UAE Ministry of Finance Issues Financial Circular No. (1) of 2018

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, issued the financial circular No. (1) of 2018 concerning the preparation of the draft of the federal budget for the fiscal year 2019 – currently in the third year of the Ministry of Finance’s Five-Year Plan (2017-2021). The deadline for submitting the draft budget to the Ministry is 19/04/2018 

HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed the Ministry’s commitment to its role in implementing effective financial policies that drive development and sustainability, as well as ensuring the safety of the financial system according to best global practices 

HH continued: “The Ministry of Finance continues its quest to translate the Government’s direction into achievements that benefit the country’s sustainable development. Additionally, the Ministry is dedicated to achieving its strategic objectives, and contribute to the Government’s efforts in supporting the national economy and creating a sustainable knowledge-based economy for generations to com 

HH added: “The directives of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi; and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, have shaped the foundations of government work, paving the way to the UAE’s continuous progress and in line with the country’s Centennial goals, to lead the UAE to rank first globally in different fields, become one of the best governments in the world and make UAE the happiest of all countries.”

HH stressed the necessity of government entities’ commitment to prepare the budget draft in accordance with the zero-based budget principles with the rules and regulations outlined in the financial circular, and with the guidance of the Financial Procedures Manual, and the models and tables attached to the budget draft.

By implementing the principles of the zero-based budgeting system, the Ministry aims to recalculate the costs of activities and programmes of federal government entities to reach the actual cost of the required services without over-spending. This aims to create comparisons of similar services between various government entities, private sectors and other entities, and requires to: identify the activities and services related to the agreed objectives, identify the necessity of activities and services and thoroughly analyse the cos, set the priorities based on the analysis of the cost and benefits according to their contribution in achieving the objectives

The Ministry is ready to provide technical and professional support and answer all the inquiries of federal entities through a dedicated call centre: 600533336 or via the following email address: info@mof.gov.ae .