SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Council of Representatives on Wednesday passed the country’s federal budget bill for fiscal year 2021, months after disputes between parties over several issues.
A majority of lawmakers approved all articles of the draft federal budget law on Wednesday night.
The legislation set the price of a barrel of oil at $45.
It also voted to approve the article that devaluates the Iraqi dinar, setting the U.S. dollar at 1,450 Iraqi dinars.
Revenues in the draft budget law amounts to more than 11 trillion Iraqi dinars, while expenditures estimated at 129 trillion dinars, according to Iraqi media. The budget has a deficit of 28 trillion dinars.
Lawmakers also approved article 10 and 11, which is related to the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget. The Region’s share is set at 12.67 percent.
Coordinator of the committee of finance Ahmad Safar said the article includes five clauses. The first clause states the entitlements of the Kurdistan Region and the federal government between 2003 and 2020 should be settled.
Another clause estimates the amount of oil production at the Kurdistan Region’s oilfields at 460,000 barrel per day (bpd), Safar added. Erbil is committed to hand over money of 250,000 bpd to Baghdad in the price that SOMO sells Iraq’s oil, according to another clause of article 11.
The fourth section abides the Kurdistan Region to hand over 50 percent of non-oil revenue to Baghdad, he noted. The last clause states that Baghdad and Erbil are committed to implementing article 11.
“Otherwise, it won’t be implemented,” the fifth clause says, according to Safar.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives also decided to dissolve the parliament on October 7 if early elections are held on October 10.
*This story was updated at 11:48 p.m. EBL time
