The vote on the Committee Stage of the 2024 Appropriation Bill (Budget) is scheduled to take place on Wednesday (13 Dec.).
Accordingly, the vote on the Committee Stage, also known as the Third Reading of the 2024 Budget is scheduled to take place at 06:00 p.m. today.
On November 13, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, presented 2024 Budget, the country’s 78th Budget Speech, to parliament as part of the broader economic plan.
Subsequently, the debate on the second reading of the Appropriation Bill commenced the following day and continued for seven days. It was by a majority of 45 votes with 122 parliamentarians in total voting in favour and 77 voted against it.
According to the Appropriation Bill of 2024, the total government expenditure has been set at a record Rs. 6,978 billion, an increase of nearly 33% compared to 2023.
Meanwhile, the budget deficit for the fiscal year 2024 is estimated at Rs. 2,851 billion or 9.1 as a percentage of the GDP. This is higher than the revised 8.5% of GDP in the current year. The original target for 2023 was 7.9%.
