that the Gen-Z movement had played a significant role in preventing the country from heading in the wrong direction.