KATHMANDU: Government expenditure is most likely to be cut off from Wednesday after the House of Representatives failed to finalize the budget replacement bill on Tuesday.
As per the situation, the government can only collect taxes but not spend it as the replacement bill is stuck in the parliament.
There is a provision that the budget ordinance tabled earlier has to be passed through the replacement bill within 60 days in case the parliament is in session. The 60-day period ends on Wednesday. After the continual obstruction of the House of Representatives from the main opposition CPN-UML, the meeting has been adjourned till September 20 by passing only the proposal to consider the bill on Tuesday.
Asked about the problem of spending when the replacement bill is not passed by Tuesday night, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma said that it would not make any difference if government expenditure is stopped for 5-7 days.
“If there is an agreement, we will pass it as per the agreement. If there is no agreement, we will complete the regular process. If there is a time gap for passing, you may not be able to spend some time. Efforts are being made through dialogue,” he said. “There is a special arrangement to collect taxes. The expenditure may stop for 5-7 days for some time.”
Sharma added that that even if it was stopped, it would not have any effect. The replacement bill brought by the finance minister is under consideration in the parliament.
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