India News | Finance Ministry Eases Expenditure Norms to Spur Spending in Last Quarter

New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) In a bid to spur capital expenditure, the Finance Ministry has relaxed spending norms for the fourth quarter with a view to boost economic activities slowed down due to the impact of COVID-19.

As per the existing guidelines, more than 33 per cent and 15 per cent of the budget estimates (BE) shall be permissible to be spent by ministries and departments in the last quarter and last month of the financial year, respectively.

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It has now been decided to relax the upper limit of 33 per cent of the BE as applicable for the last quarter of the current financial year as a one-time measure, the Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry said in an office memorandum.

This is subject to the condition that the ceiling of revised estimate (RE) for 2021-22 is not exceeded, the memorandum dated January 19, 2021 said.

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"For the items of capital expenditure, the ceiling of 15 per cent of the BE in the last month for this fiscal is also relaxed, provided the capital or overall expenditure is within the RE 2021-22 ceiling," it said.

In view of relaxation, ministries and departments have been asked to carry out consequential modifications in their quarterly expenditure plan (QEP)/monthly expenditure plan (MEP).

The relaxation is applicable with immediate effect for the current financial year or until further order.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)