Government asks for extension on 2014 budget deadline

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad has said today that he has requested the parliament for an extension to submit the 2014 State budget.

Finance Minister told Sun that the law requires for the budget to be presented to parliament before the end of October and that this would pose difficulties for the new government that is due to come in this November.

“I have asked the parliament to delay the deadline, even if it means amending the law. But I have not received an answer,” Jihad said.

A recently published circular by the Finance Ministry states that, in contrast to the procedure being followed by the Ministry up until now where the government proposes its budget for the upcoming year one month prior to the start of the new financial year, new amendments to Article 32 of the Public Finance Act requires the government to submit their proposed budget two months prior to the beginning of the financial year.

Minister Jihad said that they have to collate budgets from all different branches of the government before proposing them to parliament and that they are working on collecting the budgets they have not yet received.

“The Ministry’s technical committee is now negotiating the budget that we have received,” Finance Minister said.

He said that they are trying to put together a budget that will not exceed the 2013 budget.

Parliament approved a MVR 15.2 billion budget this year.