Front Matter Page
© 2004 International Monetary Fund
November 2004
IMF Country Report No. 04/361
Republic of Belarus: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes—Fiscal Transparency Module
This Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency for the Republic of Belarus was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on November 4, 2004. The views expressed in this document are those of the staff team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the government of the Republic of Belarus or the Executive Board of the IMF.
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Front Matter Page
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)
Fiscal Transparency Module
Prepared by the Fiscal Affairs Department
Approved by Michael Deppler and Teresa Ter-Minassian
November 4, 2004
Executive Summary
This report provides an assessment of fiscal transparency practices in Belarus in relation to the requirements of the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency based on discussions with the authorities and other organizations, the authorities’ response to the IMF fiscal transparency questionnaire, and other sources of information. The IMF Manual on Fiscal Transparency (http://www.imf.org/external/np/fad/trans/manual/) should be consulted for further explanation of the terms and concepts discussed in this report. The assessment is based on the institutional and legal framework at the time of the IMF mission (April 21-30, 2003).1
Belarus meets the requirements of the fiscal transparency code in some important areas. There is a comprehensive legal and administrative framework for management of budget resources. The Budget systems law contains an explicit commitment to an open and transparent budget process, and budget coverage improved considerably with the inclusion of five major extrabudgetary funds into the budget in 1998. Budget execution mechanisms are quite effective, and budget execution reports are of consistent quality. The authorities are planning a number of important reforms to further improve fiscal management.
There are several areas where current practices fall short of the fiscal transparency code and improvements are required. In many of these areas, significant improvements could be realized quickly. There is little reporting on the public enterprise sector. Quasi-fiscal activities are widespread. The government produces considerable amounts of fiscal data and analysis, and more of this information could be made publicly available in a systematic way. Budget estimates are not based on a realistic medium-term macroeconomic framework, and do not reflect important fiscal risks. The budget fails to fully disclose the activities of government agencies, and the fiscal relationships between the central and local government are not fully defined. The Treasury does not yet cover the power ministries. The mechanisms for external assurances of the integrity of the fiscal processes need significant strengthening.
Contents
I. Introduction
II. Description of Practice
A. Clarity of Roles and Responsibilities
B. Public Availability of Information
C. Open Budget Preparation, Execution, and Reporting
D. Assurances of Integrity
III. IMF Staff Commentary
Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Websites
| BSL | Budget Systems Law | |
| COM | Council of Ministers | |
| GFS | Government Finance Statistics | |
| IF | Innovation Funds | |
| MOE | Ministry of Economy | http://www2.main.gov.by/ |
| MOF | Ministry of Finance | http://ncpi.gov.by/minfin/ |
| MOS | Ministry of Statistics | |
| MTL | Ministry of Taxes and Levies | |
| NBB | National Bank of Belarus | http://www.nbrb.by/engl/ |
| NROLA | National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus | |
| Presidential website | http://www.president.gov.by/eng/ | |
| ROSC | Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes | |
| SCC | State Control Committee | |
| SDDS | Special Data Dissemination Standard | |
| SNA | System of National Accounts | |
| SPF | Social Protection Fund |
| BSL | Budget Systems Law | |
| COM | Council of Ministers | |
| GFS | Government Finance Statistics | |
| IF | Innovation Funds | |
| MOE | Ministry of Economy | http://www2.main.gov.by/ |
| MOF | Ministry of Finance | http://ncpi.gov.by/minfin/ |
| MOS | Ministry of Statistics | |
| MTL | Ministry of Taxes and Levies | |
| NBB | National Bank of Belarus | http://www.nbrb.by/engl/ |
| NROLA | National Register of Legal Acts of the Republic of Belarus | |
| Presidential website | http://www.president.gov.by/eng/ | |
| ROSC | Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes | |
| SCC | State Control Committee | |
| SDDS | Special Data Dissemination Standard | |
| SNA | System of National Accounts | |
| SPF | Social Protection Fund |
Belarus: Basic Data
Type of government: Unitary Presidential Republic with bi-cameral Parliament
Fiscal year: Calendar
Population (December 2002): 9.9 million
GDP (2002): Rbl 25,5 trillion ($14,3 billion)
Debt/GDP (2002): 11 percent