Govt’s capital expenditure marginally improves in the first two months of current FY

Published On: September 19, 2023 08:00 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

Recurrent expenditure decreases by Rs 21.06 billion, while Rs 35.31 billion paid for debt financing

KATHMANDU, Sept 19: The government spent Rs 87.66 billion under recurrent expenditure in the first two months of the current fiscal year, which was less by Rs 21.06 billion compared to the review period of the last fiscal year.

The records with the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) show that the government exhausted 7.68 percent of the earmarked expenses on the heading of recurrent expenditure. The government has allocated the administrative expenses worth Rs 1.141 trillion out of the announced budget of Rs 1.751 trillion for the fiscal year 2023/24.

Likewise, the government spent Rs 8.163 billion in development projects during mid-July and mid-September this year. The amount is around Rs 2.303 billion more than the amount spent during the review period last year.

According to the officials of the Ministry of Finance, an increase in the capital expenditure with the beginning of the current fiscal year was due to the government releasing dues of last fiscal year that was accrued to the contractors. The government has allocated Rs 302.07 billion under the capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2023/24.

The FCGO records show that the government released Rs 35.31 billion under the financial management. The amount was used to pay the interest and principle of the public debt.

Meanwhile, the revenue collection in the review period was down by Rs 8.78 billion. According to the FCGO, the revenue collection recorded Rs 141.07 billion, down from Rs 154.23 billion during the corresponding period of last FY. The achievement in revenue collection was 9.92 percent of the annual target of Rs 1.422 trillion.

The collection of customs revenue increased by Rs 790 million. According to the Department of Customs (DoC), it collected revenue of Rs 67.95 billion in the review months of the current fiscal year compared to that of Rs 67.16 billion last year.

Punya Bikram Khadka, director of the DoC, said the increased customs revenue was due to the government revising customs rate although there was a decline in imports.

Despite an increase in the customs revenue collection, the department however failed to meet the target for the review period. According to the DoC, it collected only 76 percent of the targeted amount under the heading of customs revenue.