Sometimes things do not turn out as the Riksdag intended. A government agency perhaps needs more money than it had been allocated in the central government budget. In this case, the Government can propose that the central government budget for the current year be changed. This is called a revised budget.
A revised budget contains changes to the central government budget that has already been decided by the Riksdag. The Government submits proposals for changes, and the Riksdag takes the decision.
Photo: Melker Dahlstrand
It is not always the case that the central government budget has to be changed. Sometimes it is possible instead to exceed an appropriation by borrowing from the appropriation for the coming year. An appropriation is a sum of money from the central government budget that has for example been allocated to a government agency and is to be used for various parts of the agency's activities.
Government agencies are obliged to closely follow economic developments during the budget year and tell the Government in good time if it is likely that an appropriation will be exceeded. Once every quarter, the Government takes a position on what should be done to deal with such situations.
Twice a year
If necessary, the Government can propose that the Riksdag amend the central government budget with a revised budget despite the fact that it has already started to apply. Revised budgets usually result in the increase of some appropriations while there is a corresponding decrease of others.
The Government normally submits proposals for a revised budget to the Riksdag twice a year, first in conjunction with the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill in April and then in conjunction with the Budget Bill in September.