Every story on the 2027 budget, grouped from 20 Sri Lankan outlets in English, Sinhala and Tamil.
Story summaries are written by AI from the original reports
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Parliament & votes
Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance approved the Appropriation Bill for 2027 following discussions with Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development officials on October 22.
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Parliament & votes
Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha told Parliament on 22 October 2026 that the government will present a successful, results-oriented, activity-based budget rather than an empty one.
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Parliament & votes
The Committee on Public Finance, chaired by MP Dr Harsha de Silva on 20 October 2026, approved Supplementary Estimate No. 06 of 2026 and a proposal under the Public Debt Management Act No. 33 of 2024.
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Parliament & votes
Sri Lanka's 2027 Budget will be presented in Parliament on 12 November 2026 by the President in his capacity as Finance Minister, with the final vote scheduled for 14 December. The timetable was approved by the Committee on Parliamentary Business, chaired by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, on 25 September. The Appropriation Bill's First Reading is set for 7 October, followed by the Budget Speech (Second Reading) and a seven-day debate from 13 to 20 November, with a vote at 6 p.m. on 20 November. The Committee Stage, debating allocations ministry by ministry, runs for 19 days from 21 November to 14 December, with the Third Reading vote at 6 p.m. on 14 December. During the Second Reading, the Government gets 60% of debate time and the Opposition 40%, a split that reverses during the Committee Stage. Parliament will sit daily, except Sundays and public holidays, with debates from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Parliament & votes
Verité Research said Sri Lanka scored 9 out of 100 for public participation in the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Survey 2025, reflecting too few formal opportunities for citizens to influence how public money is raised, allocated and spent. The survey also gave Sri Lanka 43 for transparency and 56 for oversight. Participation opportunities exist only during Budget formulation and audit: the Finance Ministry invites proposals annually and the National Audit Office accepts public suggestions and complaints, but there are no formal mechanisms during parliamentary approval or implementation. Verité noted that while disclosure has improved since the Public Financial Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, participation arrangements remain weak, and the score has fluctuated from 11 in 2017 to 19 in 2021, 7 in 2023 and 9 in 2025.
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Parliament & votes
The Appropriation Bill for the 2027 financial year has received clearance from the Attorney General. This approval paves the way for its publication in the Government Gazette. Subsequently, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved its presentation to Parliament for final approval.
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Parliament & votes
Sri Lanka is currently debating its Budget 2027, even though the Appropriation Bill has not yet reached Parliament, highlighting that the 'speech is not the law.' The draft Bill, which details the Government’s proposed expenditure allocations for 2027, is scheduled to go before Cabinet on September 14. Following this, it will appear in the Gazette on September 18. The Bill is then set to receive its First Reading in Parliament on October 7.
