The government has revised down the national budget for the outgoing financial year (FY 2016-17) by 7.0 per cent to Tk 3.17 trillion as it will fail to spend the entire outlays in the remaining period of the year.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith Thursday proposed the supplementary budget for the current FY2017 while he was announcing the national budget for the next FY2018 in the parliament.
In the outgoing FY2017, the government has cut its budget spending target by Tk 234.31 billion to Tk 3.17 trillion  (16.2 per cent of GDP) from its original allocations of Tk 3.40 trillion (17.4 per cent of GDP).
The government has forced to cut the budget spending target due to reduction in non-ADP (Annual Development Programme) spending amid lower revenue income compared to target.
Due to reduction in non-ADP spending, lower interest expenditure on domestic and foreign borrowings, and reduction in subsidy, the minister proposed setting non-development expenditure, including other expenses, at Tk 2.01 trillion by reducing Tk 223.94 billion.
"Traditionally, there is a practice of downsizing the ADP in the revised budget. It is my pleasure to share with you that this is the first time in history that we have been able to keep the size of the revised ADP unchanged," he told the house.
"I strongly believe that we will be able to implement this ADP. The revised ADP including projects of autonomous bodies and corporations now stands at Tk1.19 trillion (6.1 percent of GDP)," the finance minister stated.
The government has also cut the revenue income target to Tk 2.18 trillion (11.2 per cent of GDP) from its initial target of Tk2.427 trillion (12.4 per cent of GDP) in the outgoing FY 2017.
Muhith said taking the state of revenue collection during July-February of this FY2017 into consideration, this target has been re-fixed.
"The targets of revenue income from non-NBR and non-tax sources have undergone a downward revision to reflect less than expected revenue from those sources. In the case of NBR revenue, income and profit taxes as well as local level Value Added Tax were not realised as expected," the minister said.
Meanwhile, the budget deficit has increased in the revised national budget in the outgoing FY2017 to Tk 986.74 billion (5.0 per cent of GDP) from that of Tk 978.53 billon (5.0 per cent if GDP).
Meanwhile, the government has spent a total of Tk 1.49 trillion (7.6 per cent of GDP) of the budget during July-March period of the outgoing FY2017.
Out of the expenditure, the government has spent Tk 1.04 trillion from the non-development revenue while Tk 337.80 billion from the development budget till March this fiscal year.
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Source: The Financial Express