CA passes Accounts Bill

The Constituent Assembly today passed the Advance and Expenditure Bill presented by finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat.
Due to delay in formation of the new government according to the new mandate of the people, the government had no option but to bring the Bill as a temporary arrangement to allow the government to carry on with routine expenses and revenue collections starting from the new fiscal year on July 16. The economic policies of the last budget also gets continuity until a full-fledged budget is presented by the new government.
Dr Mahat had presented the Advance and Expenditure Bill of Rs 73.53 billion — one third of the estimated expenditure of this fiscal year — that will be automatically replaced by a full-fledged budget once that is presented by the new finance minister later.
"The budget is not only a statement of income and expenditure but also a policy paper of the government," Mahat said, adding that the new government will bring a full-fledged budget according to its vision and policy.
"The micro-economic indicators are positive and we have maintained fiscal discipline," he added.
Earlier, the finance minister tabled the Bill for discussion in the CA meeting, according to the fifth amendment of the Constitution.
The government can now spend one third of the total expenditure of the last fiscal year that the new government, possibly led by CPN (Maoist), will adjust while making the full-fledged budget.
Though, Mahat presented a rosy picture of the economy, CA members showed concerns over the rising inflation that is at 11.5 per cent at present and supply mismanagement of petroleum products.
"Politics has again pushed the economic agenda on the back burner," CA member Binod Chaudhary said, adding that this is the sad day for business community as it will hit not only them but also to the country hard.
Similarly Rajendra Khetan, another CA member, requested the government not to make the Bill a precedent. "Though, its a temporary arrangement due to delay in government formation," Khetan said.
According to Mahat, current fiscal year recorded 5.6 per cent GDP growth — highest in the last seven years. Agriculture sector also registered 5.65 per cent growth while non-agriculture sector registered 5.57 per cent growth.
The gross domestic saving increased to 11.5 per cent, up from 9.7 per cent last year. According to the initial estimation, he also
predicted 22 per cent growth in revenue generation by the end of this fiscal year.