Cabinet approves Sri Lanka’s interim budget for early 2025

Cabinet approval has been granted to present an interim budget to Parliament of Sri Lanka for the period from January to April 2025, to continue Sri Lankan government activities and debt servicing uninterrupted.

Speaking at the Cabinet decision briefing held today (November 26), Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa made this statement.

The parliamentary debate on the interim budget has been scheduled to take place on December 5 and 6, 2024 the Minister stated.

Although the newly convened Parliament met on November 21, 2024, there was not enough time to follow the constitutional procedures necessary to pass the Appropriation Bill for the year 2025.

Therefore, as per Section 23(1) of the Public Finance Management Act No. 44 of 2024, an interim budget must be presented to Parliament to allocate funds for the first four months of 2025, to maintain ongoing projects and government services.

Accordingly, the Cabinet approved the proposal presented by the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, as Minister of Finance, Planning and Digital Economy, to prepare an interim budget for the first four months of 2025, which includes expenses related to government reforms, public debt servicing, and restructuring.