Preparation and adoption
The overall timeframe for the preparation of a finance bill is around three months and a half, starting from May or June. The main phases of preparation are as follows:
- Prior to May 1st, the Minister of Finance presents the conditions of implementation of the finance bill underway, the macro-economic environment, and the main orientations of the finance bill, in a cabinet meeting
- Calling on all paying agents to submit revenue and spending proposals for the next budget year
- Collecting all these proposals at the Minister of Finance before July 1st
- determining major budget supply: setting out overall revenues, including loan revenues, spending on personnel (loans and job creation), equipment and other expenses, and on investment as well as on debt servicing
- Allocating credit to each ministry and preparing reference letters. Allocations within each ministry department is carried out by budget commissions, resulting in sector-based budgetary projects designed by relevant ministries
- Alongside phases 2 and 3: draft-projects of legal texts for the finance bill are examined together with the relevant ministry and the Government General Secretary, and draft-project of the finance bill and appendices are combined
- Cabinet council reviews and approves the draft-project of finance bill and prepares version to be submitted to government meeting
- Government meeting reviews and approves draft project to be published by state law publisher and forwarded along with relevant reports to parliament.
The adoption by Parliament of the draft-project of the finance bill requires a 70-day timeline and proceeds in the following stages:
- Submission of the draft-project of the finance bill to one of the two houses of parliament, 70 days before the end of the budget year underway, at the latest. The draft-project must be examined by both houses successively to ensure the adoption of an identical text. Each house of parliament is granted 30 days to adopt the project in one reading.
- Presentation of the draft-project of the finance bill in plenary session to the house first referred to. At the end of the period granted for reviewing, the project is presented to the other house.
- Presentation of the draft-project to the finance committees of the two houses of parliament.
- General debate session led by the Minister of Finance on behalf of the government to provide clarifications to and answer questions raised by finance committees.
- Review and vote on sector-based budgets by relevant committees of both houses.
- Management of amendments and vote by finance committees of both houses.
- Management of amendments and vote by both houses in plenary session.
- In case the first reading does not yield the vote for an identical text, the government may declare an emergency and summon the joint-committee which has 7 days to come up with a common text which the two houses must adopt within 3 days.
- In case of further disagreement, the government submits the draft-project to the House of Representatives to secure an absolute majority vote cast by house members.
- In case the finance bill is not adopted or enacted by December 31st, the government allocates funds for the provision of public services by decree, and passes a decree with regard to revenue.
