KATHMANDU: Despite spending more than Rs 33 billion in a single day, the government did not meet the revised expenditure target for the current fiscal year 2080/81. The government’s expenses on July 8 alone stood at Rs 33.61 billion.

According to the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), the government spent Rs 9.85 billion under current expenditure, while Rs 14.44 billion was spent on capital expenditure on the last working day of the current fiscal year.

As of Tuesday morning, the capital expenditure of the entire year stood at only 56.97 percent of the target. Out of the revised target of Rs 215 billion, the government spent only Rs 172 billion under this heading.

Similarly, the FCGO has stated that the government had set a revised target of spending Rs 1067 billion under the heading of current expenses, but it spent only Rs 933 billion.

Similarly, it spent Rs 250 billion out of the revised target of Rs 247.55 billion towards financial management.

For the current fiscal year, total government expenditure stands at Rs 1356 billion. The revised target, set during the mid-term budget review, was Rs 1530 billion, compared to the original budget of Rs 1751 billion announced on May 29 last year.

As of June 15, government expenditure was Rs 1181.29 billion, indicating a significant increase in spending during the last month of the fiscal year before government accounts were frozen on July 9. All government payment accounts have been closed for a week since Monday midnight, in accordance with Rule 30 of the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility Regulations, which mandates stopping disbursements one week before the fiscal year ends. Exceptions are made for urgent payments with the consent of the FCGO.

This closure applies to accounts operated by the FCGO, Provincial Financial Comptroller General Offices (PFCGO), and the Treasury and Finance Controller Offices of all districts, according to Deputy Financial Controller General Narayan Prasad Sapkota. The Sub-National Treasury Regulatory Application (SuTRA), Treasury Single Account System (TSA), and Computerized Government Accounting System (CGAS) have also been closed for a week, halting budget payment obligations at federal, state, and local levels from Monday midnight.

With the fiscal year ending soon, the government is also unlikely to meet its revenue collection target. As of Tuesday morning, revenue collection was Rs 989 billion, just 69.59% of the target of Rs 1422 billion, forcing the government to rely more on debt to cover the shortfall.

The government achieved only 5% of the target for receiving foreign grants, with Rs 2.75 billion received out of the estimated Rs 49.94 billion. The Ministry of Finance repeatedly stated that the revised target would be met, but this was not achieved this year.