Only 23.9% of budget spent in four months

KATHMANDU: Government spending has fallen short of expectations in the first four months of fiscal year 2025/26.

Fresh data from the Financial Comptroller General’s Office shows capital spending once again registered the weakest performance.

Out of the Rs 407.88 billion earmarked for capital projects in the current fiscal year, only Rs 25.62 billion had been disbursed by mid-November. This represents just 6.28% of the annual allocation.

Total spending from the treasury reached Rs 470.10 billion during the review period, which is 23.9% of the current fiscal year’s spending targets.

The 2025/26 budget proposes to spend Rs 1,964.11 billion.

Recurrent expenditure, which is used for salaries, administrative functions, and regular government operations, stood at Rs 321.89 billion, or 27.26% of the targeted amount. Meanwhile, financing expenditure, which covers debt servicing obligations, amounted to Rs 122.58 billion, translating to 32.67% of the target.

Total spending stood at 81.87% in fiscal year 2024/25.

The government also fell short of its revenue targets in the review period. It managed to collect only 77.49% of the targeted revenue in the four months.

The FCGO data shows the government had raised Rs 329.51 billion by mid-November, far below the targeted Rs 425.23 billion.

The government has set the total revenue target for 2025/26 at Rs 1,480 billion.