The Cabinet has decided to recommend to the Governor to promulgate Ordinances for amending the Kerala Provisional Collection of Revenue Act, 1985, and the Kerala Fiscal Responsibility Act.
As per the existing provisions of the Act, the government will have to collect revenue within 120 days if the Finance Bill is not enacted in time. The Governor will have to promulgate an Ordinance to amend the Act. The amendment proposes to extend the period for collecting revenue from 120 to 180 days.
Promulgation of the Ordinance has been necessitated since the government cancelled a one-day session scheduled on July 27 to pass the Kerala Finance Bill, following a spurt in COVID-19 cases.
In the wake of the fiscal crisis triggered by COVID-19, the Centre had permitted the State to make an additional borrowing of ₹1,471 crore in 2019-20 on condition that it would amend the Kerala Fiscal Responsibility Act. Since the session has been called off, the government has decided to choose the Ordinance route for amending the Act too.
