Transparency International – Georgia posted information on its official website today accusing the Ministry of Finance of Georgia in publishing inaccurate information on the budget execution and deficit in 2014.
In relation with the aforementioned, Ministry of Finance of Georgia deems it essential to provide competent and precise information to general public:

• Out of the surplus tax revenues received in the last few days of December 2014, 82 MLN GEL were deposited at the tax refund sub-account as envisaged in the Tax Code of Georgia.


• In line with the Budget Code of Georgia, funds deposited at the sub-account are not captured in the budget execution indicator for tax revenues but are rather a balance accumulated at the deposit.

The referred NGO, scrutinizing the budget process should ideally know individual provisions of the Georgian legislation.

• Statement made by Transparency International – Georgia allegedly claiming that “budget under-execution in 2014 was by 82 MLN GEL higher than the officially declared 70.19 MLN GEL, thus totaling to 150 MLN GEL” is illogical to put it mildly, as there is no connection between surplus tax revenues and shortfall in projected expenditures;

• As for the budget deficit indicator, Ministry of Finance stated at number of occasions and international financial institutions confirmed that this indicator was contained within 3% of GDP in 2014.

It is yet another evidence of the fact that information published by Transparency International – Georgia claiming that Ministry of Finance allegedly increased the budget deficit indicator on purpose is merely false. What would incentivize the Ministry of Finance to increase the number when our main goal is to contain the indicator below the threshold?

It is very sad that international community actively cooperating with a non-government sector, including Transparency International – Georgia, may receive such an incompetent report on current developments in the country. In relation with the aforementioned, we demand an immediate and public denunciation of information released by Transparency International – Georgia.