Royal Decree on State's General Budget for Fiscal Year 2020

Saudi Press Agency

Monday 1441/4/12 - 2019/12/09

Riyadh, Dec. 09, 2019, SPA -- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a royal decree today on the State's General Budget for the Fiscal Year 2020, stating the following:

First: State's revenues are estimated and expenditures are approved for the fiscal year 2020 according to the following:
1- Revenues are estimated at 833,000,000,000 Saudi Riyals.
2- Expenditures are approved at 1,020,000,000,000 Saudi Riyals.
3- Deficit is estimated at 187,000,000,000 Saudi Riyals.

Second: Revenues shall be levied according to financial regulations and all to be deposited in the current account of the Ministry of Finance at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).

Third: Expenditures are disbursed according to the State's General Budget and relevant instructions.

Fourth:
For covering the Budget deficit, the Minister of Finance is authorized to do the following:
1- Withdraw from the State's General Reserve account.
2- Borrow or finance, and issue debt instruments and all kinds of Sukuk, inside and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and whatever this requires, including:

A- Establishing companies inside and outside the Kingdom.
B- Concluding necessary contracts and agreements in this regard.
C- Issuing government guarantees for government agencies whose budgets are attached to the State's General Budget to support borrowing for these agencies, provided that:

1- Government agencies whose budgets are attached to the State's General Budget, shall not borrow or issue any type of debt instruments or any kind of Sukuk, or issue any government guarantee, except after receiving a written approval of the Minister of Finance.
2- Other agencies whose budgets are not attached to the State's General Budget shall not be supported and no governmental guarantee shall be issued for them, except after receiving a written approval of the Minister of Finance.

Fifth:
1- Had the budget yielded a surplus, the authorities shall transfer it to the State's general reserve account.
2- The Minister of Finance is authorized, during the fiscal year, to allocate a portion of the revenue, collected in excess of the estimated amount deposited in the current account of the Ministry of Finance, to government agencies.

Sixth:
The Minister of Finance shall have the right to withdraw from the reserves and to borrow in order to finance the repayment of the origin of the debt or the repayment of the obligatory and explicit government guarantees or the repayment of financial obligations which are not classified as budget's expenditures.

Seventh:
No withdrawal shall be made from the State's general reserve, according to the regular procedures prevailed.

Eighth:
Regarding expenditures disbursed from Emergency Expenses Chapter No. 49 by royal decrees and orders, the Minister of Finance shall be authorized to add them to the budget support allocation.

Ninth:
The Minister of Finance, in coordination with each relevant sector (electricity, water, sanitation, railways and other related sectors), shall have the right to compensate the companies that manage public utilities to cover the difference in the tariff adopted in those sectors through the amounts allocated for this purpose in the budget and to issue the necessary decisions to define these companies.

Tenth:
1- Transfers among chapters, branches and sections of the budget shall be made by a decision by the Minister of Finance.
2- The Minister of Finance shall be authorized to transfer from the actual savings in the appropriations of the State's General Budget's items.

Eleventh:
1- If it appeared, during the current fiscal year 2020, that there are previously allocated amounts exeeding the appropriated accreditation, the Minister of Finance, or his deputy, shall be authorized to allow disburse these amounts from the appropriations of the Fiscal Year 2020. If such entitled amounts emerged as a result of an unjustified act, the payment approval request shall be forwarded to the Prime Minister.
2- Regarding amounts due to be paid during previous fiscal years, the bodies shall pay these amounts from the budget's appropriations for the current fiscal year 2020.

Twelfth:
1- The administrative (functional) formations of any governmental body are approved according to the general budget of the state and shall not be modified, except in accordance with the regular procedures.
2- It is not permissible during the fiscal year to create or raise jobs, ranks, or grades other than what was specified by the general budget of the state, with the exception of appointing ministers, or senior officials appointed in the rank of minister, or the excellent rank and the equivalent, as well as jobs that occur according to the conditions included in the system of temporary jobs.
3- By decision of the Minister of Civil Service, it is permissible to reduce the ranks, or convert job titles according to the requirements of job classification rules, based on the recommendation of a committee composed of delegates of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Civil Service and the relevant authority, allowing the Minister of Civil Service to grant the powers of reduction and modification to the competent minister, in accordance with the regulations set for this purpose in agreement with the Minister of Finance.
4- By a decision of the Minister of Finance, it is permissible to transfer the approved jobs within the budget chapters and branches as well as transfer the jobs within the same administrative formation for the rank (Eleventh) and above, based on the recommendation of a committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Service and the relevant authority, and the competent minister or the head of the independent body transferring jobs from item (Tenth) and below within the same administrative formation, according to the controls and criteria specified by Supreme Order No. (63336) dated 12/12/1439 AH.

Thirteenth:
The competent supervisory bodies should continue to follow up the implementation of the provisions of royal decrees, orders, laws, regulations, decisions and instructions related to the implementation of the state's general budget.

Fourteenth:
The Minister of Finance shall issue the following:
1- Decisions and instructions necessary to implement this budget within the limits stipulated in this decree, other royal decrees, orders, laws, regulations, decisions and relevant instructions.
2- What relates to identifying the entities that are not subject to the regulatory provisions mentioned in this decree or some of them.

Fifteenth:
Law shall enforced against those who violate the provisions, procedures and arrangements mentioned in this decree, royal orders, laws, regulations, decisions and instructions based on that.

Sixteenth:
His Royal Highness the Deputy Prime Minister, ministers and heads of agencies with independent budgets attached to the state's general budget, each within his jurisdiction, must implement this decree.

--SPA
23:35 LOCAL TIME 20:35 GMT
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