KATHMANDU, Jan 9: The government’s reserve fund worsened multifolds in the fiscal year 2023/24, compared to the state’s treasury balance in the previous FY.
The records with the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) show that the cumulative reserve balance of all three levels of government stood at a negative of Rs 116.93 billion in the last FY. The reserve fund was a negative of Rs 38.20 billion in the previous FY.
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Although the reserve funds of both the provincial governments and the local governments stood positive, the overall balance declined in the review period. According to the OAG, the negative balance of the treasury fund of the federal government increased by Rs 47.09 billion in the last FY. The reserve fund of the central government plunged to a negative of Rs 228.35 billion from a negative Rs 181.26 billion in the review period.
Province governments had reserve funds of Rs 50.90 billion in total, a decline from Rs 64.41 billion. Likewise, the reserve fund of the local governments declined to Rs 60.50 billion from Rs 78.64 billion.
The excessive expenditure of the federal government in particular took a toll on the overall treasury balance. The total receipts of the federal government last year was Rs 1.284 trillion, while the government-borne financial liabilities were worth Rs 1.444 trillion including direct expenditure of Rs 1.346 trillion apart from expenses in other adjustments.
According to the OAG, all the three levels of government secured revenue collection worth Rs 1.143 trillion in the FY 2023/24, up from Rs 1.034 trillion in the previous FY. In the revenue period, the revenue collection by the federal government increased to Rs 929.04 billion from Rs 834.05 billion. Similarly, provincial governments collected a revenue of Rs 93.60 billion, an increase from Rs 92.98 billion. Likewise, the earnings of local governments also increased to Rs 1.2 billion from Rs 1.08 billion.
