Establishment and Development of the General Budget Department

06/09/2022
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  • The responsibility for preparing the General Budget of Jordan before the issuance of the Budget Organic Law No. (39) of 1962, as amended, was part of the duties of the Ministry of Finance through the General Budget Section which was directly reporting to the Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance.
  • In 1960, a royal committee was formed to review the financial Laws and Regulations enforced, mainly those related to the General Budget and the accounts relevant thereto. The said committee studied the General Budget preparation and classification methods, and identified the most prominent weaknesses therein.
  • In 1962, a special financial committee was formed, which drew up the draft Budget Organic Law No. (39) of 1962. The Law entered into force on 16/10/1962, and under which the General Budget Department (GBD) was established to be managed by a Director General reporting to the Minister of Finance.
  • As of the fiscal year 1963/1964, the General Budget Department has been preparing the general budget laws, and continued to introduce improvements to General Budget preparation and expenditure and revenue classification methods.
  • In 2008, the Organic Budget Law No. (58) of 2008 was approved, signaling a new phase of improvements and modernization for the general budget, as the Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) was adopted, and the needed infrastructure to enable the rollout of the Results Oriented Budgeting (ROB) in all ministries and government departments and units was established.
  • In 2014, instructions for organizing and managing the General Budget Department No. (1) of 2014 were issued, and accordingly the organizational structure of the department was modified to comply with the tasks of the directorates and organizational units set out in the instructions referred to above.
  • In 2017, “the Draft Budget Organic Law and the Government Units’ Budgets of 2017” was prepared for the purposes of regulating the management of public funds in the Kingdom and defining the responsibilities and roles of official bodies in the management of public funds and also to lay the foundations for the preparation, implementation and oversight of the General Budget Law and the Government Units' Budgets Law in a manner that takes into account the macroeconomic framework and to promote the financial stability and the efficient delivery of government services in all governorates and also to take into account the international best practices in the comprehensive legal coverage of all stages of the preparation, implementation and oversight of the general budget and the government units budgets. Noting that the draft budget was approved by the Cabinet and submitted to the Parliament to proceed with the completion of the procedures for its proper approval.
  • In 2020, the Draft Budget Organic Law and the Government Units’ Budgets of 2020 were prepared and submitted to the Council of Ministers which was approved at its session held on 3/1/2021.
  • In 2021, the Highness Royal Decree was issued to approve the Budget Organic Law and the Government Units' Budgets No. (13) For the year 2021, which was published in the Official Gazette on 16/5/2021 Issue No.(5718) to organize the management of public funds in the Kingdom and to determine the responsibilities and roles of the official bodies in this process and to lay the foundations for the preparation, implementation and oversight of the General Budget Law and the Government Units' Budgets Law, taking into account the macroeconomic framework of the national economy, enhanced financial stability and efficient delivery of government services in all governorates, and to take into account the international best practices in the transparency of the General Budget and the comprehensive legal coverage of all stages of the preparation, implementation and oversight of the General Budget and the government Units’ Budgets and expanding the dissemination of financial statements and reports to reach all public institutions.

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