Budget 2019: Do you know the difference between vote-on-account and full Budget?
The time has come for the presentation of the Interim Budget 2019-20 by the interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal in the Parliament today at 11 am. However, it will be the last budget of the Modi-led NDA government before the 2019 general assembly polls.
As the new government will present the full budget after general assembly elections which is expected to present in July 2019 along with the Economic Survey.
According to the practices, the election year has a vote-on-account. It is approval for essential government spending for a limited period and a full-fledged Budget is presented by the new government after the elections.
This year, the general election is scheduled to be held between March and April.
What is Vote on Account?
It is a formal request by the current government to Parliament to allow the government to carry on until the voting of demands for grants and the passing of the Appropriation Bill and Finance Bill.
Vote on Account is a grant in advance to enable the government to carry on until the voting of demands for grants and the passing of the Appropriation Bill and Finance Bill.
Before an election, Parliaments votes allow the outgoing government to meet regular administrative expenses like loan interest payments, salaries of government employees, pensions and subsidies.
Here’s the key difference between a vote on Account and a full Budget:
The main difference between the two types of a budget is that vote on account budget validity is only for two months or until the new government is not formed. While the validity of a full-fledged budget is for the whole year.
The full Budget is usually passed only after long discussions held in Parliament and after the approval from the legislature takes time.
Another difference between the two that a vote-on-account is treated as a formal matter and passed by the Lok Sabha without discussion. While the full budget is passed only after discussions and voting on demand for grants in Parliament.
First published: 1 February 2019, 11:34 IST