Government postpones presenting Finance bill to Parliament over ongoing amendments

The government requested to postpone the presentation of the Finance Act to Parliament, which was scheduled today, Monday, a source told Hespress.

The government had agreed with Parliament that Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister of Economy and Finance, would present the Finance Act to the two Houses of Parliaments today, Monday, October 18, 2021, at three o’clock in the afternoon at Parliament.

A source from the House of Representatives told Hespress: “Most of the deputies came yesterday to Rabat in order to assist to the scheduled meeting, before the government sent a letter to Parliament asking to postpone the submission date.”

The Finance Organizing Law obligates the government to deposit the Finance Bill, in priority, with the House of Representatives office on October 20 of the current fiscal year at the latest.

The House of Representatives had accelerated the process of granting confidence to the government of Aziz Akhannouch so that the new cabinet could devote its time to crafting the finance bill.

The reason behind the delay is still unknown, but sources suggested that it was due to the introduction of new ammendments to the Finance Act during the Ministerial Council meeting on Sunday.

King Mohammed VI chaired, on Sunday at the Royal Palace in Fez, a ministerial council devoted to discuss the general directions of the Finance Act for the year 2022, approving a draft organizational law, and a number of international agreements, in addition to the appointments of senior positions.