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

KATHMANDU, JULY 16: In the fiscal year 2023-24 ending today, 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 1,751 billion. By mid-July (the end of the fiscal year 2023-24), expenditures amounted to Rs 1,408 billion. Specifically, expenditures under the current heading amounted to Rs 952 billion, which is 83.41 percent of the allocated budget of Rs 1,141 billion. Similarly, expenditures under the capital heading totalled Rs 1,917 billion, 63.47 percent of the allocated budget of Rs 3,020 billion. Under the financial management heading, expenditures totalled Rs 2,646 billion, reaching 86.07 percent of the allocated budget of Rs 3,074 billion for the last fiscal year.

The government had set a revenue collection target of Rs 1,472 billion for the fiscal year, but actual collections amounted to Rs 1,093 billion, making up 74.29 percent of the target. The government collected Rs 944.55 million in revenue in the last fiscal year against its target of Rs 1,305 billion. Towards non-tax revenues, a target was set to collect Rs 117 billion in the last fiscal year, but only Rs 114 billion was collected. Similarly, the government was able to receive only 22.48 percent of foreign grants (Rs 1,122 billion) against the target of Rs 4,994 billion.

The government failed to meet its goals even after amending the income and expenditure estimates twice. It revised the estimates through a half-yearly review for the first time and again while presenting the budget for the last fiscal year. Revising the income and expenditure estimates for the second time on May 28, outgoing Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun presented the revised estimate of Rs 1,530 billion (87.4 percent of the allocation).

Of the total government expenditure, it was expected to spend Rs 1,067 billion towards current expenditure, Rs 215 billion towards capital expenditure, and Rs 247 billion towards financial management. Similarly, the government had set a target of collecting revenues worth Rs 1,253 billion in the last fiscal year following the second revision. The government had reduced the estimates of revenue and expenditure during the half-yearly review of the budget for fiscal year 2023-24 in February.

The government had brought a budget of Rs 1,751 billion for the fiscal year 2023-24. The revised estimate of expenditure was Rs 1,530 billion or 87.38 percent of the budget, based on the half-yearly evaluation. The estimates of expenditure towards the current heading were revised to 88.84 percent, towards the capital heading to 84.13 percent, and towards fiscal management to 87.39 percent compared to the initial allocations for the first time.

The revised estimates of income and expenditure were expected to be Rs 1,007 billion or 88.24 percent of the initial allocation towards the current heading, Rs 254 billion or 84.13 percent of the initial allocation towards the capital heading, and Rs 268 billion or 87.39 percent of the initial allocation towards fiscal management.

RSS