The Parliament ratified the Appropriation Bill on Monday paving the way for the government to implement the budget for the next fiscal year. The bill will now be signed into law by President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

The Appropriation Bill is considered as the main budget document, which allows the government to implement budgetary programmes by utilising funds allocated by the Ministry of Finance.

The bill was presented in Parliament on May 29 when the then Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara announced a budget of Rs1,279 billion for the fiscal year 2017-18. It was endorsed by Parliament six days ahead of the commencement of the new fiscal year. The new fiscal year is beginning on July 16.

Now, Parliament needs to endorse two more bills-Financial Bill and Bill to Raise Public Debt-to be able to fully implement the budget of the next fiscal year.

“Lawmakers held theoretical discussions on these two bills today. They will be ratified on Thursday,” Parliamentary Secretariat Spokesperson Bharat Raj Gautam said.

The Financial Bill allows the government to collect taxes—the main source from which the government generates revenue to finance programmes laid in the Appropriation Bill.

The Bill to Raise Public Debt, on the other hand, allows the government to obtain loans from inside the country. 

The government is planning to raise Rs145 billion in debt from the domestic market in the next fiscal year.