Budget bill set to be debated next month
PUBLISHED : 28 Dec 2023 at 04:00
The Interior, Education and Finance ministries are the top three agencies seeking a lion’s share of the national budget in the current fiscal year, according to parliament.
The budget bill governing the annual expenditure budget has been lined up for its first reading on Jan 3-5 and is expected to be passed by April following a delay caused by the transition from the previous to the current government.
Acting Pol Sub Lt Arphat Sukanan, deputy House of Representatives secretary-general, yesterday said the 2024 Budget Bill reached the House on Tuesday, which may spend up to 105 days vetting it, or until April 8. The bill seeks 3.48 trillion baht in funding for fiscal 2024, which began on Oct 1.
Of that, 2.53 trillion baht will go on fixed annual expenditure. About 118.36 billion baht will go on boosting treasury reserves, while 717 billion baht will be earmarked as investment funds and 118 billion go on repaying loans.
The top five ministries to which the highest allocations will go are: the Interior Ministry, which sought 353 billion baht; Education Ministry, 328 billion baht; Finance Ministry, 327 billion baht; Defence Ministry, 198 billion baht; and Transport Ministry, 183 billion baht.
By contrast, the five ministries set to receive the lowest budget allocations are the Energy Ministry with 2.7 billion baht, Industry Ministry with 4.4 billion baht, Ministry of Tourism and Sports with 5.29 billion baht, Commerce Ministry with 6.44 billion baht and Culture Ministry with 6.7 billion baht.
Acting Pol Sub Lt Arphat said the House speaker has ordered parliament to prepare for the first reading of the budget bill on Jan 3-5. The government and the opposition will each have 20 hours for the debate.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the bill later will go to a committee for further work and will be scrutinised further in the Lower House on April 3-4.
After that the bill will be forwarded to the Senate for a vote on April 9-10. If it passes, the Secretariat of the Cabinet will send it for royal endorsement on April 17, he said.