Budget Glossary Terms
Navigating through budget documents can be challenging without a solid understanding of the terminology used. Our complete Budget Glossary is designed to help you decode the complex financial jargon. From common key terms to detailed definitions, this glossary simplifies the language of budgets, making it easier for everyone to understand financial documents. Whether you're a student, a professional, or simply someone interested in budgets, our glossary provides clear explanations of essential budget terms.
REVENUE BUDGET
A revenue budget consists of the government’s revenue receipts and the expenditure they cover through these receipts. Revenue receipts include money collected through various taxes, interest on loans and dividend on investment like PSUs etc. Revenue expenditure is the money spent on the day to day functioning of the government. The money that is earned through revenue receipts is spent on revenue expenditure.
CESS
Cess is an additional tax levied for a specific purposes. The cess is kept in the Consolidated Fund of India and the amount raised by the tax is kept by the central government. Some of the cess types in the country include Education Cess, Secondary and higher Education Cess, Krishi Kalyan Cess, Swacch Bharat Cess.
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
The Annual Financial Statement is a document presented by the government every year in the Parliament showing the estimated receipts and expenditures for the upcoming financial year in relation with the estimates from the previous financial years. Under article 112 of the Constitution, the government has to present an annual financial statement for every fiscal year.
FINANCE BILL
The Finance Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha, after the presentation of the annual budget, to implement the financial proposals for the following financial year. Finance Bills can be divided into three categories: Finance Bill Category I, Finance Bill category II and a Money Bill.
EXCISE DUTY
Excise duty refers to the taxes levied on the manufacture of goods within the country, as opposed to custom duty that is levied on goods coming from outside the country. In July 2017 the Centre introduced GST that subsumed a number of indirect taxes including excise duty. This means excise duty, technically, does not exist in India except on a few items such as liquor and petroleum.
EXCESS GRANTS
Excess grant is the extra budget allocated to meet the additional expenditure demands of the government. When the allocated budget falls short of meeting the expenditure demands of the government, an estimate for additional budget is presented before the Parliament. At the end of each financial year, excess grants are passed by the Parliament.
DISINVESTMENT
Disinvestment is the process by which the Union government either sells its stakes in a PSU–fully or partially–or lists it on the stock market. The concept of disinvestment follows the dictum: The government has no business to be in business. Thus, the government continues to disinvest in sectors where private companies are already the dominant players.
SURCHARGE
A surcharge is an additional fee, charge, or tax that is added to the cost of a good or service beyond the marked price. It is generally charged to the richest so that there is equity in the society. The richer have to pay surcharges while the welfare policies are made for the poor with the rich contributing to these policies. Currently, people earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore in India have to pay a surcharge of 10%, while those earning above Rs 1 crore have to pay a surcharge of 15%.
BUDGET ESTIMATES
It includes the estimate of government spending on different sectors throughout the year. It also includes expected revenue from tax receipts together with the estimated fiscal deficit and revenue deficit for the year.
UNION BUDGET
The Union Budget is a document which provides an estimation of the revenue and expenses of a country during the financial year. It draws up a financial plan for the country and decides and allocates a specific sum for various government schemes and departments. The interim budget 2024 will be announced on February 01 by finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman