Portuguese Public Finance Council
Unofficial translation of the Budget Framework Law
Warning: this is an unofficial translation of the budget framework
law for informational purposes only. It may contain mistranslations
and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The original Portuguese
language text may be found here.
ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC
3 — Autonomous funds and services shall be
those
cumulatively
meeting
the
following
requirements:
Law No. 52/2011 of 13 October
(…)
(a) They cannot have the nature and status of a
public corporation, foundation or association, even
if subject to any such regime provided for in other
legislation;
ANNEX
Republication of Law No. 91/2001 of 20 August
(Budget Framework Law)
(b) They shall have administrative and financial
autonomy;
(c) They shall have own revenue in order to cover
their expenditure, pursuant to the law.
TITLE I
Purpose, scope and prevalence of the law
4 — Within the general government, «social security
sub-sector» shall mean the solidarity and social
security system, formed by all sub-systems defined
in the respective framework law, their financing
sources and the bodies responsible for their
management.
Article 1
Purpose
This law lays down:
5 — For the purposes of this law, the entities that,
irrespective of their nature and form, have been
included in the central, regional and local
government and social security sub-sectors, under
the European System of National and Regional
Accounts, in the latest sectoral accounts published
by the national statistical authority referring to the
year prior to the presentation of the budget, shall be
deemed integrated in the general government as
autonomous funds and services, in the respective
sub-sectors.
(a) The general and common budget framework
provisions and accounts of the whole general
government;
(b) The rules and procedures relating to the
organisation, preparation, presentation, discussion,
voting, amendment and execution of the State
Budget, including the social security budget, and the
corresponding
budgetary
surveillance
and
responsibility;
(c) The rules relating to the organisation,
preparation, presentation, discussion and voting of
the State accounts, including social security
accounts.
6 — Without prejudice to the budgetary
independence principle laid down in Article 5 (2), the
principles and rules contained in Title II and the
provisions of Article 17 shall apply mutatis mutandis
to the budgets of the regional and local sub-sectors.
The respective framework laws shall provide for the
applicable regulations.
Article 2
Scope
1 — This law shall apply to the State Budget,
covering, within the general government, the
budgets of the central government sub-sector,
including the services and bodies that have not
been
granted
administrative
and
financial
autonomy, autonomous funds and services and
social security, as well as the respective accounts.
Article 3
Prevalence
The provisions of this law shall prevail, under
Article 112 (3) of the Constitution, over all
regulations establishing private budget frameworks
that oppose it.
2 — For the purpose of this law, the State
services that have not been granted administrative
and financial autonomy shall be known as
integrated services.
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Portuguese Public Finance Council
Unofficial translation of the Budget Framework Law
TITLE II
2 — The full amount of tax revenue shall
correspond to the amounts expected to be actually
collected, after deduction of the estimated tax
expenditure as a result of tax benefits and amounts
earmarked for repayments and refunds.
Budgetary principles and rules
Article 4
Annuality and multi-annuality
3 — Total expenditure shall be entered in full in
the budget, without any deduction.
1 — The budgets of general government bodies
shall be submitted on an annual basis.
4 — (Revoked)
2 — The preparation of the budget falls within
the framework of a multi-annual budgetary
planning, which shall meet the principles established
in this law and the obligations mentioned in Article
17.
5 — The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 above
do not apply to financial assets.
6 — Management transactions of the State direct
debt shall be entered in the corresponding budgets
integrating the State Budget, under the following
terms:
3 — Budgets shall include the programmes,
measures and projects or activities implying multiannual charges, which show total expenditure
envisaged for each one of them, the respective
shares in the year, and information on at least each
of the three next years.
(a) Expenditure arising from financial derivative
operations shall be deducted from revenue obtained
from the same operations, and the respective
balance shall always be entered as an item of
expenditure;
4 — The financial year shall coincide with the
calendar year.
(b) Proceeds from interest on transactions
associated with the issuance and management of
State direct debt and or Treasury management shall
be written off from expenditure of the same nature;
5 — The provisions laid down in the foregoing
paragraph shall be without prejudice to a possible
budget execution complementary period, pursuant
to the law.
(c) Proceeds from interest on transactions
associated with the investment of Treasury
surpluses, as well as those associated with cash
advances, shall be written off from interest
expenditure of the State direct debt.
Article 5
Unity and universality
7 — The provisions of the foregoing paragraphs
do not preclude individual entry in the books of all
financial flows, even where in book-entry form,
associated with the transactions mentioned therein,
or their presentation in the General State Accounts.
1 — The State Budget is unitary and shall
comprise total revenue and expenditure of
integrated services, autonomous funds and services,
and social security system.
2 — The budgets of autonomous regions and
local governments shall be independent from the
State Budget and shall comprise total revenue and
expenditure of the regional and local governments,
including all their autonomous funds and services.
8 — The incorporation in the budget of financial
flows resulting from transactions associated with
portfolio management of the funds managed by
Instituto de Gestão de Fundos de Capitalização da
Segurança Social, I. P. (Social Security Capitalization
Funds Management Institut(e) shall comply with the
following rules:
3 — The State Budget and the budgets of the
autonomous regions and local governments shall
submit, in accordance with Article 32, their total
financial liabilities resulting from multi-annual
commitments, the nature of which does not allow
for the direct accounting of the respective total
amount in the year the commitments are made or
the goods in question put at the disposal of the
State.
(a) Revenue obtained from financial derivative
transactions shall be deducted from expenditure of
the same transactions; the respective balance shall
always be entered as a revenue item;
(b) Accrued interest received from the sale of
debt securities shall be deducted from accrued
interest paid for the acquisition of the same
securities; the respective balance shall always be
entered as a revenue item.
Article 6
Gross budget rule
1 — Total revenue shall be entered in full in the
budget, without any deduction.
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Article 7
6 — Budgetary credits shall be null and void
where they allow for appropriations for confidential
utilisation or for secret funds, without prejudice to
the special legal systems envisaging the utilisation
of funds that, for exceptional reasons related to
national security, may be authorised by the
Assembly of the Republic, under proposal of the
Government.
Rule of non-assignment
1 — The budget revenue must not be earmarked
for specific items of expenditure.
2 — The following are exceptions to the
foregoing paragraph:
(a) Revenue from reprivatisations;
7 — The structure of the codes of economic
classification of revenue, and economic and
functional classification of expenditure is defined in
a Decree-Law, whereas a more disaggregated thirdlevel specification may be defined by means of an
executive order issued by the member of the
Government in charge of finance.
(b) Revenue from traditional European Union’s
own resources;
(c) Revenue earmarked for financing social
security and its different sub-systems, according to
the law;
(d) Revenue from transfers from the European
Union, international organisations or budgets of
other general government bodies, used to finance,
in whole or in part, specific items of expenditure;
Article 9
Equilibrium
(e) Revenue from benefits, gifts or bequests
from private individuals, which, according to their
will, is earmarked for covering specific items of
expenditure;
1 — The budgets of general government bodies
stipulate the necessary revenue to cover all
expenditure, without prejudice to the provisions of
Articles 23, 25 and 28.
(f) Revenue that, for any special reason, is
earmarked for specific items of expenditure as a
result of express legal or contractual statutes;
2 — Effective revenue and expenditure are
those that change net financial wealth with finality.
3 — Net financial wealth is formed by financial
assets held, namely assets, deposits, equity, shares
and other securities, net of financial liabilities.
(g) (Revoked).
3 — The rules that, under paragraph 2 (f) above,
assign revenue to specific items of expenditure, are
deemed to have an exceptional and temporary
nature, subject to terms to be defined in
complementary legislation.
4 — The spread between effective revenue and
effective expenditure corresponds to the overall
balance.
Article 8
5 — The spread between effective revenue and
effective expenditure, net of the debt interest
burden, corresponds to the primary balance.
Specification
Article 10
1 — Estimated revenue shall be specified in
sufficient detail, according to an economic
classification.
Intergenerational equity
1 — The State Budget shall be subject to the
equity principle in the intergenerational distribution
of benefits and costs.
2 — Expenditure is fixed according to an organic,
economic and functional classification. Under this
law, more disaggregated specification levels may be
included only in developments.
2 — The assessment of the intergenerational
equity shall necessarily include the budgetary
implication of:
3 — Expenditure shall also be structured by
programmes.
(a) measures and initiatives included in Table XVII;
(b) public investment;
4 — The specification of the tax expenditure as a
result of tax benefits shall comply with the codes of
the economic classification of revenue.
(c) investment in human capacities, cofinanced by
the State;
5 — The budget of the Ministry of Finance shall
include provisional appropriations for meeting
unavoidable expenditure that cannot be estimated.
(d) public debt interest burden;
(e) the
enterprises;
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financing
needs
of
State-owned
Portuguese Public Finance Council
Unofficial translation of the Budget Framework Law
(f) retirement or other pensions.
Article 11
Management instruments
Article 10-A
1 — The general government bodies shall be
subject to the Public Chart of Accounts, and may
also resort to other instruments deemed necessary
for good governance and control of public money
and other assets, under the terms of the law.
Budgetary stability
1 — The sub-sectors forming the general
government, as well as the bodies and entities
integrating them, are subject to the budgetary
stability principle, as regards budget execution and
approval.
2 — All autonomous funds and services that have
not yet adopted the Public Chart of Accounts or
another substitution plan shall be subject to the
financial discipline of the integrated services, and
shall be deemed equivalent to the latter for all
purposes, without prejudice to the special system of
administrative and financial autonomy resulting
from any constitutional requirement, their
integration in areas of the National Health Service,
regulation and supervision, as well as to the fact that
these bodies are especially competent to manage
EU funds and have the required autonomy for such
purpose.
2 — Budgetary stability shall mean that budgets
are close to balance or in surplus, calculated in
accordance with the definition laid down in the
European System of National and Regional
Accounts, under the conditions established for each
sub-sector.
Article 10-B
Mutual solidarity
1 — The budget execution and approval of subsectors mentioned in paragraph 1 of the foregoing
Article, shall be subject to the mutual solidarity
principle.
3 — The provisions of the foregoing paragraphs
shall not apply to the bodies that have adopted the
accounting standardisation system or prepare their
accounts
in
accordance
with
international
accounting standards.
2 — Under the mutual solidarity principle, all subsectors shall, through the respective bodies, make
commensurate contributions to enable the
budgetary stability principle, in order to prevent
inequalities.
Article 12
Publicity
1 — The Government ensures the publication of
all documents deemed necessary to guarantee
appropriate dissemination and transparency of the
State Budget and its execution, resorting, where
appropriate, to the most advanced media at all
times.
3 — The measures to be implemented within the
scope of the present Article shall be included in the
budget execution summary in the corresponding
month.
Article 10-C
2 — At regional and local level, the obligation
envisaged in the foregoing paragraph shall be
ensured by the respective regional and local
governments.
Budgetary transparency
1 — The budget execution and approval
mentioned in Article 10-A (1) shall be subject to the
budgetary transparency principle.
Article 12-A
2 — The budgetary transparency principle shall
imply the existence of reporting obligations among
all government bodies.
Indebtedness by autonomous regions and local
governments
3 — The transparency principle shall imply, in
particular, the requirement to report to the body
responsible for monitoring budget execution, under
the terms and within the time limits defined in the
decree-law governing budget execution.
1 — Autonomous Regions cannot take on debt
beyond the upper limit established in the State
Budget, under the terms of the respective financing
laws, without prejudice to the provisions of Article
87.
2 — Local governments can only take on debt
under the terms of the respective financing laws,
without prejudice to the provisions of Article 87.
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3 — Any increase in indebtedness in breach of
the foregoing paragraphs will prompt a cut in
transfers from the State Budget payable in
subsequent years, in accordance with the criteria
established in the respective financing laws.
4 – The medium-term objective has been defined
within the scope of and in accordance with the
Stability and Growth Pact.
Article 12-D
Multi-annual Framework of Budgetary Planning
TITLE II-A
1 – The Government shall submit to the Assembly of
the Republic, along the lines of the Major Options of
the Plan, a draft law with the Multi-annual
Framework of Budgetary Planning.
Budgetary process
Article 12-B
2 – The draft law mentioned in the foregoing
paragraph shall be submitted and discussed
simultaneously with the first draft State Budget Law
submitted after the Government has taken office.
Stability and Growth Programme
1 – The budgetary process is started with an annual
revision of the Stability and Growth Programme,
prepared by the Government and implemented in
accordance with EU regulations.
3 – The Multi-annual Framework of Budgetary
Planning shall be updated on an annual basis for the
four subsequent years in the State Budget Law, in
line with the objectives established in the Stability
and Growth Programme referred to in Article 12-B.
2 – The Stability and Growth Programme specifies
the economic and budgetary policy measures, and
submits, in sufficient detail, its financial effects, duly
justified, and the respective time frame.
4 – The Multi-annual Framework of Budgetary
Planning shall define the ceilings on expenditure by
the central government that is financed by general
revenues, in line with the objectives established in
the Stability and Growth Programme.
3 – The annual revision of the Stability and Growth
Programme includes a draft update of the Multiannual Framework of Budgetary Planning, referred
to in Article 12-D, for the four subsequent years.
5 – The Multi-annual Framework of Budgetary
Planning shall also define the ceilings on
expenditure for each budgetary programme, each
group of programmes and all programmes as a
whole; these ceilings are binding for the first year,
the second year, and the third and fourth years
respectively.
4 – The Assembly of the Republic shall appraise the
Stability and Growth Programme within 10 working
days as of the date it is submitted by the
Government.
5 – The Government sends to the Assembly of the
Republic the final revision of the Stability and
Growth Programme before its final delivery to the
European Council and the European Commission.
6 – Financial programming laws and transfers made
within the scope of the social security financing law
shall be subject to the ceilings resulting from the
implementation of paragraphs 4 and 5 above.
6 – The provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 above shall
be without prejudice to the necessary approval of
the Multi-annual Framework of Budgetary Planning,
pursuant to Article 12-D.
7 – Expenditure related to transfers resulting from
the implementation of financing laws in
autonomous regions and local governments,
transfers to the European Union and the debt
interest burden shall only be subject to the ceilings
resulting from the implementation of paragraph 4
above.
Article 12-C
Budget balance
1 – The budget balance of the general government,
defined in accordance with the European System of
National and Regional Accounts, adjusted for
cyclical effects and temporary measures, may not fall
below the medium-term objective.
8 – Balances obtained each year in Budgetary
Programmes and the respective financing, in
particular authorisation to take on debt, may be
carried forward to the subsequent years, according
to rules to be defined by the Government.
2 – Where the provision of the foregoing paragraph
cannot be met, the deviation is adjusted in
subsequent years.
9 – The provisional appropriation envisaged in
Article 8 (5) shall be considered in the ceilings
mentioned in paragraph 4 above, and may be
channelled to expenditure in any programme.
3 – Compliance with the provisions of the foregoing
paragraphs shall be subject to the approval of the
Fiscal Policy Council envisaged in Article 12-I.
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Article 12-E
6 – Any matters in the voting stage on the details of
the draft State Budget Law may be the object of
mandate by the Plenary of the Assembly of the
Republic, in line with the provisions of the respective
Rules of Procedure.
Time limits for submitting the draft State Budget
Law
1 – The Government shall submit to the Assembly of
the Republic, by 15 October each year, the draft
State Budget Law for the subsequent financial year,
together with the information mentioned in Articles
35 to 37.
7 – Within the scope of the scrutiny and discussion
of the draft State Budget Law, the Assembly of the
Republic may hold parliamentary hearings on the
general terms.
2 – The time limit mentioned in the foregoing
paragraph shall not apply in the following cases:
8 – For the purposes of the foregoing paragraph,
the Assembly of the Republic may, in particular,
convene directly, at the request of the standing
committee with competence for fiscal matters, the
entities that are not subject to the power of decision
of the Government, whose evidence is deemed
relevant for the full clarification of the matters under
consideration.
(a) The Government has left office by 15 October;
(b) The new Government has taken office between
15 July and 14 October;
(c) The legislative period ends between 15 October
and 31 December.
3 – In the cases envisaged in the foregoing subparagraphs, the draft State Budget Law for the
subsequent financial year, together with the
information mentioned in Articles 35 to 37, shall be
submitted by the Government to the Assembly of
the Republic within three months as of the date the
Government has taken office.
Article 12-G
Publication of the full contents of the Budget
The Government ensures that the full contents of
the State Budget shall be annually published by the
end of the second month after the entry into force
of the State Budget law.
Article 12-F
Discussion and voting
Article 12-H
1 – The draft State Budget Law shall be discussed
and put to the vote in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution, the present law and
the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the
Republic.
Extension of force of the State Budget Law
1 – The State Budget Law shall be in force for an
extended period where:
(a) The draft State Budget Law had been rejected;
2 – The draft State Budget Law shall be put to the
vote within 45 days after it has been received by the
Assembly of the Republic.
(b) The new Government has taken office between 1
July and 30 September;
(c) The draft State Budget Law lapses due to the
resignation of the Government proposing it, or
because the previous Government has not
submitted any proposal;
3 - The draft State Budget Law shall be discussed
and put to the vote, on the general principals, at a
Plenary sitting of the Assembly of the Republic,
under the terms and time limits established in the
Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic.
(d) The draft State Budget Law has not been voted
in Parliament.
4 – The Plenary sitting of the Assembly of the
Republic shall discuss on the details of the draft
State Budget Law, under the terms and within the
time limits established in the Rules of Procedure of
the Assembly of the Republic.
2 – The extension of force of the State Budget law
shall cover the details of the respective provisions
and the corresponding budget tables, as well as
their developments, and decree-laws governing
budget execution.
5 – Except for the matters voted at a Plenary sitting,
in line with the provisions of Article 168 (4) of the
Constitution, the details of the draft State Budget
Law shall be put to the vote at the parliamentary
committee with competence for assessing the draft
State Budget Law. It also votes on the details of the
articles and budget tables of the draft law.
3 – The extension of force of the State Budget law
shall not cover:
(a) The authorisation to legislate provided for in the
respective provisions, which, in accordance with the
Constitution or the terms it has been granted, must
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lapse at the end of the financial year in which the
law was in force;
Article 12-I
Public Finance Council
(b) The authorisation to collect revenue, which was
only intended to apply up to the end of the financial
year in which the law was in force;
1 – An independent body is created, the Public
Finance Council, responsible for undertaking an
assessment of the objectives proposed for the
macroeconomic and fiscal projections, the longterm sustainability of public accounts and
compliance with the budget balance rules laid down
in Article 12-C, the rules on expenditure by the
central government laid down in Article 12-D, and
the indebtedness rules of autonomous regions and
local governments enshrined in the respective
financing laws.
(c) The authorisation for incurring expenditure
relating to multi-annual services, programmes and
measures, which must expire by the end of the
financial year in which the law was in force.
4 – Over the transition period, during which the
extension of force of the State Budget law from the
previous year prevails, the expenditure budget
execution shall comply with the twelfth principle as
regards the amounts set in the respective budget
tables, in accordance with the organic classification,
without prejudice to the exceptions envisaged in
Article 43 (5) (a).
2 – The members of the Council shall be
personalities of acknowledged merit, with
experience in the areas of economics and public
finance.
3 – The composition, responsibilities, organisation
and running of the Council, as well as the statutes of
its members shall be defined by means of a law.
5 – Over the transition period during which the
extension of force of the State Budget law relating
to the previous year prevails, the Government and
the autonomous funds and services may:
(a) Issue funded public debt, under the terms
envisaged in the respective legislation;
TITLE III
Contents and structure of the State Budget
(b) Lend funds and carry out other lending
operations, with a value up to one twelfth of the
upper amount authorised by the State Budget Law
in each month of the transition period;
CHAPTER I
Contents and structure
Article 13
(c) Grant personal guarantees, as provided for in the
respective legislation.
Formal contents and structure
6 – Revenue and expenditure operations carried out
under a transitional regime are charged to the
accounts for the new financial year started on 1
January.
1 – The State Budget contains, for the reporting
period, expenditure appropriations and expectation
of revenue of the bodies mentioned in Article 2 (1),
duly quantified, as well as the estimated tax
expenditure as a result of tax benefits.
7 – For the purposes of the foregoing paragraph,
budget execution-related decree-laws and State
Budget laws that enter into force with a delay shall
establish the procedures to be adopted in the cases
where they cease to consider appropriations or
where changes are made to the names of some
items in the previous Budget under which
expenditure is incurred during the transition period.
2 – The appropriations, expectations and estimates
mentioned in the foregoing paragraph comprise,
respectively, the budget of the integrated services
sub-sector, hereinafter referred to as integrated
services budget, the budget of the autonomous
funds and services sub-sector, including the
different services and funds, hereinafter referred to
as autonomous funds and services budget, and the
budget of the solidarity and social security system,
hereinafter referred to as social security budget.
8 – Over the transition period during which the
extension of force of the State Budget law from the
previous year prevails, the Government may approve
by means of a decree-law the necessary budget
execution rules to regulate the implementation of
the regime established in this chapter.
Article 14
Harmonisation with the plans
The State Budget is developed in line with the Major
Options of the Plan and other plans prepared in
accordance with and for the purposes envisaged in
Part II, Title II of the Constitution of the Portuguese
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Republic, in particular through management by
objectives, as mentioned in the subsequent Article.
services, the State Budget sets a maximum change
to the State net direct indebtedness.
2 – In addition to the maximum change of the
overall net direct debt mentioned in the foregoing
paragraph, the State can be pre-financed up to 50%
of the expected redemptions of funded public debt
in the subsequent fiscal year.
Article 15
Management by objectives
1 – The budgets and accounts of the bodies referred
to in Article 2 (1) shall be subject to an objectivebased systematisation, brought into line with the
objectives laid down in the Major Options of the
Plan, involving definition of the activities of each
body and their respective cost centres and
accounting for all resources involved, including
capital, with the aim of basing public expenditure
redirection and control decisions on:
3 – Where there is pre-financing in a given fiscal
year, the indebtedness ceiling applicable in the
subsequent year is reduced by the pre-financing
already made, but can be raised by up to 50% of the
redemptions of funded public debt in the
subsequent fiscal year.
Article 17
(a) An understanding of the body’s mission,
objectives and strategy;
Compliance with other legislation
(b) The correct alignment of each activity area with
the objectives;
The budgets integrating the State Budget shall be
prepared, approved and implemented so as to:
(c) Making those tasked with the activities’
management responsible for achieving the
objectives and for good use of the resources
allocated to them;
(a) Include the necessary appropriations for the
mandatory expenditure mentioned in the foregoing
Article;
(b) Meet the obligations arising from the Treaty on
European Union;
(d) Identifying redundant activities in the body’s
value chain and reallocating the resources employed
there fairly.
(c) Take into account the major options in terms of
panning and the multi-annual financial planning
prepared by the Government.
2 – The budgetary developments mentioned in
paragraph 1 above shall comply with the
programme restructuring laid down in this law.
SECTION I
Programme-based budget
Article 16
Article 18
Mandatory expenditure
Regime
1 – The State Budget shall mandatorily include:
(b) The appropriations for the payment of charges
resulting from court sentences;
1 - Without prejudice to its specification in
accordance with organic, functional and economic
classification, expenditure entered in the budgets
integrating the State Budget shall be structured by
programmes, under the terms of this law.
(c) Other appropriations determined by the law.
2 - (Revoked.)
2 – The appropriations corresponding to mandatory
expenditure of a specified amount, known as at the
date of presentation of the draft State Budget Law,
shall be duly shown in that draft.
3 - (Revoked.)
(a) The necessary appropriations to meet the
obligations arising from the law or the contract;
Article 19
Budgetary programmes
Article 16-A
1 – The budgetary programme shall include items of
expenditure corresponding to a set of measures that
contribute, in an articulate and complementary
manner, to the achievement on one or several
specific goals, regarding one or more public policies.
It shall therefore comprise a range of indicators that
State financing
1 – In order to meet the financing needs arising
from its execution, including autonomous funds and
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allow an assessment of the economy, efficiency and
effectiveness of the respective implementation.
Article 21
Complementary legislation
2 – The assessment of the economy, efficiency and
effectiveness of programmes with recourse to
partnerships in the public and private sectors will be
based on an alternative programme aimed at
obtaining the same goals, excluding financing or
operating purposes entrusted to private entities, and
shall include, where appropriate, an estimate of its
net budgetary implications.
The regulations applicable to the manner and form
of the actual definition of programmes and
measures to be entered in the State Budget and the
respective structures, as well as the corresponding
specification in the budgetary developments and
their implementation, shall be established by means
of a decree-law.
3 – The Government shall define groups of
programmes in line with the respective business
areas.
SECTION II
Zero-based budgeting
4 – The budgetary programme may be implemented
by one or several entities belonging to:
Article 21-A
Zero-based budgeting process
(a) The same Title;
1 - Without prejudice to the budgetary principles
and rules provided for in this Budget Framework
Law, the organisation and preparation of the State
Budget include the following procedures:
(b) The same or different central government subsectors.
5 – Each budgetary programme is broken down into
measures, but some programmes may consist of
one single measure.
(a) Under the objective-based systematisation
mentioned in Article 15 (1), each of the bodies
referred to in Article 2 (1) shall justify in sufficient
detail all expenditure appropriations to be entered
in the Budget, based on a cost-analysis of the
structures and each activity to be developed;
6 – EU-financed budgetary programmes shall
identify the associated EU programmes.
Article 20
(b) Mandatory indication of alternatives for the
implementation of each activity to be developed;
Measures
1 – Each measure comprises the items of
expenditure
of
a
budgetary
programme
corresponding to well specified and characterised
projects or activities that articulate and complement
each other and contribute to the implementation of
the objectives of the programme in which it is
included.
(c) Analysis of expenditure proposals and
alternatives submitted, depending on their falling
within the scope of planned activities;
(d) Evaluation and decision on proposals and
alternatives submitted.
2 – The rules laid down in the foregoing subparagraphs shall preferably be implemented in the
organisation and preparation of the second or third
State Budget after the start of a new legislative
period.
2 – Each measure may be implemented by one or
several entities belonging to the same or different
central government sub-sectors.
3 – Each measure is broken down into projects or
activities, but some measures may consist of one
single project or activity.
3 – It shall be incumbent on the Government, upon
proposal of the Minister of Finance, to define which
bodies and programmes are to be included in the
zero-based budgeting process, priority being given
to budgetary programmes in a deficit situation.
4 – The project or activity correspond to basic units
for the implementation of measures, with clearly
defined budget and calendar.
5 – Measures, projects or activities may be created
during the execution of the State Budget.
6 – Changes deriving from the creation of measures,
according to the foregoing paragraph, shall be
expressly included in the monthly budget execution
summary.
Article 21-B
Analysis and evaluation of zero-based budgeting
1 – The proposals and alternatives submitted by
ministerial bodies and services shall be analysed by
the respective Office for Planning, Strategy,
Evaluation and International Relations or by the
Directorate-General for Budget.
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2 – The proposals and alternatives presented by
other bodies and services shall be analysed by the
Office for Planning, Strategy, Evaluation and
International Relations of the Ministry of Finance
and Public Administration or by the DirectorateGeneral for Budget.
3 – The evaluation of the proposals and alternatives
involves powers to correct deficiencies or excess
budgeting, based on the adequacy of the means to
the purposes set out.
4 – The Minister of Finance, who may delegate his
powers, may carry out a final analysis of the
proposals and alternatives submitted by the bodies
mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs.
55-A/2010 of 31 December, the Government shall
approve:
(a) The strategic guidelines and the necessary rules
so that public institutes and public corporate entities
may
comply
with
zero-based
budgeting
requirements when preparing the respective budget;
(b) The criteria to be observed in the supervisory
process of approving the budget of public institutes,
so that its evaluation may meet the guidelines
mentioned in the foregoing sub-paragraph.
2 – The Minister of Finance and the Minister in
charge of the respective sector, who may delegate
their powers, shall check compliance with the
foregoing paragraph.
Article 21-C
Article 21-E
Implementation of zero-based budgeting to
state-owned enterprises
Budgetary framework of zero-based budgeting
1 – Within the scope of the powers related to the
performance of the shareholder function of stateowned enterprises, laid down in Article 11 of
Decree-Law No 558/99 of 17 December, as
amended by Decree-Law No 300/2007 of 23 August,
and Laws Nos 64-A/2008 of 31 December and 55A/2010 of 31 December, the Government’s strategic
guidelines shall include the requirement that all
state-owned enterprises must comply with the zerobased budgeting process when preparing their
budgets, with a view to contributing to the
economic and financial balance of the public sector
as a whole and to obtaining adequate level of
satisfaction of society’s requirements.
2 – The Minister of Finance and the Minister in
charge of the respective sector, who may delegate
their powers, shall be responsible for checking
compliance with the guidelines envisaged in the
foregoing paragraph, and may issue directives for
their implementation.
Article 21-D
Adoption of zero-based budgeting by public
institutes and public corporate entities
1 – Within the scope of its supervisory and oversight
powers over public institutes, listed in Articles 41
and 42 of Law No 3/2004 of 15 January, as amended
by Law No 64-A/2008 of 31 December, and its
economic and financial supervisory powers over
public corporate entities, listed in Article 29 of
Decree-Law No 558/99 of 17 December, as
amended by Decree-Law No 300/2007 of 23 August,
and by Laws Nos 64-A/2008 of 31 December, and
10
In addition to the information items laid down in
Article 37 of this Budget Framework Law, in the
years when the zero-based budgeting is
implemented, the Government shall include in the
draft State Budget Law any relevant information
relating to the presentation of each programme
subject to this budget rule.
SECTION III
Integrated services budget
Article 22
Specification
1 – The specification of expenditure in the
integrated services budget, in accordance with the
organic classification, is subject to the general
criteria envisaged in the subsequent numbers.
2 – The organic classification brings together items
of expenditure into Titles, broken down into
chapters, which may be divided into one or more
disaggregation levels, as deemed necessary for an
appropriate specification of expenditure.
3 - Without prejudice to the provisions of the
subsequent number, each Title corresponds to one
Ministry, covering the Secretariats of State and
corresponding services, pursuant to the respective
Organic Law.
4 – State overhead costs shall be entered in a
dedicated Title, when corresponding to expenditure
related to:
(a) Authorities without administrative and financial
autonomy, as well as dependent services and other
bodies;
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(b) Other services and bodies without administrative
and financial autonomy not integrated in any
ministry;
(c) Transfers to the budgets of authorities and other
bodies not integrated in any ministry, that have
administrative and financial autonomy;
(c) Estimated tax expenditure in the sub-sector, as a
result of tax benefits, shall be specified in
accordance with the economic classification of
revenue;
(d) Revenue of each autonomous fund and service is
specified in accordance with the economic
classification;
(d) Transfers to the budgets of autonomous regions;
(e) Transfers to the local governments.
5 – Each chapter brings together all expenditure
contributing to the same purpose and, in particular,
expenditure by a directorate-general, general
inspectorate or equivalent service, including
expenditure by all subordinated services.
6 – The same chapter may bring together
expenditure by two or more directorate-generals,
general inspectorates or equivalent services,
provided that the services in question carry out
similar business.
7 – In exceptional cases, duly justified in
complementary information in the draft State
Budget Law, special chapters may be added to the
organic classification.
Article 23
Primary balance of integrated services
1 - Integrated services must post a positive primary
balance, except when the economic situation during
the budget period, justifiably, does not allow for
this.
2 – The reports of the draft State Budget Law and
the General State Accounts shall exhibit the
justification mentioned in the foregoing paragraph.
3 - (Revoked.)
(e) Expenditure of each autonomous fund and
service is specified in accordance with the economic
and functional classifications.
2 – The budget of the autonomous funds and
services sub-sector, including the budgets of each of
these services and funds, shall also structure the
respective expenditure into programmes, in line with
the provisions of Articles 18 to 21.
Article 25
Equilibrium
1 – The budget of each autonomous fund or service
is prepared, approved and executed in such a
manner as to post nil or positive overall balance.
2 – For the purpose of calculating the balance
mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, revenue
from financial assets and liabilities shall be excluded,
as well as the balance of the previous management
and expenditure related to financial assets and
liabilities.
3 – In the cases where, during the year of the
budgets referred to in paragraph 1, the budget
execution of general government institutions as a
whole allows for it, the Government may, through
the Minister of Finance, in exceptional situations,
waive the implementation of the balance rule
established in that paragraph.
4 – In the cases where the balance rule is waived,
according to the provisions of the foregoing
paragraph, the Government shall:
SECTION IV
(a) Approve the corresponding
amendments that fall within its
competence;
Budget of the autonomous funds and services
Article 24
Specification
1 – The budget of the autonomous funds and
services sub-sector, including the budgets of each of
these services and funds, shall specify revenue and
expenditure as follows:
(a) Overall revenue in the sub-sector is specified in
accordance with the organic and economic
classifications;
(b) Overall expenditure in the sub-sector is specified
in accordance with the organic, economic and
functional classifications;
11
budgetary
fields of
(b) Submit to the Assembly of the Republic a draft
with the corresponding budgetary amendments that
fall within the field of competence of that body.
Article 26
Recourse to credit
1 – Recourse to credit is not authorised to
autonomous funds and services.
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2 – The provisions of the foregoing paragraph to
not apply to loans giving rise to:
(a) Floating debt, according to the provisions of
Article 3 (a) of Law No 7/98 of 3 February;
(b) Funded debt, according to the provisions of
Article 3 (b) of Law No 7/98 of 3 February, provided
that the conditions envisaged in Article 4 (3) and (4)
(b) do occur and that the corresponding net
indebtedness is authorised by the Assembly of the
Republic.
3 – The loans mentioned in paragraph 2 (b) can only
be granted to autonomous funds and services
whose organic laws allow them to receive such
funds.
4 – In the cases envisaged in paragraphs 2 and 3
above, autonomous funds and services shall
primarily resort to financing from the Treasury.
2 – Annual balances in the welfare sub-system are
transferred to the Fundo de Estabilização Financeira
da Segurança Social (Social Security Financial
Stabilisation Fund), in accordance with the
provisions of the Social Security Framework Law.
3 – For the purposes of the provision of paragraph
1, revenue from financial assets and liabilities shall
be excluded, as well as the balance of the previous
management and items of expenditure related to
financial assets and liabilities.
Article 29
Recourse to credit
Recourse to credit within the scope of the social
security system is only allowed to the Instituto de
Gestão Financeira da Segurança Social (Social
Security Financial Management Institute), provided
that it does not give rise to funded debt.
SECTION V
Social security budget
Article 27
CHAPTER II
Specification
State Budget law
1 – The social security budget shall specify revenue
and expenditure as follows:
Article 30
Formal contents and structure
(a) Overall revenue in the system is specified in
accordance
with
the
respective
economic
classification;
The State Budget Law contains the Articles and
Budget Tables.
(b) Overall expenditure in the system is specified in
accordance with the economic and functional
classification;
Article 31
(c) Revenue of each sub-system is specified in
accordance
with
the
respective
economic
classification;
(d) Expenditure of each sub-system is specified in
accordance with the respective economic and
functional classification.
2 – The social security budget may be structured
into programmes.
3 - Expenditure in the social security budget shall be
structured in accordance with an organic
classification to be defined by Decree-Law.
Articles of the State Budget Law
1 – The provisions of the Articles shall:
(a) Approve the Budget Tables;
(b) Lay down the necessary rules to monitor budget
execution;
(c) Indicate the future destination of funds resulting
from possible budget surpluses of integrated
services and autonomous funds and services;
(d) Indicate possible amounts entered in the Budget
which, in order to ensure that the fiscal policy
objectives are met, shall be frozen until their
utilisation in whole or in part is authorised by the
Government, in the cases where budget execution
developments allow for this;
Article 28
Equilibrium
1 – Effective revenue shown in the social security
budget shall at least equal effective expenditure.
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(e) Determine the upper limit of the change in net
indebtedness and other general conditions which
govern the issuance of public debt funded by the
State, through the Government, and by autonomous
funds and services, during the financial year;
Portuguese Public Finance Council
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(f) Determine the additional amounts to the
authorised change in net indebtedness, in the cases
that envisage recourse to credit aimed at financing
expenditure with the operations mentioned in subparagraph (d) above or short-term action
programmes;
(g) Determine the general conditions which govern
public debt management operations envisaged in
the law;
Article 32
Budget Tables
The Tables mentioned in paragraph 1 (a) of the
foregoing Article are the following:
Table I, «Revenue of the integrated services, per
economic classification»;
Table II, «Expenditure the integrated services, per
organic classification, broken down into chapters»;
(h) Determine the ceiling on personal guarantees
granted by the State, through the Government, and
by the autonomous funds and services during the
financial year;
Table III, «Expenditure of the integrated services, per
functional classification»;
Table IV, «Expenditure of the integrated services, per
economic classification»;
(i) Determine the ceiling on loans and other lending
operations, whose repayment maturity postdates
the end of the financial year, to be carried out by the
State, through the Government, and by autonomous
funds and services;
Table V, «Revenue of the autonomous funds and
services, per organic classification, broken down into
overall revenue of each service and fund»;
(j) Determine the ceiling on advances, pursuant to
applicable legislation;
(l) Determine the ceiling on possible commitments
to be made as regards contracts for the provision of
services under a private financing system or another
type of partnership of the public and private sectors;
(m) Determine the ceiling on borrowing by the
autonomous regions, in accordance with the
respective finance act;
(n) Indicate the possible update of the values below
which the acts, contracts and other instruments
generating expenditure or representing direct or
indirect financial liabilities shall be exempt from
prior surveillance by the Tribunal de Contas (Court of
Auditors);
(o) Stipulate the overall upper amount of the
financial authorisation to the Government for
meeting the charges arising from public investment
contracts within the scope of the Lei de
Programação Militar (Law of Military Programme), as
leasing;
(p) Stipulate other measures deemed indispensible
to the appropriate financial management of the
integrated services, autonomous funds and services,
and the social security system in the financial year of
the budget law.
2 – The provisions laid down in the State Budget
Law shall be limited to those strictly necessary for
the execution of the fiscal and financial policy.
Table VI, «Revenue of the autonomous funds and
services, per economic classification»;
Table VII, «Expenditure of the autonomous funds
and services, per organic classification, broken down
into overall expenditure of each service and fund»;
Table VIII, «Expenditure of the autonomous funds
and services, per functional classification»;
Table IX, «Expenditure of the autonomous funds and
services, per economic classification»;
Table X, «Revenue of social security, per economic
classification»;
Table XI, «Expenditure of social security, per
functional classification»;
Table XII, «Expenditure of social security, per
economic classification»;
Table XIII, «Revenue of each sub-system, per
economic classification»;
Table XIV, «Expenditure of each sub-system, per
economic classification»;
Table
XV,
«Expenditure
programmes»;
corresponding
Table XVI, «Regional breakdown of the programmes
and measures, which are mandatory but not voted»;
Table XVII, «Multi-annual contractual liabilities of the
integrated services and autonomous funds and
services, grouped by ministry»;
Table XVIII, «Transfers to the autonomous regions»;
Table XIX, «Transfers to municipalities»;
Table XX, «Transfers to communes»;
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Table XXI, «Estimated loss in tax revenue of the
integrated services, autonomous funds and services,
and social security».
5 – The budgetary developments of the integrated
services, the budget of each autonomous fund and
service and the social security budget show
expenditure relating to the programmes and
measures of the Head of the respective service.
Article 33
Types of Budget Tables
Article 36
(Revoked.)
Report contents
1 – The report of the draft State Budget Law shall
contain the presentation and explanation of the
proposed fiscal policy.
Article 34
Draft law
1 – The structure and contents of the draft State
Budget Law are identical to those of the State
Budget Law.
2 – Budgetary developments shall be presented in
annex to the draft State Budget Law, as well as the
respective report and information items envisaged
in this section, and other information required to
justify the decisions and fiscal and financial policies
submitted.
3 – The information items mentioned in the
foregoing paragraph may be presented as
autonomous annexes or items integrated in the
report attached to the draft law.
Article 35
2 – The report mentioned in the foregoing
paragraph shall include a review of the main items
regarding the following aspects:
(a) Developments in and projections of the main
macroeconomic aggregates weighing on the State
Budget;
(b) Developments in the financial situation of the
general government and, in particular, of the State,
including the integrated services, autonomous funds
and services and the solidarity and social security
system;
(c) Fiscal policy general framework;
(d) Adequacy of the proposed fiscal policy to the
obligations under the Treaty on European Union and
on Economic and Monetary Union;
(e) Budgetary impact of the decisions regarding
public policies;
Budgetary developments
1 – The budgetary developments in annex to the
draft State Budget Law shall include:
(a) Developments in revenue and expenditure of the
integrated services;
(f) Management rationalisation measures applicable
to public money and other public values;
(g) Other relevant matters related to the
presentation and explanation of the main fiscal
policy decisions proposed.
(b) The budgets of the autonomous funds and
services;
(c) The social security budget.
Article 37
2 – Developments in revenue of the integrated
services include a table of observations that indicate,
in particular, the main characteristics of each
revenue item and the respective legal bases.
3 – Developments in expenditure of the integrated
services are organised by ministries and show the
expenditure of each of the respective services, which
are detailed at the maximum breakdown level, in
accordance with the economic and functional
classifications.
4 – The budget of each autonomous fund and
service shows the respective revenue and
expenditure detailed at the maximum breakdown
level, in accordance with the economic and
functional classifications.
14
Information items
1 – The draft State Budget Law shall be
accompanied with at least the following information
items:
(a) Medium-and long-term financial indicators;
(b) Multi-annual financial planning;
(c) Memo items of the reasons justifying recourse to
partnerships in the public and private sectors,
compared to an alternative programme prepared in
accordance with Article 19 (2);
(d) Individual information on annual and multiannual expenditure with public-private partnerships;
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(e) Estimate of the general government consolidated
budget on a national and public account basis;
Article 39
Discussion and voting
(f) Memo items of the reasons justifying the
differences between the values obtained, on a
national and public account basis;
(g) Consolidated budget of the integrated services
and autonomous funds and services, and
consolidated State Budget, including social security;
(h) Overall indebtedness situation of the general
government, state-owned enterprises, publicly
owned
corporate
entities,
public-private
partnerships, regional corporations and municipal
corporations as a whole;
(i) Public debt situation of Treasury operations and
Treasury accounts;
(Revoked.)
Article 40
Publication of the full contents of the Budget
(Revoked.)
Article 41
Extension of force the State Budget law
(Revoked.)
(j) Financial and balance-sheet accounts of the
integrated services sub-sector;
(l) Financial and balance-sheet accounts of the
autonomous funds and services sub-sector;
(m) Financial and balance-sheet accounts of the
solidarity and social security system;
(n) Financial outflows weighting on the draft budget;
transfers
to
municipalities
Budget execution
CHAPTER I
Budget execution
(o) Budgetary transfers to the autonomous regions;
(p) Budgetary
communes;
TITLE III-A
and
Article 42
(q) Budgetary transfers to state-owned enterprises
and other institutions not integrated in the general
government;
(r) Information items on budgetary programmes;
(s) Justification of the estimated tax revenue, broken
down by the situation of major taxes;
Principles
1 – Budget execution of revenue and
expenditure operations shall abide by the
principle of segregation of the settlement and
collection functions, as to the former, and by the
principle of expenditure authorisation, payment
authorisation and payment, as to the latter.
2 - The segregation of functions referred to in
the foregoing paragraph can exist between
different services or between agents of the same
service.
(t) Tax benefits, estimates of tax expenditure and its
economic and social justification;
(u) Expenditure broken down across the different
budgetary classifications;
(v) Identification of the measures to cover the
estimated tax expenditure as a result of the creation
or widening of any tax benefits.
2 – The presentation of the information items on the
balance-sheet accounts of the autonomous funds
and services depends on the adoption of a Public
Chart of Accounts by each of them.
Article 38
3 – No revenue shall be collected or settled, even
when there is a legal basis, unless the following
conditions are cumulatively met:
(a) Such item of revenue has been correctly
entered in the budget;
(b) Such item of revenue is adequately classified.
4 – Settlement and collection of revenue may
exceed the respective amounts entered in the
budget.
5 – The appropriations entered in the
expenditure budget are the upper limit that
cannot be exceeded.
Time limits for presentation
(Revoked.)
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6 – No expenditure may be authorised or
effected unless the following conditions are
cumulatively met:
funds and services budget and the social security
budget.
4 – The provisions of the foregoing paragraph
shall not preclude the approval, during the
financial year, of other decree-laws governing
the budget execution, where justified.
(a) The fact that gave rise to that expenditure
commitment is in accordance with the applicable
legal rules;
(b) The item of expenditure in question is
entered in the budget, is earmarked in the
respective allowance, is correctly classified and is
in accordance with the twelfths principle, save in
the latter for the exceptions provided for by law;
5 - The Decree-Law governing the execution of
the integrated services budget, the autonomous
funds and services budget and the social security
budget shall contain:
(a) The budget appropriations outside the scope
of the twelfths system;
(c) The item of expenditure in question is in
accordance with the principle of economy,
efficiency and effectiveness.
(b) The budget appropriations that shall remain
frozen and the conditions under which they can
be used in whole or in part;
7 - Unless otherwise specified by a legal
instrument, the earmarking referred to in
paragraph 6 (b) above shall be assessed at the
maximum breakdown level of economic
classification and shall be in compliance, where
applicable, with the amount earmarked in the
programme, project or activity.
(c) The expenditure or the payments whose
authorisation depends on the intervention of the
central services responsible for the overall
coordination and control of the execution of the
integrated services budget, the autonomous
funds and services budget and the social security
budget;
8 – Compliance with the principles of economy,
efficiency and effectiveness, referred to in
paragraph 6 (c) above, shall be checked, in
particular, as regards the items of expenditure
that, due to their high amount, continuity over
time once they have been initiated, or for any
other reason involve huge spending of public
money.
(d) The time limits for the authorisation of
expenditure;
(e) Any other rules required for the State budget
execution and for each and every budget
included in the State budget.
6 - The Decree-Law referred to in paragraphs 2
and 5 above shall be published by the end of the
month following the entry into force of the State
Budget Law.
9 – In addition to the requirements imposed, all
expenditure operations covered by earmarked
revenue shall also be conditional on the
collection of the equivalent revenue.
Article 44
Article 43
Regimes applicable to budget execution
Competence
1 - Execution of the expenditure budget shall be
subject to the following regimes:
1 - The Government shall define by means of a
Decree-Law the budget execution operations
falling within the competence of the members of
the Government and of the heads of the services
under their management or responsibility.
(a) Administrative autonomy regime, as regards
the integrated services budget;
(b) Administrative and financial autonomy
regime, as regards the autonomous funds and
services budget;
2 – Every year, the Government lays down by
means of a Decree-Law the provisions required
for the implementation of the State Budget Law,
including the social security budget for that year,
without prejudice to the immediate application
of the provisions of this Law that are selfenforceable.
(c) Special social security budget execution
regime.
2 – The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to
all budget execution regimes referred to in the
foregoing paragraph.
3 – For the purposes of the foregoing paragraph,
the Government shall approve in a single
Decree-Law the rules governing the State budget
execution, including those relating to the
integrated services budget, the autonomous
3 – The Framework Law on Public Accounting
lays the foundations for the budget execution
regimes, in accordance with the provisions of this
Law.
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Article 47
Execution of the autonomous funds and
services budget
Article 45
Assumption of commitments
1 - The execution of the autonomous funds and
services budget shall be incumbent on the
respective heads of service, without prejudice to
the
expenditure
authorisations
that,
in
accordance with the law, must be granted by the
members of the Government.
1 - Expenditure commitments can only be
undertaken after they have been earmarked by
the competent accounting services in the
authorised commitment documents.
2 – Commitments giving rise to multi-annual
charges can be undertaken upon prior
authorisation, to be granted by means of a joint
executive order of the Minister of Finance and
the relevant sectoral Minister, unless one of the
following applies:
2 – Expenditure related to the purchase of goods
and services or the performance of public works
contracts by autonomous funds and services
shall be subject to the public procurement
regime, save as otherwise provided in
Community rules and law.
(a) The commitments concern programmes,
measures, projects or activities listed in Table XV
of the State Budget Law that are consistent with
the Multi-annual Framework Budgetary Planning
referred to in Article 12-D;
3 - Autonomous funds and services shall
primarily use their own revenue that is not
earmarked by law for specific purposes to cover
the respective expenditure.
(b) Commitment amounts do not exceed in each
of the following financial years, the upper limits
and the time limits established by law for this
purpose.
4 – Only where the own revenue referred to in
the foregoing paragraph is not sufficient, shall
autonomous funds and services cover the
respective
expenditure
through
transfers
received from the integrated services budget or
from the budgets of other autonomous funds or
services.
3 – The first year of execution of the expenditure
concerning multi-annual commitments shall
correspond to the year of assumption of the said
commitment, unless otherwise specified by law.
Article 48
Article 46
Execution of the social security budget
Execution of the integrated services budget
1 – The Social Security Financial Management
Institute (Instituto de Gestão Financeira da
Segurança Social) shall be responsible for the
overall execution of the social security budget, in
compliance with the provisions of this law and
the specific rules applicable within the system.
1 - The execution of the integrated services
budget shall be ensured as follows:
(a) As regards revenue, by the services in charge
of the settlement and collection of revenue, as
well as by the Treasury collection network;
(b) As regards expenditure, by the members of
the Government and by the heads of the
respective services, as well as by the Treasury
payment system.
2 – The Social Security Financial Management
Institute shall only carry out financing operations
subject to authorisation from the Government,
which shall be granted by means of a joint
decision of the Ministers of Finance, Labour and
Solidarity.
2 – The law shall define, according to their
characteristics or amounts, the budget execution
operations,
namely
the
expenditure
authorisations under the responsibility of the
members of the Government.
3 - The management balances of the social
security budget shall be used subject to prior
authorisation from the Government, which shall
be granted by means of a joint decision of the
Ministers of Finance, Labour and Solidarity.
3 – As regards the day-to-day management of
the integrated services, the respective heads and
accounting officers shall be responsible for the
budget execution operations, being specifically
incumbent on the former the expenditure and
payment authorisations.
4 – The collection of revenue and the payment of
expenditure of the social security system shall be
incumbent on the Social Security Financial
Management Institute, which shall act as the
single cash system of the social security system
in articulation with the State Treasury.
5 - The execution of the social security budget
shall be based on the respective cash flows
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plans, drawn up by Social Security Financial
Management Institute.
(c) Consist in the transfer of amounts between
programmes;
6 – Inflows and outflows of social security funds
shall be made through the Social Security
Financial Management Institute, directly or
through the intermediary of other entities, with
which the cash surpluses and balances are
deposited.
(d) Consist in a change in the revenue budget of
integrated services, of autonomous funds or
services or of the social security, resulting from
changes in the respective expenditure budget,
that fall within the competence of the Assembly
of the Republic;
CHAPTER II
(e) Involve an increase in the respective net
indebtedness limits set out in the State Budget
Law;
Budget amendments
(f) Consist in an increase in the total amount of
expenditure of the social security budget, save
for those expenditure items referring to benefits
that constitute rights of the social security
beneficiaries;
SECTION I
General provisions
(g) Involve transfers of amounts of the social
security budget between different major
functions or between functions, in compliance
with the principle of selective adequacy of the
financing sources, laid down in the Framework
Law of the Social Security System.
Article 49
General regime
1 – Amendments to the State budget shall
comply with the provisions laid down in this
Chapter.
2 - Without prejudice to the foregoing
paragraph, the provisions of the State Budget
Law may lay down the supplementary rules by
which the amendments to the budget in
question must abide.
Article 51
Budget amendments falling within the
competence of the Government
1 – Within the scope of the execution of
budgetary programmes, the Government shall
be responsible for the budget amendments
other than those referred to in the foregoing
Article.
Article 50
Budget amendment laws
1 – The structure and the content of the budget
amendment laws shall comply with the
provisions of Chapter II of Title III, which shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
2 - The Government shall be responsible for the
budget amendments that consist in an increase
in the total amount of expenditure of each
programme approved in Table XV of the State
Budget Law when they result from:
2 - The Government may lay down by means of a
Decree-Law the rules required for the
implementation of the provisions of paragraph 1
above.
(a) Management balances or appropriations of
previous years, the use of which is permitted by
law;
3 - The budget amendment laws shall enter into
force on the day of their publication, save as
otherwise provided in those laws.
(b) Provisional appropriations;
(c) Increase in effective or earmarked own
revenue, entered as public revenue for the same
year;
Article 50-A
(d) Increase in revenue resulting from transfers
from the autonomous funds and services budget
or from the social security budget, except in the
case of transfers of annual balances and of
revenue arising from the social security welfare
system.
Budget amendments falling within the
competence of the Assembly of the Republic
The Assembly of the Republic shall
responsible for budget amendments that:
be
(a) Consist in entries in respect of new
programmes;
(b) Consist in an increase in the total amount of
expenditure of each programme approved in
Table XV of the Budget Law;
3 – Budget amendments made under the
provisions of the foregoing paragraph shall be
included in the report on the execution of the
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budgetary programmes referred to in Article 72A.
legislation, shall be monitored to ckeck the
legality and financial regularity of public revenue
and expenditure, as well as to assess the good
management of public money and other public
assets and the public debt.
4 - (Revoked.)
Article 52
2 – The execution of the State budget shall be
subject to administrative, judicial and political
control.
Publication of budget amendments
Where the mandatory publication in Diário da
República (Official Gazette) of the legal acts that
approve budget amendments cannot be made,
those amendments as well as the tables of the
State Budget Law that were changed accordingly
during the quarter in question, shall be disclosed
on the website of the entity responsible for
monitoring the budget execution:
3 - Budgetary control shall take place before,
concomitantly and after budget execution
operations.
4 – The administrative control shall be incumbent
on the respective service or on the institution
responsible for its execution, on the competent
budget and public accounting services, on
hierarchically superior supervisory authorities
and on the general government control and
inspection services.
(a) By the end of the month following each
quarter, in the case of the first three quarters of
the financial year;
(b) By the end of February, in the case of the
fourth quarter.
5 - The services or institutions responsible for
budget execution and the respective budget and
public accounting services shall prepare,
organise and keep in place internal control
systems and procedures regarding the budget
execution operations, which may involve, where
justified, the recourse to audit firms.
Article 53
Amendments to the revenue budget
(Revoked.)
6 - Judicial control of the State budget execution
shall be incumbent on the Court of Auditors and
shall be made under the terms of the applicable
legislation.
Article 54
Programme-based budget
(Revoked.)
7 - Judicial control of budget execution acts and
the determination of non-financial liability
arising therefrom shall also be incumbent on the
other courts, specifically on the administrative,
tax and judicial courts, within the respective
fields of competence.
Article 55
Integrated services budget
(Revoked.)
8 - The execution of the social security budget
shall be subject to the budgetary control
foreseen for the State budget, of which it is an
integral part.
Article 56
Autonomous funds and services budget
(Revoked.)
Article 59
Article 57
Political control
Social security budget
1 - The Assembly of the Republic shall exercise
political control on the execution of the State
budget and the corresponding political
responsibilities, in accordance with the
provisions laid down in the Constitution, in the
Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the
Republic, in this Law and in other applicable
legislation.
(Revoked.)
CHAPTER III
Budgetary control and financial liability
Article 58
2 – In exercising its control functions regarding
the execution of the State budget, it shall be
incumbent on the Assembly of the Republic,
namely, to discuss and approve the State
Budgetary control
1 - The execution of the State budget, in
accordance with this Law and other applicable
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Accounts and to monitor budget execution, in
accordance with the provisions of this Law.
3 – The Government shall send in a timely
manner to the Assembly of the Republic all the
information enabling it to effectively monitor
and control the execution of the State budget,
specifically reports on:
(a) Information relating to its financial control
functions, to be provided, namely, in the
presence of the President of the Court of
Auditors or of rapporteurs in committee
sessions, namely, parliamentary committees of
inquiry, or through the collaboration of this
court’s support services;
(a) The State budget execution, including the
social security budget execution;
(b) Interim reports on the results of State budget
execution control over the year;
(b) The use of the provisional appropriation;
(c) Any clarification required for the assessment
of the State budget and of the opinion issued on
the General State Accounts.
(c) The consolidated general government budget
execution;
(d) Budget amendments approved by the
Government;
8 - Where appropriate, the Court of Auditors
may send to the Assembly of the Republic the
information obtained by it in the performance of
its budget execution control functions.
(e) Public debt management operations,
recourse to public funds and specific conditions
of public loans entered into under the terms of
the State Budget Law and of the legislation
governing
public
debt
issuance
and
management;
Article 60
Fiscal policy stance
(f) Loans granted and other lending operations
entered into under the terms of the State Budget
Law;
(Revoked.)
Article 61
(g) Personal guarantees granted by the State
under the terms of the State Budget Law and of
the applicable legislation, including a list of the
names of the beneficiaries of State guarantees
and sureties, together with their individual
amounts as well as the upper limit in force;
Assessment of the update of the Stability and
Growth Programme
(Revoked.)
Article 62
(h) Financial flows between Portugal and the
European Union.
Public expenditure control
1 - The expenditure of the bodies referred to in
Article 2 (1) shall be subject to external audit, at
least every eight years, covering the assessment
of the mission and objectives of the body in
question, as well as the economy, effectiveness
and efficiency of the corresponding expenditure.
4 - The information referred to in paragraph 3 (a)
and (b) above shall be sent by the Government
to the Assembly of the Republic, on a monthly
basis, and the other information, on a quarterly
basis; in both cases, information must be sent
within 60 days after the period to which it
relates.
2 – The internal control system and procedures
of budget execution operations referred to in
Article 58 (5) shall be audited within the
operating framework of the Internal Control
System (Sistema de Controlo Interno), in the light
of the respective coordination principles and
bearing in mind the internationally accepted
auditing principles.
5 – The Court of Auditors shall send to the
Assembly of the Republic the final reports on the
performance of its budgetary control functions.
6 - The Assembly of the Republic may request
that the Government, in accordance with the
Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the
Assembly of the Republic, provide any
supplementary information on the execution of
the State budget, in addition to that envisaged in
paragraph 1 above; such information shall be
provided within a maximum of 60 days.
3 - The Government shall inform the Assembly of
the Republic of the audit programmes that it
intends to carry out, on its initiative, in that year,
to comply with the requirements of paragraphs 1
and 2 above, together with the respective terms
of reference.
7 - The Assembly of the Republic may request
from the Court of Auditors:
4 – In addition to the provisions of the foregoing
paragraph, every year, the Assembly of the
Republic shall order two supplementary audits to
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the Government for the purposes envisaged in
paragraph 1 above and shall request the Court of
Auditors to audit two bodies of the Internal
Control System for the purposes envisaged in
paragraph 2.
3 – Preparatory work and progress achieved in
implementing the systematisation by objectives
shall be specifically mentioned when the Multiannual Framework Budgetary Planning referred
to in Article 12-D is presented.
5 – The results of the audits referred to in
paragraphs 3 and 4 above shall be sent to the
Assembly of the Republic within one year,
extendable to 18 months, on duly justified
grounds.
Article 65
Cooperation between control instances
Without prejudice to the respective competences
laid down in the Constitution and by law, the
bodies and services responsible for the internal
and external control of the State budget
execution shall cooperate with each other for a
better performance of their functions.
6 - The Government shall reply within a period of
60 days to the recommendations of the
Assembly of the Republic on the audits referred
to in paragraphs 4 and 5.
Article 63
Internal control systems and procedures
Article 66
The Government shall send to the Assembly of
the Republic, together with the General State
Accounts report, information about the results of
the functioning of the internal control system
and procedures of the budget execution
operations referred to in Article 58 (5), specifying
the respective financial impact.
Cross-checking
1 - The control instances, referred to in Article
58, shall have control powers over any public or
private entities, where these benefit from
subsidies or other types of financial aid granted
through the State budget or where such powers
are required for indirect control or crosschecking of the budget execution.
Article 64
Management by objectives
The budgets and accounts of the bodies referred
to in Article 2 (1) shall be subject to a
supplementary objective-based systematisation,
involving definition of the activities of each body
and their respective cost centres, accounting for all
the resources involved, including capital, with the
aim of basing public expenditure redirection and
control decisions on:
(a) An understanding of the body’s mission,
objectives and strategy
(b) The correct alignment of each activity area with
the objectives
(c) Making those tasked with the activities’
management responsible for achieving the
objectives and for good use of the resources
allocated to them
2 – Cross-checking shall only be made when it is
indispensable and strictly required to control
budget execution and to scrutinise the economic
and financial legality, regularity and accuracy in
the use of public money and other public assets.
Article 67
Reporting obligations of autonomous funds
and services
1 – In order to obtain consolidated information
on the general government as a whole, the
autonomous funds and services shall send to the
Ministry of Finance, under the terms and with the
frequency to be defined in the Decree-Law
governing the budget execution, the following
items:
(a) Complete information on balances of
deposits or other financial investments and
respective remuneration;
(d) Identifying redundant activities in the body’s
value chain and reallocating the resources
employed there fairly
(b) Complete information on financing
operations, namely loans taken up and
repayments made, as well as those foreseen until
the end of each year;
2 – Management by objective shall be introduced
in phases, accompanying the draft State Budget
Law and the General State Accounts for
information purposes, while the law does not
provide otherwise.
(c) Budget execution accounts, including
commitments undertaken, processing and
payments, as well as an updated forecast of the
budget execution for the whole year and the trial
balances with asset classes and third party
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receivables and payables, in the case of public
bodies that prepare accrual-based financial
statements;
Article 70
Liability for budget execution
1 - Political office holders shall be liable in
political, financial, civil and criminal terms for
their actions and omissions in the performance
of their budget execution functions, under the
terms of the Constitution and other applicable
legislation, which typify criminal and financial
offences, as well as the respective sanctions,
depending on whether they are committed
intentionally or not.
(d) Budget execution report;
(e) Data on the stock of the general government
debt and on assets represented by public debt
securities;
(f) Financial statements.
2 – Pursuant to the rules to be established in the
decree-law referred to in the foregoing
paragraph, autonomous funds and services may
be asked to provide information other than the
items referred to in this Article required for the
monitoring
of
the
respective
budget
management.
2 – State employees and agents shall be liable in
disciplinary, financial, civil and criminal terms for
their actions or omissions in the performance of
their functions, when such performance leads to
a breach of the budget execution rules, under
the terms of Article 271 of the Constitution and
other applicable legislation.
Article 67-A
Reporting obligations of other general
government entities
Article 71
Financial liability
The entities referred to in Article 2 (5) shall send
to the Ministry of Finance the information items
set out in the Decree-Law governing the budget
execution.
Without prejudice to the specific procedures
regarding the determination of the other types
of liability referred to in the foregoing Article,
financial liability shall be determined by the
Court of Auditors, under the terms of the
applicable legislation.
Article 68
Reporting obligations of municipalities and
autonomous regions
Article 72
In order to obtain consolidated information on
the general government as a whole,
municipalities and autonomous regions shall
submit to the Ministry of Finance, under the
terms and with the frequency to be defined in
the Decree-Law governing the budget execution,
the following items:
Dispatch of the Court of Auditors’ opinion
To determine financial or criminal liability
relating to the State budget execution, the
Plenary of the Assembly of the Republic may
decide to send to the competent authorities the
opinion of the Court of Auditors on the General
State Accounts, whether they are approved or
not.
(a) Budget and quarterly accounts and annual
accounts;
(b) Information on debt taken on and assets
represented by public debt securities.
Article 72-A
Performance indicators report
The Government shall send to the Assembly of
the Republic, by 31 March, a report on the
execution of the budgetary programmes of the
previous year, including the results achieved and
the resources employed.
Article 69
Reporting obligations of the Social Security
Financial Management Institute
In order to obtain consolidated information on
the general government as a whole, the Social
Security Financial Management Institute shall
send to the Ministry of Finance, under the terms
and with the frequency to be defined in the
Decree-Law governing the budget execution,
information on the execution of the social
security budget.
TITLE IV
Accounts
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Table XXI - revenue and expenditure
consolidated account of autonomous funds and
services;
Article 73
General State Accounts
1 – The Government shall submit to the
Assembly of the Republic the General State
Accounts, including the social security account,
by 30 June of the following year.
Table XXII - revenue and expenditure
consolidated account of the social security
system;
Table XXIII - consolidated State account,
including the consolidated account of the social
security system.
2 - The Assembly of the Republic shall appraise
and approve the General State Accounts,
including the social security account, after the
Court of Auditors has issued its opinion, by the
following 31 December. In the case of nonapproval it shall determine the corresponding
liability, where appropriate.
3 - The following tables refer to the cash flow
situation:
3 – The opinion of the Court of Auditors shall be
accompanied by the responses of the services
and bodies to the questions posed by the
former.
Table XXIV - budgetary collection and payments;
Table XXV – refunds deducted from payments;
Table XXVI – account movements and balances
in the State Treasury;
4 - The General State Accounts shall include a
report, accounting tables and information items.
Table XXVI-A – account movements and
balances in the social security system treasury;
Table XXVII - movements and balances in State
Treasury cash offices;
Article 74
Report
Table XXVII-A - movements and balances in the
social security system cash offices.
The report shall contain the General State
Accounts and an analysis of the main data on:
(a) Trend of the main macroeconomic
aggregates during the budget execution period;
4 - The following tables refer to balance sheet
accounts:
(b) Trend of the financial situation of the State,
including of autonomous funds and services and
social security;
Table XXVIII – investment of proceeds from
loans;
(c) Execution of and amendments to the State
Budget, including the social security budget;
Table XXIX - public debt flows;
(d) Other relevant issues for the submission and
explanation of the General State Accounts.
Table XXX - balance sheet and profit and loss
account of the integrated services sub-sector;
Article 75
Table XXXI - balance sheet and profit and loss
account of autonomous funds and services;
Table XXXII - balance sheet and profit and loss
account of the social security and solidarity
system.
General accounting tables
1 – The General State Accounts are composed of
general accounting tables referring to:
(a) Budget execution;
5 - Table XXXIII refers to the financial flows
account of the State’s integrated services.
(b) Cash flow situation;
(c) Balance sheet accounts;
6 – The submission of tables XXX to XXXI
provided for in paragraph 4 shall only be
mandatory when all the relevant services have
adopted the Public Chart of Accounts. The
balance sheets presented in tables XXX to XXXII
shall make a distinction between the assets of
the services and institutions in question, and the
assets of other services and institutions.
(d) State financial flows account.
2 – The following tables refer to the budget
execution:
Tables I to XIX – in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph 7;
7 – Without prejudice to a Government decision
on the minimum content of general accounting
tables, the structure of tables I to XIX shall be
Table XX - revenue and expenditure accounts of
the integrated services sub-sector;
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identical to that of the corresponding budget
tables. Their contents, as well as of the remaining
tables, shall include, as appropriate, the main
accounting rules used in the execution of
revenue and expenditure, notably those referring
to exceptions to the gross budget rule and the
rule of non-assignment.
(c) Collected revenue, detailed according to
economic classification, compared with income
appropriations and revenue collected in the
previous financial year;
(d) Paid expenditure, detailed according to
economic classification, compared with the
previous financial year;
(e) Paid expenditure, detailed according to
functional classification, compared with the
previous financial year;
Article 76
Information items
(f) Expenditure without earmarked revenue,
compared with the previous financial year;
1 – The General State Accounts shall comprise
information items presented as tables referring
to:
(g) Expenditure with earmarked revenue,
compared with the previous financial year;
(a) The accounts of the integrated services,
autonomous funds and services and social
security system sub-sectors (shared information
items);
(h) Expenditure broken down across the different
budget classifications;
(i) Expenditure developments;
(b) The account of the integrated services subsector;
(j) Statement on the commitments undertaken.
(c) The account of the autonomous funds and
services sub-sector;
4 - The following information items refer to the
account of the autonomous funds and services
sub-sector:
(d) The account of the social security system.
(a) Budgetary amendments;
2 – The information following items shall be
shared by the accounts of the integrated
services, autonomous funds and services and
social security system sub-sectors:
(b) Collected revenue, detailed according to
economic classification, compared with income
appropriations and revenue collected in the
previous financial year;
(a) Identification of personal guarantees granted
by the State, the autonomous funds and services
and the social security system;
(c) Paid expenditure, detailed according to
economic classification, compared with the
previous financial year;
(b) Overall amount of transfers and subsidies to
private entities outside general government;
(d) Paid expenditure, detailed according to
functional classification, compared with the
previous financial year;
(c) Overall amount of compensations paid to
private entities outside general government;
(e) Expenditure broken down across the different
budget classifications;
(d) Claims received through surrender in lieu of
payment or clearing;
(f) Listing of revenue and expenditure of
autonomous funds and services;
(e) Claims subject to consolidation, sale, capital
conversion or any other type of mobilisation;
(g) Statement on the commitments undertaken.
(f) Claims terminated due to the coinciding of
the debtor and the creditor in one person
(créditos extintos por confusão);
5 - The following information items refer to the
account of the social security system:
(g) Overdue claims;
(a) Budgetary amendments;
(h) Claims cancelled pursuant to a court order or
any other reason.
(b) Collected revenue, detailed according to
economic classification, compared with income
appropriations and revenue collected in the
previous financial year;
3 - The following information items refer to the
account of the integrated services sub-sector:
(c) Paid expenditure, detailed according to
economic classification, compared with the
previous financial year;
(a) Budgetary amendments;
(b) Information on budgetary amendments
covered by revenue;
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(d) Paid expenditure, detailed according to
functional classification, compared with the
previous financial year;
Article 79
Account of the Court of Auditors
(e) Expenditure broken down across the different
budget classifications;
Following approval, the account of the Court of
Auditors shall be sent, by 30 April of the
following year, to the Assembly of the Republic
for information and to the Government, for the
purpose of being integrated into the General
State Accounts.
(f) Statement on the commitments undertaken.
6 - Information items relating to budgetary
programmes completed in the year shall indicate
the budgetary expenditure paid for each
programme, measure and project.
Article 80
7 – In addition to the information items provided
for in the foregoing paragraphs, the General
State Accounts shall contain any other items
deemed appropriate for the clear and
comprehensive reporting of public accounts.
Publication
Following approval by the Assembly of the
Republic, the General State Accounts shall be
published in the Official Gazette, under the terms
established by the Government, which shall also
define the scheme of publication of its own
accounts and the information items, as well as
information liable to be published only in
electronic format.
8 - (Revoked.)
9 – The Government shall define by means of a
Decree-Law the minimum content of the
information items.
Article 77
Article 81
Submission of accounts
Provisional accounts
1 – The accounts of integrated services and
autonomous funds and services shall be
submitted by 30 April of the following year, to
the member of Government responsible for
finance and the relevant sectoral Minister.
1 – The Government shall publish provisional
accounts regarding the previous quarters in the
Official Gazette, within 45 days of the end of
each quarter.
2 – The accounts referred to in the foregoing
paragraph shall contain at least the following
items:
2 - Unjustified failure to submit the accounts
referred to in the foregoing paragraph shall be
considered:
(a) Statements corresponding to tables XXVI and
XXVIII;
(a) A financial offence punishable by a fine to the
amount provided for in Article 65 (2), (4) and (5)
of Law No 98/97 of 26 August, as amended by
Law No 35/2007 of 13 August, for which the
heads of the relevant services shall be held
accountable;
(b) Summaries of tables XXVI and XXVIII;
(c) Statement corresponding to table I;
(d) Table with a comparison, detailed to the level
of economic classification items, between
revenue from integrated services as a whole
received and collected in the period under
review and in the same period a year earlier;
(b) Grounds for denial of requests for funds,
credit release, payment authorisation and
transfers relating to the current budget for as
long as the delay is maintained.
(e) Tables of expenditures of the integrated
services sub-sector, detailed by organic
classification Title, indicating the respective
twelfths, payment authorisations and payments;
Article 78
Account of the Assembly of the Republic
(f) Table of the development of the integrated
services sub-sector expenditure, detailed by
organic classification Chapter, comparing the
respective twelfths with those of the
corresponding payment authorisations given in
the period under review;
1 – The report and account of the Assembly of
the Republic shall be prepared by the Board of
Administration by 31 March of the following
year.
2 – The account of the Assembly of the Republic
shall be sent to the Government by 30 April of
the following year, for the purpose of being
integrated into the General State Accounts.
(g) Statements corresponding to tables XXI and
XXII.
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for each sub-sector, for compliance with the
Stability and Growth Programme.
TITLE V
2 – The objectives and measures referred to in
the foregoing paragraph shall be incorporated
into the information item provided for in Article
37 (1) (b), which is a forward-looking
management instrument containing the multiannual financial planning necessary to ensure
budgetary stability.
Budgetary stability
CHAPTER I
Object and scope
Article 82
3 - Stability measures shall include setting
indebtedness ceilings and the amount of
transfers, pursuant to Articles 87 and 88.
Object
1 – This Title contains the specific principles and
procedures to be observed in the approval and
execution of budgets for the general
government as a whole in the field of budgetary
stability.
4 – The report of the draft Budget Law shall
include explanation for the stability measures
and namely explanation for compliance with the
Stability and Growth Programme and its
repercussions on the general government
budget.
2 – Within the scope of budgetary stability, this
Title aims at fulfilling the obligations under
Article 126 of the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union and the Stability and Growth
Pact, until full implementation of the latter, and
enforces the provisions of the final part of Article
2 (6), Article 4 (2) and Article 17 (b).
Article 87
Balanced budget and indebtedness ceilings
1 – In compliance with the budgetary stability
obligations arising from the Stability and Growth
Programme, the Budget Law sets specific ceilings
on the annual indebtedness of the central,
regional and local government, compatible with
the budget balance calculated for general
government as a whole.
Article 83
Scope
This Title shall apply to the State Budget and the
budgets of the regional and local governments,
without prejudice to the principle of budgetary
independence set forth in Article 5 (2).
2 – The indebtedness ceilings referred to in the
foregoing paragraph may be lower than those
that would result from the financial laws
applicable to each sub-sector in particular.
CHAPTER II
Budgetary stability
Article 88
State Budget transfers
Article 84
1 – To ensure strict compliance with the
principles of budgetary stability and mutual
solidarity pursuant to Article 126 of the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union and the
Stability and Growth Pact, the Budget Law may
establish transfers out of the State Budget to an
amount lower than the amount that would result
from the financial laws applicable to each subsector in particular, without prejudice to the
commitments undertaken by the State within the
scope of the solidarity and social security system.
Principles of budgetary stability, mutual
solidarity and budgetary transparency
(Revoked.)
Article 85
General government financial coordination
council
(Revoked.)
2 – The possibility of reduction provided for in
the foregoing paragraph shall always depend on
the occurrence of exceptional circumstances
necessarily required for strict compliance with
the obligations of the Stability and Growth
Programme and the principles of proportionality,
objectivity and mutual solidarity. Furthermore, it
shall require prior hearing of the constitutionally
Article 86
Budgetary stability objectives and measures
1 – Approval and execution of the budgets of
general government bodies as a whole shall be
mandatory in accordance with the budgetary
stability measures to be incorporated into the
Budget Law, in line with duly identified objectives
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and legally competent bodies of the sub-sectors
involved.
pertinent for monitoring compliance with this
law.
Article 89
Article 92
Provision of information
Non-compliance with the rules of this Title
The Government shall provide the Assembly of
the Republic all the information necessary for the
monitoring and surveillance of budget execution
and any other information deemed appropriate
for the establishment in the State Budget Law of
specific ceilings on annual indebtedness of the
central, regional and local government.
1 - Non-compliance with the rules and
procedures provided for in this Title shall always
be a circumstance aggravating the inherent
financial liability.
2 – Non-compliance as referred to in the
foregoing paragraph shall be immediately
reported to the Court of Auditors.
3 – With a view to strict compliance with the
obligations under Article 126 on the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union and the
Stability and Growth Pact in terms of budgetary
stability, State Budget transfers may be
suspended in case of non-compliance with the
reporting requirements set forth in the foregoing
article and until the situation has been duly
resolved.
CHAPTER III
Budgetary stability guarantees
Article 90
Monitoring of compliance with the principle
of budgetary stability
1 – Monitoring of compliance with budgetary
stability requirements shall be carried out by the
competent bodies for budgetary control,
pursuant to this law.
4 - (Revoked.)
TITLE VI
2 – The Government shall provide, in the report
of the draft State Budget, the necessary
information on the implementation of budgetary
stability measures regarding the previous
financial year, as required in the Stability and
Growth Programme.
Final provisions
Article 93
Autonomous funds and services
(Revoked.)
Article 91
Article 94
Reporting obligations
Administrative and financial autonomy of
universities and polytechnic institutes
1 – The Minister of Finance may require that
general government sector bodies provide
detailed and well-grounded information on
observance of the measures and procedures that
they must comply with pursuant to this law.
(Revoked.)
Article 95
2 – Where there is any circumstance in the
budget of any of the general government sector
bodies that may cause a budgetary situation that
is incompatible with observance of the stability
measures referred to in Article 86, the entity in
question shall immediately send the Ministry of
Finance detailed and well-grounded information
on the case, identifying the revenue and
expenditure originating them, and a settlement
proposal.
Complementary legislation
(Revoked.)
Article 96
Repeal
Law No 6/91 of 20 February and all rules, even if
of a specific nature, that conflict with the
provisions of this law are hereby repealed,
without prejudice to the following article.
3 – The Minister of Finance may request Banco
de Portugal as well as credit institutions and
financial companies all the information relating
to any general government body deemed
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Portuguese Public Finance Council
Unofficial translation of the Budget Framework Law
Article 97
Article 98
Transitional provision
Regulations governing zero-based budgeting
1 – Processes to organise, prepare, present,
discuss, vote, amend and implement budgetary
surveillance and responsibility regarding State
Budgets and accounts prior to 2003 shall
continue to be governed by the legislation
referred to in Article 96.
For the purposes of the provisions of Article 21-A
and following Articles, it shall be incumbent on
the Government to define:
(a) The adaptation to the zero-based budgeting
process of the rules as to how the programmes
and measures to be incorporated into the State
Budget and respective structures shall be
defined;
2 – The provisions of the foregoing paragraph
shall also apply during the period in which the
State Budget, including the social security
budget for the current financial year, is in force
and in 2003, given that its validity was extended
pursuant to the legislation referred to in article
96.
(b) The manner of implementation of the zerobased budgeting process in the organisation and
preparation of the autonomous funds and
services budgets, the social security budget, as
well as within the scope of multi-annual public
service programmes in the field of health,
education, social security, justice and public
security.
3 – The provisions of Articles 18 to 20 shall not
be mandatory for the preparation, drafting and
submission of the State Budget for 2003.
4 – The provisions of Title V shall apply to the
budgets for 2003 and be in force until full
implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact.
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