Even as the preparations for Union Budget 2018-19 is underway; the Ministry of Finance has said that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet with representatives of various stakeholder groups from December 5th 2017.
“Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley will start holding his Pre-Budget Consultation Meetings with different stakeholder Groups w.e.f. 5th Dec,2017. His First Meeting would be with representatives of different Agriculture Groups followed by with representatives of Trade Unions,” the Ministry of Finance tweeted.
According to various media reports, This would be the first budget after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and the same will be reflected in the revenue statement.
The Narendra Modi-led government is set to present Union Budget 2018 on 1st February, just like it did last year. This budget which will be presented by Arun Jaitley will also be the last budget of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
This will be Arun Jaitley’s fifth Budget in a row. As per practice, a vote-on-account or approval for essential government spending for a limited period is taken in the election year and a full-fledged budget is presented by the new government.