CHAPTER 25
PUBLIC FINANCE, BUDGET, AND FISCAL TRANSPARENCY
Article 158 — Constitutional Principles of Public Finance
Public finance shall be governed by legality, transparency, accountability, sustainability, efficiency, and parliamentary control.
All revenues and expenditures of the state shall be included in the public budget unless the Constitution expressly permits otherwise.
No public expenditure may be made except on the basis of law and budget authorization.
Secret funds, off-budget political financing, and hidden public obligations not authorized by law are prohibited, except classified expenditures narrowly permitted by law and subject to special constitutional oversight.
Article 159 — State Budget
The Government shall submit the draft state budget to the Lower House not later than ninety (90) days before the beginning of the fiscal year. The full draft budget, including all supporting annexes and a plain-language public summary intelligible to an ordinary citizen, shall be published on the official digital budget portal on the day of submission.
The budget shall be adopted by Parliament through a public legislative procedure with at least two readings in the Lower House and Upper House review under Article 48 of this Constitution.
The budget law shall include, at minimum: a) projected revenues by category; b) projected expenditures by ministry, program, and line item; c) debt and borrowing plans with maximum authorized amounts; d) transfers to local governments with the legal basis for each transfer; e) reserve and contingency allocations with conditions for their release; f) the guaranteed budgets of independent constitutional bodies of democratic integrity, which shall be presented as separate line items and may not be reduced below the constitutional floor without the required supermajority under Articles 165(4), 166(5), 167(4), and 168a(1)(e).
If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of the fiscal year: a) the previous year’s budget continues to apply on a monthly pro-rata basis — one-twelfth of the previous year’s appropriations per month — until a new budget is adopted; b) the Government may not, under the continuing resolution, introduce new programs, increase any line item above the previous year’s level, or borrow beyond the previous year’s authorized amount; c) the continuing resolution expires automatically upon adoption of the new budget; d) if the budget has not been adopted within ninety (90) days of the beginning of the fiscal year, the Lower House shall, within seven (7) days, place budget adoption as the sole item on its agenda until resolved; the Constitutional Court shall, upon application by any deputy, review whether the failure constitutes a constitutional violation and may order remedial measures.
Article 159a — Parliamentary Budget Procedure
A parliamentary budget committee shall conduct hearings on the draft budget within thirty (30) days of its submission, at which the Minister of Finance and heads of all ministries and constitutional bodies shall appear and answer questions. Failure to appear without a constitutionally valid reason constitutes a breach of constitutional duty.
Each ministry shall submit to the parliamentary budget committee, within fourteen (14) days of the budget’s submission, a performance report showing the degree to which the previous year’s budget achieved its stated objectives.
The full text of any adopted budget amendment shall be published within twenty-four (24) hours of adoption.
Article 160 — Taxation
Taxes, fees, and other compulsory public payments may be established, modified, or abolished only by law.
Taxation shall be based on legality, equality, predictability, proportionality, and public accountability.
No tax may be imposed by executive decree or administrative act unless expressly authorized by law within constitutional limits.
Tax secrecy shall not be used to conceal unlawful favoritism, corruption, or unconstitutional privilege.
Article 161 — Public Debt and Fiscal Responsibility
Public borrowing shall be conducted only under law and subject to parliamentary oversight.
The state shall pursue fiscal responsibility consistent with social justice, public investment, and the long-term sustainability of the Republic.
Constitutional law may establish limits, reporting duties, and procedures for extraordinary borrowing.
Hidden debt, off-book liabilities, and unlawful sovereign guarantees are prohibited.
Article 162 — Public Procurement and State Assets
Public procurement shall be competitive, transparent, non-discriminatory, digitally accessible, and subject to public audit.
State assets, natural resource revenues, public enterprises, and sovereign financial interests shall be administered in the public interest.
Constitutional law shall establish safeguards against corruption, insider favoritism, monopolization, and unlawful privatization or transfer of state assets.
Citizens have the right to access public information on major procurement, concessions, and public-asset management except where narrowly restricted by law and constitutionally justified.
Article 163 — Audit and External Financial Oversight
An independent supreme public audit institution (the Audit Institution) shall be established by this Constitution as a constitutional body of democratic integrity subject to Article 168a of Chapter 26.
The Audit Institution shall: a) audit state revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities, and public programs including those carried out by private entities using public funds; b) review legality, efficiency, and integrity of public financial management; c) report to Parliament and the public, not to the Government; d) remain institutionally independent from all executive bodies and political parties.
The composition, appointment system, and funding guarantees of the Audit Institution shall be established by constitutional law consistent with Article 168a. The head of the Audit Institution shall be elected by the Lower House by a two-thirds majority — one hundred (100) of one hundred fifty (150) deputies — for a single non-renewable term of seven (7) years.
The Audit Institution shall have power to: a) initiate audits on its own motion without requiring government approval; b) access all financial records, accounts, contracts, and data held by public bodies, state enterprises, and recipients of public funds, within fourteen (14) days of a written request; refusal constitutes a constitutional violation and shall be referred to the Constitutional Court; c) summon ministers, officials, and contractors and compel the production of evidence; d) refer evidence of criminal conduct, including corruption, fraud, and misappropriation, to the Prosecutor General within seven (7) days of establishing such evidence; e) issue binding recommendations for corrective action; public bodies shall respond with a written implementation plan within sixty (60) days of receiving a recommendation; the response shall be published.
Audit findings and reports shall be published in full within thirty (30) days of completion. No ministry or official may suppress, delay, or alter an audit report. Redactions are permitted only where strictly required by law to protect national security secrets, with any redaction noted and subject to review by the parliamentary oversight committee.
The Audit Institution shall publish an annual consolidated report on the state of public finances, submitted to Parliament within ninety (90) days of the end of each fiscal year.
Article 163a — Public Debt and Fiscal Sustainability
Public borrowing shall be conducted only under law and subject to parliamentary authorization. Each budget law shall specify the maximum public debt the Government may incur in that fiscal year.
The state shall pursue fiscal responsibility consistent with social investment, long-term sustainability, and the obligation to fund the core minimum social and economic rights under Article 20.
Proposed public borrowing above the annual parliamentary ceiling requires approval by an absolute majority of the Lower House. A separate recorded vote on any emergency borrowing proposal shall be held within ten (10) days of the Government’s application.
Hidden debt, off-book liabilities, guarantees not disclosed in the budget, and sovereign commitments not approved by Parliament are prohibited. The Audit Institution shall conduct an annual audit of contingent liabilities and off-balance-sheet obligations and shall publish its findings.
Article 164 — Financial Transparency and Open Budget Data
The state shall maintain a public digital system of budget and expenditure transparency.
Citizens shall have the right to timely, intelligible, and machine-readable access to public financial information, including: a) budgets; b) execution reports; c) procurement data; d) grants, subsidies, and transfers; e) debt reports; f) party finance disclosures required by this Constitution.
Constitutional law shall provide remedies where access to fiscal information is unlawfully denied.