Finance ministry to begin preparing for Budget 2027-28 from October 12

The Finance Ministry will begin the exercise to prepare the Union Budget for 2027-28 from October 12 amid heightened global uncertainties and rising food and fuel prices.

The Budget for the next financial year is expected to focus on the reform continuation exercise to further accelerate economic growth, along with measures to create jobs and boost domestic demand.

“Pre-budget meetings chaired by Secretary (Expenditure) shall commence from October 12, 2026. Financial Advisers shall ensure that necessary details... are properly entered in UBIS (Union Budget Information System) before/latest by October 6, 2026,” Budget circular 2027-28 issued by the Department of Economic Affairs said.

Hard copies of the data in the specified formats should be submitted for cross-verification, it said.

It will be the fourth Budget of the Modi 3.0 Government and the 10th straight Budget for Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a rare distinction in Indian polity.

The circular further said that pre-budget meetings would commence from October 12, 2026, and continue till mid-November 2026.

The Budget Estimates for 2027-28, as well as Revised Estimates for 2026-27, will be provisionally finalised after completion of pre-Budget meetings, it added.

After detailed discussions in the pre-budget meetings, provisional expenditure ceilings will be indicated to the ministries/departments, it said.

Final expenditure ceilings will be decided by the ministry after factoring in the expenditure priorities and receipt projections of the Government, it said.

The final expenditure figures would be transmitted through and reflected in the UBIS latest by end-December 2026/early-January 2027, it added.

It further said that estimates of central taxes and duties, including surcharges and cesses, should be furnished by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to the Budget Division.