This will be the sixth Budget presented by Jaitley.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the interim Budget on February 1. The government will seek Parliament’s approval for incurring expenditure for first four months of the next financial year 2019-20.
This will be the sixth Budget presented by Jaitley.
Interim Budget or vote-on-account is presented in an election year as a new government is expected to be elected. It has a validity of four months. The full Budget is presented by the next government with new policy announcements.
The general elections of the Lok Sabha are likely to be held in April-May, 2019.
After presentation of the interim Budget, the government will seek a vote-on-account for a four-month period from April to July. This will cover the requirements for funds during this period.
The Budget session of the Parliament is likely to be held from January 31 to February 13. Final decision in this regard will be taken after the Rajya Sabha is adjourned sine die.
The interim Budget is unlikely to include any expenditure on new service or scheme. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) deliberated on the dates for the Budget session at a meeting. It is expected to be the last session of the current Lok Sabha. President Ram Nath Kovind is likely to address the joint sitting of the two Houses - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - on January 31. It will, however, have projection on resources and expenditure for the entire year.
While the government refrains from making any new announcement in the vote-on-account, UPA’s last Budget, a vote-on-account, saw then finance minister P Chidambaram set aside Rs 500 crore for One Rank One Pension (OROP) for the defence forces. When the next government was elected, finance minister Arun Jaitley allocated an additional Rs 500 crore to the defence pension account to fulfill a long standing demand of the defence.
“The government cannot open any new expenditure in the interim Budget. The OROP was not a new expenditure but was a part of pension of defence forces, which was already head of account,” says former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen.
As far as tax proposals are concerned, they can’t come in the interim Budget. “In the interim Budget, the government can make all sorts of announcements but it can give effect only when the full Budget is presented. The government can also announce its intention to cut income tax rate but can’t implement it,” says Sen.
“There is a difference between the Budget speech and Budget papers. The papers can show the intent to do something when the final Budget is presented,” he adds.
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