Article 91 Supplementary and excess grants
Supplementary and excess grants
It allows the government to respond to real needs during the year while making sure Parliament later approves every extra taka spent.
During the financial year, an emergency such as a flood creates demand for spending beyond what a ministry's grant allows, or for a service not in the budget at all. The approved amount is insufficient.
Under Article 91, the President authorises the additional expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, acting on the Prime Minister's advice, so that the government can meet the need without waiting for the next budget. Parliament's approval follows later.
The government lays a supplementary financial statement, or an excess statement where money has already been overspent, before Parliament. Articles 87 to 90 then apply, so the extra spending is debated, voted and appropriated by law.
In plain English
How Article 91 works
Article 91 deals with spending that turns out to be more than, or different from, what the budget approved. If the amount authorised for a service is not enough, if a new service arises that was not in the budget, or if more was spent than granted, the President may authorise the extra spending from the Consolidated Fund. The government must then lay before Parliament a supplementary financial statement or an excess financial statement. The same budget procedures in Articles 87 to 90 then apply to those statements.
In practice
A supplementary budget for the outgoing year is normally presented in June alongside the new budget. In 2025, with Parliament dissolved, the supplementary budget for 2024-25 was issued as the Specification (Supplementary) Ordinance, 2025 under Article 93. As reported in March 2026, the cabinet approved converting it into law so Parliament could regularise the spending. Supplementary statements are usually smaller than the main budget but can be significant in years of crisis.
The text
What Article 91 says
91. If in respect of any financial year it is found –
(a) that the amount authorised to be expended for a particular service for the current financial year is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure upon some new service not included in the annual financial statement for that year; or
(b) that any money has been spent on a service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service for that year;
the President shall have power to authorise expenditure from the Consolidated Fund whether or not it is charged by or under the Constitution upon that Fund and shall cause to be laid before Parliament a supplementary financial statement setting out the estimated amount of the expenditure or, as the case may be, an excess financial statement setting out the amount of the excess, and the provisions of articles 87 to 90 shall (with the necessary adaptations) apply in relation to those statements as they apply in relation to the annual financial statement.
English text as published on the official Laws of Bangladesh website. Where a court has changed the position, the status note above explains it.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 91: frequently asked questions
What is a supplementary budget in Bangladesh?
Under Article 91, when the grant for a service proves insufficient or a new service arises, the President may authorise extra spending, and a supplementary financial statement is laid before Parliament and processed like the annual budget.
What happens if a ministry overspends its grant?
An excess financial statement is laid before Parliament under Article 91, setting out the excess. Parliament then deals with it under Articles 87 to 90, so the overspending is regularised by law.
Sources
- Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Article 91 (Laws of Bangladesh)
- Dhaka Tribune: Two ordinances to be enacted into law (budget ordinances, 17 March 2026)
This guide explains the Constitution for general understanding. It is not legal advice. Constitutional reform proposals under discussion in 2026 are described as proposals until enacted.
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