Less Than 3 Months Left in Fiscal Year, Capital Expenditure only 27.53% of Target

The government of Nepal has allocated a greater share of the budget to capital expenditure than has been the case for nearly two decades. The Financial Comptroller General Office has unveiled the Daily Receipts & Payments Status.

According to the report, this year’s budget has been allocated Rs. 3.78 Kharba to capital expenditure. It works out to 23.155 percent of the total expenditure of Rs 16.32 Kharba. The economic survey mentioned that capital expenditure had earlier been affected by restrictions and labor availability.

This changed as restrictions eased in the second half of the fiscal year. Now less than three months remaining in the Fiscal Year 2078-2079, only Rs. 1.04 Kharba has been utilized giving access to surplus funds of Rs. 2.74 Kharba. This is only 27.53% of the budget allocated for capital expenditure.

The Budget 2078/79 has given major priority to the following departments which shall be allocated from the budgeted capital expenditure:

• Health (COVID 19)
• Economic Recovery from COVID 19
• Employment Creation and Social Security
• Agriculture and Productivity
• Infrastructure Development

Apart from the capital expenditure, the Financial Comptroller General Office has reported a tax revenue of Rs. 7.28 Kharba till today and a non-tax revenue of Rs. 61.52 Arba. Other receipts worth Rs. 38.61 Aarba has been recorded.

There is a strong seasonality in capital expenditure by the Nepal Government. Also, a large proportion of capital spending takes place in the second half of the year, however, it has not been captured with the available data.