Kathmandu- The government’s capital expenditure has remained sluggish in the first five months of the current fiscal year 2082/83, with spending reaching only eight percent of the annual allocation.
According to data released by the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), capital expenditure stood at Rs 33.87 billion as of December 15. The government had allocated Rs 407.88 billion under the capital expenditure heading for the current fiscal year.
Spending under current expenditure has also remained moderate. Of the Rs 1,180.98 billion allocated, only 33.7 percent, equivalent to Rs 398 billion, has been spent so far. Similarly, under the financial management heading, the government allocated Rs 375 billion, of which Rs 132 billion, or 35.32 percent, has been utilised.
Overall, the government has spent 28.74 percent of its total annual budget by mid-December. Out of the total budget allocation of Rs 1.964 trillion for the current fiscal year, expenditure so far amounts to Rs 564 billion, according to the FCGO.
Revenue collection has also fallen short of targets. The government had set a revenue collection target of Rs 1.533 trillion for the current fiscal year but managed to collect only Rs 414 billion, or 27 percent, in the first five months. The target for revenue collection during this period was Rs 520.44 billion.
Between November 17 and December 15 alone, tax revenue collection reached Rs 80.27 billion against a target of Rs 95.20 billion. Overall, 28.83 percent of the annual tax revenue target, amounting to Rs 382.23 billion, and 15.59 percent of the non-tax revenue target, amounting to Rs 24.70 billion, have been collected so far.
Foreign grant inflows have also remained low. Of the annual target of Rs 53.45 billion, the government has received only 9.58 percent, equivalent to Rs 5.12 billion.
With expenditure outpacing revenue, the budget deficit has widened significantly. As of mid-December, the deficit has reached nearly Rs 150 billion, with government spending exceeding revenue by approximately Rs 149.56 billion.
