Pr Ie Tih Instead a system of budget twelfths has been applied The budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1st, 1925, is now before the Skoupchtina. Year Revenue Expenditure Balance (in dinars) August 1, 1922-June 30, 1923.... 6,484,017,403 6,125,131,888 + 358,885,515 July 1, 1923-March 31, 1924.... 7,413,811,526 6,375,970,191 4+ 1,037,841,3351 April 1, 1924-Febr. 28, 1925.... 9,845,036,178 9,436,415,524 + 408,620,654 2 April 1, 1925-March 31, 1926 (budget) 11,910,000,000 11,910,000,000 Budget for 1925-1926 The chief items of the proposed Budget and Finance Bill are the following : Revenue Expenditure Customs and duties............. 1,690,000,000 Supreme state administration. . .. 1,076,152,608 Consumption tolls and dues...... 1,310,000,000 Ministry of Justice.............. 279,208,955 i 4 22 Education. lo. hr 749,587,103 Monopolies: .. . iin LULL 2, 468,050,000 » BoRaitn ns 115,164,387 Agio and exchange. ........LLL 163,000,000 2? Interior SNE 606,704,965 Tax on business turnover... .. 225,100,000 Public Health ...... 317,181,777 , ? Foreign Affairs ..... 227,552,209 Railways’... ... Lon Lsn el EE 2. 162,850,000 » Finance .... vn... Dy 767 702.308 Postal savings bank and financia 2 War and Navy...... 2,248,259,366 Institutions)... Lie ULE 15,000,000 2 Construction ....... 474,047,788 Supertax for disabled ........... 140,000,000 5 Communications .... 2,234,578,987 oy oe : 22 Posts and Telegraphs 409,598,192 Maritime administration ........ 70,000,000 9 Agriculture & Waters 277,201,608 Extraordinary supertax of 50 % 2 Forests & Mines.... 359,872,510 andi 30 Thy LL gaia 500,000,000 3 Sommers & Industry 91,681,193 Publi BY ete SA ta # ocial Politics ...... ~~ 459,984,557 iy ie Sra 23 oo » Agrarian Reform .... 75,388,658 €r taxes ... Rar 910,000,000 ” Unification of Laws. . 642,742 State economic institutions .. 1,120,000,000 Budgetary reserves ............. 140,000.000 Grand total.......... 1I,010,000,000 Grand total... i... St.07C.000/000 References: Exposé de M. le Docteur Milan Stoyadinovitch, Ministre des Finances, présenté a la Skoupchtina le 28 mars, 1925, au sujet des douziémes provisoires. Belgrade, édition “Avala”; Sluzhebene Noviie, April 1, 1925, N° 97, “Law on Budget twelfths” (in Serbian); the Near East, June 25, 1925, p. 687. B. — Import and Export Statistics Year Imports Exports Balance (in dinars) 1922... .......... 6.441 .876,000 3,691,166,000 — 2,750,710,000 1923... a. cE 8.509,635.000 8,048,944,000 — 260,792,000 1924............. 8,221,744,000 9,538,774,000 + 1,317,031,000 1925 (1st quarter).. 2,128,396,000 2,273.481,000 + 145,085.000 1. This surplus has been used in the following manner : Under the terms of the Financial Law, surpluses over and above those provided for in budget forecasts, may be used by productive ministries, like the Ministry of Communica- tions, etc., for the purchase of needed equipment and other necessary capital expenditures. The expenditure of 800,000,000 dinars for military equipment needed was authorized by special act of Parliament but no provision was made to cover this expenditure. The Minister of Finances, as need arises, may use the budget surplus for this purpose. Only a part of this surplus, said to be less than one-half of the 800,000,000 dinars, has been used up to the present date for military purposes. Among other uses to which this surplus was put were: construction of railways, repair of rolling stock, for State payment to various hospitals, etc., for investments and purchases for the Ministry of Mines and Forests—especially for state mines. 2. This covers only eleven months of the fiscal year. Final figures for March, 1925 are not yet available. The authorization for the use of budget surpluses as explained under note one above remained in effect for this year. 2C