KATHMANDU: A total of 38 local governments across Nepal, including Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City, have failed to present their annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 within the legal deadline.
As per the Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangement Act and the Local Government Operation Act, local governments are required to table their annual revenue and expenditure estimates before their respective assemblies by Asar 10 each year.
However, this year, 23 municipalities and 15 rural municipalities failed to meet this statutory requirement, according to data provided by the Municipal Association of Nepal and the National Association of Rural Municipalities.
Of Nepal’s 293 municipalities, 270 submitted their budgets on time. Among the 23 that did not, Kathmandu Metropolitan City—led by Mayor Balen Shah—and Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City—headed by Mayor Harka Sampang—stand out due to their national prominence. Dharan was the only municipality in Koshi Province to miss the deadline.
In Madhesh Province, 15 municipalities and nine rural municipalities failed to table their budgets within the timeframe.
In Bagmati Province, municipalities such as Kathmandu, Bidur in Nuwakot, Panauti in Kavrepalanchok, and Rapti in Chitwan missed the deadline.
In contrast, all 27 municipalities in Gandaki Province submitted their budgets on time, though two rural municipalities in the province did not.
In Lumbini Province, Siddharthanagar and Lumbini Sanskritik municipalities, along with two rural municipalities, failed to meet the deadline.
In Karnali Province, Tripurasundari Municipality lagged behind, while only one rural municipality out of 54 missed the cutoff.
Sudurpaschim Province was the only province where all 88 local governments submitted their budgets on time.
The National Association of Rural Municipalities reported that 445 out of 460 rural municipalities submitted their budgets by Asar 10.
However, 15 rural municipalities, mostly from Madhesh Province, failed to do so.
Though some municipalities submitted budgets after the deadline, these are not legally recognized as timely submissions.
Local governments are also required to update their budget status on the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration’s official portal. As of the latest update, 704 out of 753 local governments had submitted their budgets, while the status of 49 local units remained unverified due to the failure to update on the federal system.
According to Ministry spokesperson Kali Prasad Parajuli, budgets submitted after the deadline or not recorded in the system are not considered valid.
He stated that local governments cannot legally initiate new expenditures or collect revenue without an approved budget in place by the start of the fiscal year on Shrawan 1 (July 16). Parajuli also warned that missing the budget deadline could lead to a deduction of up to 10 points in performance evaluations, potentially affecting access to federal equalization grants.
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