Act of Parliament · As enacted
Appropriation Act 2022
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. 43 of 2022.
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 three thousand six hundred fifty seven billion two hundred sixty five million six hundred thirty eight thousand for the service of the period beginning on January 1, 2023 and ending on
December 31, 2023 (in this Act referred to as the “financial year 2023”), 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 2023, 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 2023 or at the end of the financial year 2023
shall not exceed rupees four thousand nine hundred seventy nine 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 13 of the Fiscal Management
(Responsibility) Act, No. 3 of 2003:
Provided that, the difference between the total short-term borrowing raised during the financial year 2023 and the total settlement of short-term borrowing made during the financial year 2023
shall only be considered in deciding the volume of short-term borrowing for the purposes of calculating the borrowing made during the financial year 2023
as specified in this section.
The sum of rupees three thousand six hundred fifty seven billion two hundred sixty five million six hundred thirty eight 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 two hundred twenty two billion two hundred thirty three million three hundred sixty two thousand for the service of the period beginning on January 1, 2023 and ending on December 31, 2023. 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 2023, 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 2023.
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 2023 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 2023, 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 disposal of the Government, of advances for expenditure on the activities referred to in section 3, during the financial year 2023
Whenever at any time during the financial year 2023, 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 Printed
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.
Details of all transfers made under subsection (1), including the reasons for such transfers, shall be incorporated in the reports relating to the Government’s fiscal performance, which are required to be tabled in Parliament under the provisions of the Fiscal Management
(Responsibility) Act, No.3 of 2003.
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 13
of the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act, No. 3 of 2003.
The Minister with the approval of the
Government may, on or before May 31, 2024, by Order, vary or alter-
any of the maximum limits specified in Column II,
Column IV and Column V; and
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 10Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency
In the event of any inconsistency between the
Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.