State Budget Projection for 2015 sent to Parliament

Estimated budget of the government for the year 2015 has been sent to the Parliament.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad said to Sun Online today that government's budget projection for 2015 has been sent to the Parliament on last Thursday and that budget planned for next year would be higher when compared with the budget of 2013.

However, Minister Jihad did not mention any detailed information or the total amount of the budget projected for next year.

“Budget has been sent to the Parliament. It is difficult to give any detail before budget statement,” said Minister Jihad.

According to Article 32 (a) of Finance Act before two months to the commencement of each financial year, the Minister of Finance should submit for approval to the Parliament a budget containing the projected revenue and expenditures for the year. So budget projection for next year has to be sent to the Parliament before 31st October 2014.

Former president Dr. Mohamed Waheed sent a budget projection of MVR 16.4 billion for 2014, however the present government revised it and sent a budget projection of MVR 17.5 billion for 2014 to the Parliament. After that the Budget Committee of the Parliament reviewed and increased the budget to MVR 18.2 billion, but later it was decreased to MVR 17.9 billion upon government’s request.