Budget Bill in Majlis by Early December

President Hassan Rouhani will take the budget for the next fiscal year (starting March 2017) to the parliament in 14 days, the head of Budget and Planning Organization and government spokesman, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, said on Friday.

"The bill will be taken to parliament right on time, unlike prior presidencies," Nobakht was quoted as saying by IRNA. He gave no details about the new budget. Budget and Planning Organization is a government body tasked with drafting the budget.

This year, the government planned to spend 3,354 trillion rials, 15.6% more compared with the prior fiscal. However, financing is an obstacle. In the annual budget for the ongoing year, which started on March 20 2016, the government expected to make 802 trillion rials in the first half of the year. However, the administration earned 589 trillion rials due to lower-than-expected revenues, especially crude oil sales. This trend is likely to continue into the next budget, as recovery remains sluggish and crude oil prices remain depressed, limiting state revenues.