Bahrain 2002 Constitution (reviewed 2017) - Page 6 of 7

Table of Contents

Chapter V. Financial Affairs

Article 107

Public taxes shall only be established, amended and abolished by law, and persons shall only be exempted from paying them wholly or in part in those cases prescribed by law. A person may only be instructed to pay other taxes, duties and costs within the bounds of the law.
The provisions governing the collection of taxes, duties and other public monies, and the procedures for their disbursement, shall be prescribed by law.
The provisions governing the maintenance and management and the terms for the disposition of State property, and the limits within which any part of such property may be assigned shall be prescribed by law.

Article 108

Public loans shall be contracted by law. The State may lend or guarantee a loan by law within the credit limits prescribed for the purpose in the Budget Law.
Local bodies such as municipalities or public institutions may lend, borrow or guarantee a loan in accordance with the laws relevant to them.

Article 109

The financial year shall be prescribed by law.
The Government prepares the draft budget, including the state revenues and expenses, and presents it to the Chamber of Deputies and the Consultative Council at least two months prior to the end of the fiscal year. Following the submission of the draft budget, the financial committees of either Chamber shall meet in a joint session to discuss the draft budget with the Government, following which each committee submits a separate report to its Chamber. The draft budget is presented to the Chamber of Deputies for discussion and then submitted to the Consultative Council for review in accordance with the constitution, and amendments to the draft budget are possible in agreement with the Government.
Discussion of the draft budget is on the basis of the itemization contained therein. A budget may be prepared for two years at the most, and none of the public revenues may be assigned to an expense without a law.
The State general budget shall be promulgated by law.
If the Budget Law is not promulgated before the beginning of the financial year, the previous budget shall be adheres to until the law’s promulgation, and revenue shall be collected and expenditure disbursed in accordance with the laws in force at the end of that year.
Under no circumstances may the maximum estimates of expenditure stated in the Budget Law and laws in amendment thereof be exceeded.

Article 110

Any disbursement which is ex-budget or in excess of the budget estimates must be made by operation of law.

Article 111

Particular sums of money may be allocated to more than one financial year by law if the nature of the disbursement so requires. The approbation for each, as decided by the aforesaid law, shall be tabled in the successive annual budgets of the State.
An exceptional budget running for more than one financial year may also be allocated for the disbursement referred to in the preceding clause.

Article 112

The Budget Law may not contain any wording establishing a new tax, increasing existing tax, or amending an existing law, or avoiding the promulgation of a law on a matter for which the Constitution provides that it shall be regulated by law.

Article 113

The final account of the financial affairs of the State for the year elapsed shall be submitted firstly to the Chamber of Deputies during the five months following the end of the financial year. It shall be approved by a decision rendered by both the Consultative Council and Chamber of Deputies, accompanied by their observations, and shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Article 114

The provisions pertaining to independent public budgets, their appendices, and their final accounts, shall be laid down by law, and they shall be subject to the provisions governing the State budget and its final account. The provisions governing the budgets and final accounts of municipalities and local public institutions shall also be laid down by law.

Article 115

The Government presents to the Chamber of Deputies and the Consultative Council, along with the draft budget, a statement of the financial and economic situation of the state, and of the measures taken to implement the existing budget, and its effects on the proposed budget.

Article 116

A Financial Control Office shall be established by law, and the law shall guarantee its independence. It shall assist the Government and the Chamber of Deputies in controlling the collection of State revenues and the disbursement of its expenditure within the budget limits. The Office shall submit an annual report on its business, with its observations, to both the Government and the Chamber of Deputies.

Article 117

Any commitment to exploit a natural resource or a public utility shall be only by operation of law and for a limited time. The preliminary procedures shall ensure that the search and exploration work are facilitated and that openness and competition are realized.
Any monopoly shall only be awarded by law and for a limited time.