Azerbaijan’s state budget may be revised

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

The 2017-state budget of Azerbaijan maybe revised given the rising crude prices on the world market, where the figure is above $50 a barrel.

The budget for 2017 predicted $40 oil, $10 less the average price in the first months of the year. In 2016, the Azerbaijani government originally based its budget on an average price of $50 oil, and later revised it given the price of oil at $25 per barrel. 

Ziyad Samadzade, Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship said that the budget maybe revised up, as today’s real oil prices exceed the budgeted price.

"I think that if this situation [the price over $50] continues, it will be necessary to review the state budget," Samadzade told Trend.

He added that the draft on amendments to the state budget can be considered at a parliamentary session in May.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry reported that the issue of adjusting the 2017-budget forecasts is not on the agenda.

The Ministry told Trend that currently, it is not working on the state budget adjustments.

“The fact that oil prices are higher than the budgeted price increases revenues of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ). Transfers to the state budget remain at the planned level,” the ministry said.

The Law on 2017 State Budget projects the state budget revenues for 2017 at 16.255 billion manats ($9.537billion) and expenses at 16.9 billion manats ($9.91 billion). 

The upper limit of the budget deficit is expected at the level of 645 million manats (1.05% of the GDP) in 2017. Main sources of deficit coverage are revenues from privatization, internal and external loans, foreign grants and the remainder on the single treasury account of the state budget as of January 1, 2017.

The income of the state budget will be formed by revenues from the Ministry of Taxes (7.51 billion manats), the State Customs Committee (2.2 billion manats), the State Committee on Property Issues (8 million manats), paid services of government-financed organizations (353 million manats), transfers of SOFAZ (6.1 billion manats) and other sources.

In 2017, expenditures of the state budget will be distributed as follows: defense (2.8 billion manats), science (118.5 million manats), education (1,733.4 million manats), healthcare (745.4 million manats), social protection and social security (2,053.1 million manats) and others.

Overusing the possible risks, the budget figures were previously forecasted in three scenarios - pessimistic (with an oil price of $35 per barrel), a base ($40 per barrel) and an optimistic ($45 per barrel).