Act of Parliament · As enacted
Appropriation Act 2025
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Appropriation Act, No 3
of 2025.
Without prejudice to anything in any other law authorizing any expenditure and subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, the expenditure of the
Government which is estimated to be rupees four thousand two hundred eighteen billion two hundred forty eight million eighteen thousand for the service of the period beginning on
January 1, 2025 and ending on December 31, 2025 (in this
Act referred to as the “financial year 2025”), shall be met –
from payments which are hereby authorized to be made out of the Consolidated Fund or any other fund or moneys, of or at the disposal of the
Government; and
from borrowing made in the financial year 2025
which are hereby authorized in terms of relevant laws for moneys to be raised whether in or outside
Sri Lanka, for and on behalf of the Government, provided that the balance outstanding of such borrowing at any given time during the financial year 2025 or at the end of the financial year 2025
shall not exceed rupees four thousand billion and the details of such loans shall be incorporated in the final budget position report which is required to be tabled in Parliament under section 51 of the Public Financial Management Act, No. 44
of 2024:
Provided that, the difference between the total short-term borrowing raised during the financial year 2025 and the total settlement of short-term borrowing made during the financial year 2025 shall only be considered in deciding the volume of short-term borrowing for the purposes of calculating the borrowing made during the financial year 2025 as specified in this section.
The sum of rupees four thousand two hundred eighteen billion two hundred forty eight million eighteen thousand referred to in subsection (1), may be expended as specified in the First Schedule to this Act.
The provisions of subsection (1) shall have effect without prejudice to the provisions of any other written law, authorizing the raising of loans for and on behalf of the
Government.
The estimated expenditure of the Government authorized by laws to be charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall be rupees four thousand six hundred sixteen billion seven hundred fifty one million nine hundred eighty two thousand for the service of the period beginning on January 1, 2025
and ending on December 31, 2025. The expenditure Heads and the laws under which such expenditure is authorized to be made, are as specified in the Second Schedule to this Act.
The receipts of the Government during the financial year 2025, from each activity specified in Column I of the
Third Schedule to this Act, shall be credited to the account of such activity, but the aggregate of receipts so credited shall not be less than the minimum limit specified in the corresponding entry in Column III of that Schedule. The net surplus, if any, of such activity, shall be paid to the Consolidated Fund before the expiry of six months after the close of the financial year 2025.
For the purpose of determining the net surplus under subsection (1), the following charges shall be set off against the revenue of each activity:-
the working, establishment and other expenses of the activity, whether paid or accrued, properly chargeable to the revenue of the activity; and
provision to cover the depreciation of the movable and immovable property of the activity.
The expenditure incurred by the Government during the financial year 2025 on each activity specified in Column I of the Third Schedule to this Act, shall be paid out of the receipts of the Government from such activity during that financial year, but such expenditure shall not exceed the maximum limit specified in the corresponding entry in Column II of that Schedule.
The debit balance outstanding at the end of the financial year 2025, of any activity specified in Column I of the Third
Schedule to this Act, shall not exceed the maximum limit specified in the corresponding entry in Column IV of that
Schedule and the total liabilities of that activity at the end of that financial year, shall not exceed the maximum limit specified in the corresponding entry in Column V of that
Schedule.
s 4
Payment from the Consolidated Fund or any other fund or moneys, of or at the dispos-al of the Gov-ernment, of advances for expenditure on the activ-ities referred to in section 3, during the financial year 2025
Whenever at any time during the financial year 2025, the receipts of the Government from any activity specified in
Column I of the Third Schedule to this Act are insufficient to meet the expenditure incurred by the Government on such activity, the Minister may, from time to time, by Order, direct that such sums as he may deem necessary to meet such expenditure shall be payable by way of advances, out of the
Consolidated Fund or any other fund or moneys, of or at the disposal of the Government, so however that the aggregate of the sums so advanced shall not exceed the maximum limit of expenditure specified in the corresponding entry in Column
II of that Schedule. Any sum so advanced in respect of such activity shall be refunded to the Consolidated Fund in such manner, as the Minister may by Order direct.
s 5
Power to transfer unexpended moneys allocated to Recurrent Expenditure, to another allocation within the same Programme or to another Programme under the same Head of expenditure
Any moneys which by virtue of the provisions of the
First Schedule to this Act, have been allocated to Recurrent
Expenditure under any Programme appearing under any Head specified in that Schedule, but have not been expended or are not likely to be expended, may be transferred to the allocation of Capital Expenditure within that Programme or to the allocation of Recurrent Expenditure or Capital Expenditure under any other Programme within that Head, by Order of the Secretary to the Treasury or by Order either of a Deputy
Secretary to the Treasury or the Director-General of the
National Budget Department, who may be authorized in that behalf by the Secretary to the Treasury.
No moneys allocated to Capital Expenditure under any Programme appearing under any Head specified in the
First Schedule to this Act, shall be transferred out of that
Programme or to any allocation of Recurrent Expenditure of that Programme.
Any money allocated to Recurrent Expenditure or Capital Expenditure under the "Development Activities"
Programme, appearing under the Head, "Department of
National Budget" specified in the First Schedule, may be transferred subject to guidelines stipulated in Budget Estimates approved by Parliament for the relevant year, to any other
Programme under any other Head in that Schedule, by
Order of the Secretary to the Treasury or by Order either of a Deputy Secretary to the Treasury or the Director-General of the National Budget Department, who may be authorized in that behalf by the Secretary to the Treasury. The money so transferred shall be deemed to be a supplementary allocation made to the particular Ministry and a report containing the amount of money so transferred and the reasons for the transfer shall be submitted to Parliament within two months of the date of the said transfer.
transferred to any other Programme under any other Head
Details of all transfers made under subsection (1)
including the reasons for such transfers shall be incorporated in the final budget position report relating to the Government's annual fiscal performance which is required to be tabled in Parliament under the section 51 of the Public Financial
Management Act, No. 44 of 2024.
s 7Power of Minister to limit expenditure previously authorized
Where the Minister is satisfied-
that receipts from taxes and other sources will be less than the amounts anticipated to finance authorized expenditure; or
that amounts originally appropriated for a particular purpose or purposes are no longer required, he may with the approval of the Government, withdraw in whole or in part any amounts previously released for expenditure under the authority of a warrant issued by him, from the Consolidated Fund or from any other fund or moneys, of or at the disposal of the Government, to meet any authorized expenditure and the details of all such withdrawals shall be incorporated in the Final Budget Position Report which is required to be tabled in Parliament under section 51 of the
Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024.
The Minister with the approval of the Government may, on or before May 31, 2026, by Order, vary or alter-
any of the maximum limits specified in Column
II, Column IV and Column V; and specified in the Third Schedule to this Act
the minimum limits specified in Column III, of the Third Schedule to this Act.
No Order made under subsection (1) shall have effect, unless it has been approved by Parliament by Resolution.
Any Order made under subsection (1) shall, if so expressed therein, be deemed to have had effect from such date prior to the date of making such Order, as may be specified therein.
s 9Power of Parliament to amend the Third Schedule to this Act
Parliament may, by Resolution, amend the Third
Schedule to this Act, by adding to the appropriate Columns of that Schedule any activity and providing for -
all or any of the maximum limits relating to such activity; and
the minimum limit relating to such activity.
s 10Certain expenditure and advances made under Resolutions passed under Article 150(2) of the Constitution
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Resolutions passed by Parliament under paragraph (2) of Article 150 of the
Constitution to submit a Vote on Account in terms of the sub section (1) of section 23 of the Public Financial Management
Act, No. 44 of 2024, on December 6, 2024 making financial provision for expenditure for the period commencing on
January 1, 2025 and ending on April 30, 2025-
all such sums of money which have been expended during the respective periods, out of the moneys allocated by such Resolutions to any
Programme appearing under any Head specified in the First Schedule to such Resolutions and any moneys which have not been expended on the day immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act shall for all purposes be deemed to be included in the moneys allocated to the corresponding Programme appearing under the corresponding Head, as specified in the First
Schedule to this Act;
all such sums of money which have been expended during the respective periods, out of the moneys allocated by such Resolutions to any
Programme appearing under any Head specified in the Second Schedule to such Resolutions, and any moneys which have not been expended on the day immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act shall for all purposes be deemed to be included in the moneys allocated to the corresponding Programme appearing under the corresponding Head, as specified in the
Second Schedule to this Act; and
any such sums paid by way of advances out of the
Consolidated Fund during the respective periods, in respect of advance account activities specified in the Third Schedule to such Resolutions, and any moneys which have not been expended on the day immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act shall for all purposes be deemed to be included in the moneys allocated to the corresponding activities specified in the
Third Schedule to this Act.
s 11Borrowings made in terms of the Resolutions passed under Article 150(2) of the Constitution
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Resolutions passed by Parliament under paragraph (2) of Article 150
of the Constitution to submit a Vote on Account in terms of subsection (1) of section 23 of the Public Financial
Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, on December 6, 2024
referred to in section 10, making provisions for loans to be raised in terms of relevant laws whether in or outside Sri
Lanka, for and on behalf of the Government, proceeds of loans, which have been raised during the respective periods out of the moneys appearing in such Resolutions, shall be deemed for all purposes to have been raised under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2 of this Act.
s 12Sinhala text to prevail in case of in-consistency
In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.
[Sections 2, 5 and 6]