B300bn available amid budget delayLavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the Fiscal Policy OfficeThe government is able to disburse 300 billion baht worth of obligation budget during the months-long delay of the 3.2-trillion-baht fiscal 2020 budget. The investment budget for fiscal 2020 is 600 billion baht, of which half is already committed to contractors and the rest is for new projects, said Fiscal Policy Office director-general Lavaron Sangsnit. According to budget law, the government is permitted to draw down only regular and obligation budget based on the previous year's budget in the event that the legislative process of the annual budget bill is incomplete before the fiscal year starts. The annual budget for fiscal 2020 was due to start on Oct 1, 2019 but was hampered by the lengthy government installation and legislative process. Mr Lavaron said 50 billion baht worth of obligation budget was doled out during October to December of 2019.

Source: Bangkok Post January 27, 2020 07:52 UTC