Finance Ministry directs ministries to surrender unspent funds by April 30

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has directed all ministries, divisions, departments, and autonomous bodies to surrender any unspent or unused funds within 10 days. 

The new deadline, set for April 30, aims to enhance fiscal responsibility and efficiency by requiring all principal accounting officers (PAOs) to finalise their revised estimates for fiscal year 2025 and firm up budget proposals for the upcoming year.

In response to directives from the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to improve fiscal prudence, MoF has set such an early deadline to encourage better budgeting practices.

This marks the first time MoF has set such an early deadline, moving it up by a month from the traditional end-of-May deadline. 

Previously, ministries had more clarity regarding their financing requirements for the final month of the fiscal year. 

The instruction applies to all allocations, including civil government running costs, employee-related expenditures (ERE), non-ERE, grants, subsidies, and development funds under the revised Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), which stands at Rs 1.1 trillion for FY25. 

This revised figure follows pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after parliament initially approved a PSDP worth Rs 1.4 trillion. 

The MoF also emphasized the need for ministries and institutions to update their PSDP to avoid future audit objections.