MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. The Federation Council (the upper house of the parliament) has approved amendments to the law 'On the federal budget for 2024 and the planned period of 2025 and 2026', which provide for an increase in the Russian budget deficit for 2024, at a plenary meeting. The document was initiated by the Russian government.

The bill amends a number of indicators greenlighted for 2024 (indicators for the planned period of 2025 and 2026 are not changed) that are mainly related to implementation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Address to the Federation Council on February 29, 2024 and separate requests by the Russian president, according to an explanatory note.

The bill proposes to increase the estimate of the federal budget deficit for 2024 to 2.12 trillion rubles ($23.9 bln), or 1.1% of GDP, from the currently approved 1.595 trillion rubles ($18 bln), or 0.9% of GDP.

The income estimate was lowered from 35.065 trillion rubles ($392.5 bln) to 35.062 trillion rubles ($392.4 bln), or 18.3% of GDP. The forecast for additional oil and gas revenues was reduced from 1.821 trillion rubles ($20.3 bln) to 1.053 trillion rubles ($11.7 bln).

Expenses are expected to exceed the indicators approved by law and will amount to 37.182 trillion rubles ($414 bln), or 19.4% of GDP, instead of 36.66 trillion rubles ($408 bln). The total amount of expenses increases by 521.972 billion rubles ($5.9 bln) to the extent of receipt of additional non-oil and gas income, as well as an increase in proceeds from the sale of shares and other forms of participation in capital owned by the Russian Federation.

The upper limit of the state internal debt of the Russian Federation is proposed to be increased to 26.68 trillion rubles ($304.6 bln) from 26.637 trillion rubles ($304.1 bln), while the upper limit of external debt is suggested to be reduced to $63 billion from $64 billion.

The new parameters of the Russian budget are based on the GDP forecast in 2024 in the amount of 191.437 trillion rubles ($2.1 trillion) and inflation of 5.1% (previously 179.956 trillion rubles, or $2.03 trillion, and 4.5%, respectively).

Tax revenues of the federal budget in 2024 are expected at 27.701 trillion rubles ($315 bln), non-tax revenues - at 6.521 trillion rubles ($74.3 bln), while gratuitous receipts - at 839.828 billion rubles ($9.5 bln).

The projected volume of funds of the National Wealth Fund at the end of 2024 will increase from 11.19 trillion rubles ($127 bln) up to 11.51 trillion rubles ($129 bln) (by 319.7 bln rubles, or $3.6 bln) due to exchange rate differences.