Public Finance Com. approves increase in borrowing limit by Rs. 400 b

The Committee on Public Finance has approved the amendment to the Appropriation Act to increase the borrowing limit from Rs. 2,997 billion to Rs. 3,397 billion for 2021. 

Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury S.R. Attygalle pointed out that an amendment to the Appropriation Act was needed to increase the borrowing limit due to the economic downturn in the country caused by the COVID-19 situation. 

He said this was due to the inability to achieve the expected revenue for the year 2021, the increase in supplementary expenditure and the devaluation of the rupee in the payment of foreign currency loan services.

Attygalle pointed out that the increase in welfare expenditure during the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in supplementary expenditure. He also said that a sum of Rs. 200 billion had been approved by the Parliament recently for supplementary expenditure.

State Ministers Susil Premajayantha, Nalaka Godahewa, Members of Parliament (MPs) Harsha de Silva and Ranjith Bandara as well as a number of senior Government officials were present at the recent Public Finance Committee meeting which was held online.