Article 14. Finance, Trade and Commerce
- Taxes, fees and other forms of levies shall not be imposed or altered except by law.
- There shall be a Consolidated Fund into which shall be deposited all public monies not allocated to specific purposes by law and from which expenditure of the State shall be met.
- Public money shall not be drawn from the Consolidated Fund except through appropriation in accordance with the law.
- The Government, in the public interest, may raise loans, make grants or guarantee loans in accordance with the law.
- The Government shall exercise proper management of the monetary system and public finance. It shall ensure that the servicing of public debt will not place an undue burden on future generations.
- The Government shall ensure that the cost of recurrent expenditures is met from internal resources of the country.
- A minimum foreign currency reserve that is adequate to meet the cost of not less than one year’s essential import must be maintained.
- The annual budget, with a report on the budget of the previous fiscal year, shall be presented to the National Assembly by the Finance Minister.
- Where the budget has not been approved by the National Assembly before the beginning of the fiscal year, the preceding budget on current expenses shall be applied until the new one is sanctioned. Revenues shall be collected and disbursements made in accordance with the law in force at the end of the preceding year. However, if one or more parts of the new budget have been approved, they shall be put into effect.
- Any expenditure not included in the budget, or in excess of the budget appropriation, as well as the transfer of any fund from one part of the budget to another, shall be made in accordance with the law.
- Funds for more than one fiscal year may be appropriated in accordance with the law if the nature of the expenditure so requires. In such a case, each annual successive budget shall include the funds allocated for that year.
- Parliament shall establish a relief fund and the Druk Gyalpo shall have the prerogative to use this fund for urgent and unforeseen humanitarian relief.
- The State shall make adequate financial provisions for the independent administration of constitutional bodies.
- Unless otherwise provided for under the provisions of this Constitution or any other laws, there shall be free movement of goods and services among all the Dzongkhags.
- Trade and Commerce with foreign nations shall be regulated by law.
- Parliament shall not enact laws that allow monopoly except to safeguard national security.
