Govt. to table two Appropriation Bills in P’ment next week 

• Two separate Bills to be tabled in the House with details of State expenses for 2020 and 2021
• Bill for 2020 will include details of expenses incurred between March and August with the authorisation of the President under Article 150 of Constitution
• No Budget was presented this year with elections delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak
• In August, Rs. 1.7 t VoA was approved by the House to cover expenses between Sept. to Dec.

By Chandani Kirinde

Along with the Appropriation Bill for 2021, the government will present a separate Bill to cover the expenses for 2020 including the funds withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund under the authorisation of the President between March and August this year.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa authorised the withdrawal of funds from the consolidated fund using powers vested in him under Article 150 of the Constitution, once in March and again in June during the period Parliament stood dissolved with elections postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Following the election victory of the SLPP in August, Parliament approved a resolution to obtain around Rs 1.7 trillion to cover state expenditure for the next four months of the year by way of a Vote on Account (VoA).

The expenditure of the Government for 2020 is estimated to be around Rs 2.538 trillion for the service of the period beginning on 1 January, 2020 and ending on 31 December, 2020. The limit on borrowings this year is Rs 2.65 trillion, according to the Bill.

In the Appropriation Bill for 2021, Government expenditure for the year 2021 has been estimated at Rs. 2.678 trillion with the limit on borrowing set at Rs. 2.9 trillion.

The highest allocations both years will be for the Ministries of Defence, Highways and Provincial Councils.

State Minister of Samurdhi, Household Economy, Micro Finance, Self-Employment, Business Development and Underutilised State Resources Development Shehan Semasinghe told Parliament recently that as there was no Budget in 2020 due to the delay in holding elections, two Appropriation Bills will be tabled in Parliament to keep the House apprised of all the expenditure incurred for 2020.

Appropriation Bill 2020 and 2021 both have been published in the Government Gazette and are likely to be presented to Parliament next week.

The Government will present its first budget to Parliament on 17 November.