President ratifies bill on amendment of six articles of Public Finance Act

President Dr Mohamed Waheed has ratified the bill on the amendment of six articles of the Public Finance Act.

The bill, which proposed amendments to five articles of the Public Finance Act, was submitted by Hithadhoo-south MP Hassan Latheef. It was investigated by the committee and passed by the parliament on 25 December. The amendments have been published on the Government Gazette following ratification.

The Third Amendment Bill to the Public Finance Act states that every state office should compile an estimated annual budget including its income, recurrent expenses and capital expenses. It states that this budget should be sent to Finance Ministry before the date indicated in the Public Finance Act by the head of the office appointed under this Act.

It further states that the annual budget should include a summary of the estimated income, recurrent expenses and capital expenses, and details of the major recurrent and capital expenses to be undertaken by the office during the year.

In addition, if the responsibility for a service is transferred to another office after it has been assigned as a capital expense or passed as a state expense for a service, the remaining funds in the budget can be transferred to the new office with the permission of the minister.

Article 35 (a) of the amendment states that the head appointed to each office under the Act should present an annual report to the Auditor General within three months of the end of every year.