Seeing The State Financial Conditions, Sri Mulyani Considers Opening Automatic Adjustment In 2024

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo; Doc. Antara)

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that she would reopen the budget to Ministries/Institutions (K/L) that were blocked or subject to automatic adjustments in 2024 amounting to IDR 50.14 trillion.

Sri Mulyani said that the automatic adjustment policy would be carried out selectively and would consider opening the block by looking at the state's financial condition.

"There is a note regarding automatic adjustments, which in this case, relaxation will still be carried out selectively, and of course look at the state's financial condition," Sri Mulyani said at a Working Meeting with the Budget Agency (Banggar), Tuesday, July 9.

According to Sri Mulyani, this is in accordance with what is indeed the guide and foundation for the ministry of finance as the state treasurer in managing state finances.

Sri Mulyani explained that previously in the first semester of 2024 there would be an automatic adjustment of 5 percent in K/L spending to be used as a reserve and would be reopened when things became national priorities.

"If there are urgent matters, it could be that the automatic adjustment is opened in order to finance activities that are national priorities and are really important and urgent," he added.

However, Sri Mulyani did not explain in detail the amount of the budget of ministries and institutions that would be reopened.

Previously, the Government again decided to continue the automatic adjustment or backup policy of Ministries/Institutions (KL) to temporarily block the implementation of the 2024 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).

The policy is in accordance with the direction of the President of the Republic of Indonesia in handing over the Budget Implementation List for the 2024 Fiscal Year and taking into account global geopolitical conditions, so it is deemed necessary to continue the Automatic Adjustment policy in the implementation of the 2024 FY State Revenue and Expenditure Budget.

This policy is contained in the Letter of the Minister of Finance Number S-182/MK.02/2023. The automatic adjustment policy for ministry/institution spending for the 2024 fiscal year is set at IDR 50.14 trillion.

Meanwhile, the provisions in the automatic adjustment policy for the 2024 Fiscal Year come from pure rupiah.

Activities that are prioritized for automatic adjustment, as follows, Efficient, non-urgent or delayed goods expenditure, include those from 10 goods expenditure accounts, namely honorarium (521115 and 521213), official travel (5241111, 524113, 524211, and 524219), meeting packages (524114 and 5241119), other operational goods expenditures (521119), and other non-operational goods expenditures (521219).

Second, an efficient capital expenditure, not urgent or deceleration. Third, activities that are currently blocked (recording page IV A DIPA) and are not expected to be fulfilled by the supporting documents until the end of Semester I FY 2024.

The budget that is excluded from the Automatic Adjustment policy for the following activities is social assistance which includes Contribution Assistance Recipients (PBI) for Health Insurance, Family Hope Program, and Basic Food Cards.

Furthermore, spending related to the stages of the General Election, spending related to IKN, spending on payment of Contracts for the Year of the Year, spending on payment of service availability (Availability Payment/AP), spending on the New Autonomy Region (4 Provinces)/New Ministries/Institutions, and Shopping to support increased rice and corn production.

Meanwhile, the mechanism for implementing the Automatic Adjustment Expenditure for K/L FY 2024, as follows: Ministries/Institutions propose Activities/KRO/RO/accounts that will be blocked on page IV A DIPA records in accordance with the Automatic Adjustment amount of each Ministry/Institution as attached and marked by choosing code 9 in the SAKTI application.

Next, the proposal as stated in the letter a above, is carried out through a budget revision mechanism, as regulated in the Minister of Finance Regulation Number 62/PMK.02/2023 concerning Budget Planning, Budget Implementation, and Financial Accounting and Reporting. The proposal letter for the revision of the Automatic Adjusment is submitted to the Director General of Budget no later than January 26, 2024.