FinMin unlikely to take Covid-hit FY21 as a base for FY22 Budget

FY20 is being considered for a 'more realistic comparison'

When the Finance Ministry begins work on the 2021-22 Budget, it is unlikely to take ‘one-off’ 2020-21 as the base year for its revenue and expenditure calculations, Business Standard has learnt. Instead, 2019-20 could be the base from which the Budget estimates for next year are calculated.

Officials say the revenue collections and expenditure outlay this year cannot serve as the basis for next year’s Budget estimates due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the nationwide lockdown, and the economic distress.

“This is a special year. This year all our Budget numbers are extraordinary. Revenue will be much lower than what we had budgeted