Deputies are preparing to make their choice by pushing the buttons. The National Assembly focuses on the State budget in the July 28 session. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Legislators heard a report on the audit of the 2014 State budget during the seventh working day of their first National Assembly session in Hanoi on July 28.
At the event, Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung said the State budget revenue for 2014 was worth more than 877.6 trillion VND (39.8 billion USD), up 2.1 percent thanks to increased earnings from crude oil, land use tax and import tariff.
Of the figure, the central budget rose by 43.16 trillion VND (1.96 billion USD) while local budgets increased more than 51.8 trillion VND (2.35 billion USD).
The State spent 1,103 trillion VND, up 9.7 percent from the estimate. Up to 85.4 trillion VND (3.88 billion USD) of the spent money went to development projects.
The central budget’s spending reached an upwards of 496.6 trillion VND (22.57 billion USD), marking a 1.7 percent increase. It was due to the quicker disbursement of official development assistance in transport and irrigation.
Meanwhile, localities nationwide spent over 607.3 trillion VND, up 17.1 percent.
Reporting the results of auditing the State budget for 2014, State Auditor General Ho Duc Phoc pointed out existing flaws such as insufficient estimates by several localities, allocation of capital for unqualified projects and adjustment of capital plan without permission.
The NA Committee for Finance and Budget asked the legislature to pass the State budget for 2014, including the total State revenue worth 1.130 trillion VND, the expenditure worth 1.339 trillion VND and the budget deficit of 249.3 trillion VND, or 6.33 percent of the gross domestic product.
Legislators asked for strengthening financial supervision and refining legal regulations to better manage public assets and finance.
Several opinions requested investigating and punishing cases of law violations found by auditors and examining the supplement of several provisions in the Law on State Budget.
Chairing the discussions, NA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien said suggestions will be acquired by the NA Standing Committee to refine a draft resolution on adopting the balance sheet of the State budget for 2014 to submit to the NA for approval on July 29.
In the afternoon, with 92.11 percent of “yes” votes, the NA adopted a resolution on the establishment of two groups to inspect the enforcement of food safety regulations for 2011-2016 and the policies and legal regulations on the reform of the State administrative apparatus for 2011-2016.
On July 29, the legislature is due to discuss the socio-economic performance and State budget for the first half of this year, socio-economic development measures and State budget for the last half of this year.
The closing ceremony will be televised nationwide in the afternoon.-VNA
