PTI govt to present annual budget in May

Ministries, divisions directed to send revised budget estimates for current fiscal year to MoF by Feb 6

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided in principle to present the budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 in the parliament in May instead of June.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has released the schedule for preparation of the budget for the next fiscal year 2020-21 and the mid-term budget framework 2019-22.

All the ministries and divisions have been directed to send the revised budget estimates for the current fiscal year 2019-20 to the finance ministry by February 6, 2020.

According to a document available with The Express Tribune, the finance ministry has sent to all the ministries and divisions a 25-page document comprising guidelines, budget profiles and other documents including copies of the budget estimates and mid-term budgetary framework (medium term budgetary estimates).

Guidelines for filling out the forms have also been explained in these documents.

The final estimates of receipts for the current financial year 2019-20 and the projected receipts for the next financial year 2020-21 are required to be sent by February 28, 2020 along with explanatory notes.

The budget meeting for the next fiscal year 2020-21 will be held at the Ministry of Finance during the current month, while all the ministries and divisions will be written a letter on the three-year budget sailing and the budget work will be completed in the third week of March.

According to the document, all ministries and divisions will be required to provide estimates of the funds and budgets needed for the next fiscal year and mid-term framework estimates by February 28, 2020.

Estimates of the funds needed for the development budgets of the ministries and divisions will have to be submitted to the Planning Commission by March 2020 and the expenditure estimates by March 15.

The document states that the preparation of the budget strategy paper will begin in the second week of February 2020 and will be finalised in the first week of March and presented to the Federal Cabinet meeting for approval.

A committee meeting to review the demands will be held in the last week of March, if needed.

Details of expenditures and other estimates from the ministries and divisions will be submitted by the third week of April, while details of expenditures and other estimates submitted to the SAP system will be provided to the Finance Division's budget wing by April 10.

The document states that the expenditure chart with regard to the funds required for development will be provided to the ministries and divisions by the budget wing by March 20, while the priority committee will set priorities and allocate funds for the next financial year.

The meetings will begin in the first week of March 2020, in which priority will be set for federal and provincial development projects.

The Annual Planning Liaison Committee meeting to finalise the Annual Development Plan and the Public Sector Development Program (PSDD) for the next financial year 2020-21 20 will be held in the first week of March 2020, while the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) for the final approval of the Annual Plan and PSDP will be held in the first week of March 2020.