FY 2023/24: Revenue collection, expenditures fail to meet targets

In the fiscal year 2023/24, the government’s revenue and expenditure fell short of annual targets. 

According to the Office of the Auditor General, revenue collection reached 74.29 percent of the total target, while budget expenditures amounted to 80.44 percent.

For the fiscal year, the government had allocated a total budget of Rs 1,751bn. By mid-July (the end of fiscal year 2023-24), expenditures amounted to Rs 1,408bn.

Specifically, expenditures under the current heading amounted to Rs 952bn, which is 83.41 percent of the allocated budget of Rs 1,141bn. Similarly, expenditures under the capital heading totaled Rs 1,917bn, 63.47 per cent of the allocated budget of Rs 3,020bn.

Under the financial management heading, expenditures totaled Rs 2,646bn, reaching 86.07 percent of the allocated budget of Rs 3,074bn for the last fiscal year.

The government had set a revenue collection target of Rs 1,472bn for the fiscal year, but actual collections amounted to Rs 1,093bn, making up 74.29 percent of the target. 

The government collected Rs 944.55m in revenue in the last fiscal year against its target of collecting Rs 1,305bn. 

Towards non-tax, a target was set to collect Rs 117bn in the last fiscal year, but only Rs 114bn was collected. 

Similarly, the government was successful in receiving only 22.48 percent foreign grants (Rs 1,122bn) against the target of receiving Rs 4,994bn foreign grants.  

The government failed to meet the goal even after amending the income and expenditure estimate twice. It revised the income and expenditure estimate through a half-yearly review for the first time and second time while bringing up the budget of the last fiscal year.  

Revising the income and expenditure estimate for the second time on May 28, outgoing Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun presented the revised estimate of Rs 1,530bn (87.4 percent of  allocation). 

Of the total government expenditure, it was expected to spend Rs 1,067bn towards current expenditure, Rs 215bn towards capital expenditure and Rs 247bn towards financial management. 

Similarly, the government had set the target of collecting revenues worth Rs 1,253bn in the last fiscal year following the second revision. The government had reduced the estimates of revenue and expenditure by making a half-yearly review of the budget for fiscal year 2023/24 for the first time last February.

The government had brought a budget of Rs 1,751.31bn for the fiscal year 2023/24. The government had made a revised estimate of expenditure of Rs 1,530.26bn or 87.38 percent of the budget through the half-yearly evaluation of the budget. 

The estimates of expenditure towards current heading was revised through the half-yearly review to 88.84 percent, towards capital heading to 84.13 percent and towards fiscal management heading to 87.39 percent compared to the initial allocations for the first time. 

The estimates of income and expenditure were decreased through the half-yearly budget review and was expected to be Rs 1,007.45bn or 88.24 percent of the initial allocation towards the current heading, Rs 254.13bn or 84.13 percent of the initial allocation towards the capital heading and Rs 268.67bn or 87.39 percent of the initial allocation towards fiscal management heading.