Dispur sets June 20 deadline, tightens belt as full 2026-27 budget to be tabled on July 10

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The state government has started preparations for the annual budget for the financial year 2026-27. The Finance Department has proposed to curtail unproductive revenue expenditure, and the budget will be prepared keeping in mind the austerity measures announced earlier.

The Assam Legislative Assembly had passed a vote-on-account budget for the current financial year prior to the Assembly election in February 2026. This has necessitated the passing of a full-fledged annual budget for the financial year 2026-27.

The state’s annual budget is scheduled to be placed before the Assembly on July 10, 2026, by Finance Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah. In this context, preparations by the Finance Department are going on in full swing, and all administrative departments have been instructed to submit their departmental estimates before it by June 20. In case of non-submission of estimates by the departments within the mentioned deadline, the Finance Department said that it will prepare the budget estimates for 2026-27 using data from the financial year 2025-26 and that no further changes will be permitted.

Regarding the submission of budget estimates, the Finance Department has written to all administrative departments with guidelines for them. The Finance Department has issued the following guideline: Budget Estimates for the regular budget, 2026-27, may be submitted for the whole year (12 months), including the Vote-on-Account budget, 2026-27 figures as well as any Advance from Contingency Fund approved during the Vote-on-Account period.

The Departments have been urged to exercise utmost focus and propose schemes with judicious care and after proper examination. Further, they are requested to take a realistic view of the fund absorption capacity of their Department/Implementation Agencies and propose allocations that they can utilise during this financial year.

Also, other allocations, such as finance recommendations, etc., will be included in the budget by the Finance Department itself.

Moreover, the departments concerned have been instructed to protect the Flagship Schemes, major budgetary announcements, commitments made in the Sankalp Patra (Election Manifesto, as approved by the Cabinet in its first meeting) and any other priority scheme as approved by the State Cabinet within the indicated State Funding for Priority Development (SFPD) Allocation only. Departments have been asked to economise on their estimated expenditures in light of the austerity measures outlined in an Executive Order dated May 18, 2026.

To maintain a proper revenue balance, the Finance Department has proposed to curtail unproductive revenue expenditure. While preparing the Budget Estimates for 2026-27, all Drawing and Disbursement Officers (DDOs), Heads of Departments, and Secretaries of the Administrative Departments have been instructed to ensure a realistic approach. It is proposed that the estimates should establish a reasonable correlation between the Budget Estimates for 2026-27, the Budget/Revised Estimates for 2025-26, and the Actuals of the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Administrative Departments are required to submit a ‘Quarterly Expenditure Plan’ for each Head of Account. While this plan is not the maximum permissible limit of expenditure, it is important to ensure that expenditure in the last quarter of the financial year does not exceed 25% of the total annual allocation, as stipulated by the Finance Department guidelines.

The Finance Department has issued another guideline that, for all new capital projects/schemes, an Administrative Department has to submit a separate justification note with details of purpose, estimated cost, source of funding, etc. along with the SFPD allocation.

Also Read: Assam Legislative Assembly To Commence First Budget Session On 6th July