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Chapter XVIII: FINANCE
171. Revenue
No tax, rate, duty, levy or imposition shall be raised, levied or imposed by or for the purposes of the Government or any local government authority otherwise than by or under the authority of the law.
172. The Consolidated Fund
All revenues or other moneys raised or received for the purposes of the Government shall, subject to this Constitution and any Act of Parliament, be paid into and form one Fund, to be known as the Consolidated Fund.
173. Withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund
1 No money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except -
(a) to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament consistent with this Constitution; or
(b) where the issue of those moneys has been authorized by an Appropriation Act, a Supplementary Appropriation Act or by an Act made in pursuance of subsection (5) or of sections 178, 179, 180, 181 or 182 or by a resolution of the National Assembly made in accordance with section 177:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any sums mentioned in section 175 (3).
2 Where any moneys are charged by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament upon the Consolidated Fund, they shall be paid out of that Fund by the Minister responsible for Finance to the person or authority to whom the payment is due.
3 No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly.
4 The investment of moneys forming part of the Consolidated Fund by way of deposit with a bank or such other secure investment as may be approved by the National Assembly shall not be regarded as a withdrawal of those moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purposes of this Constitution.
5 Notwithstanding subsection (1), provisions may be made by or under an Act of Parliament authorizing withdrawals to be made from the Consolidated Fund, in such circumstances and to such extent as may be prescribed by or under such Act of Parliament, for the purpose of making allowances to persons or authorities other than the Government:
Provided that -
(a) no moneys shall be advanced from the Consolidated Fund under this subsection save on condition that they are repayable by the person or authority to whom or on behalf of whom they are advanced; and
(b) this section shall not apply with respect to -
(i) the proceeds of Government loans raised for a specific purpose under an Act of Parliament;
(ii) money or interest received by the Government subject to a trust;
(iii) advance drawings and repayments of those drawings, authorized by the National Assembly; and
(iv) such special funds under this Constitution where it is specified that this section should not apply.
174. Expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund
1 There shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund in addition to any grant, remuneration or other moneys so charged by this Constitution or any Act consistent with this Constitution -
(a) all debt charges for which the Government is liable;
(b) all pensions, compensations for loss of office and gratuities for which the Government is liable;
(c) any moneys required to satisfy any judgement, decision or award made or given against the Government by any court or tribunal other than those provided for in the National Compensation Fund; and
(d) all moneys or debt charges charged before the appointed day upon the revenues or public funds of Malawi.
2 For the purposes of this section, "debt charges" includes interest, sinking fund charges, the repayment or amortization of debt, and all expenditure in connexion with the raising of loans on the security of the Consolidated Fund and the service and redemption of debt thereby created.
175. Annual estimates
1 The Minister responsible for Finance shall lay before the National Assembly a statement of the estimated receipts and the expenditure of the Government in respect of that financial year, other than the sums specified in subsection (3).
2 The statement of estimates shall be laid before the National Assembly in respect of every financial year and shall be so laid before the commencement of that financial year.
3 Where the National Assembly does not propose to debate the estimates until after the commencement of the financial year to which they relate, the estimates of the revenue may be laid before the National Assembly at any time before the commencement of such debate.
4 The estimates of expenditure shall show separately -
(a) the total sums required to meet the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund; and
(b) the sums respectively required to meet the heads of other expenditure proposed to be met from the Consolidated Fund.
5 The sums to be shown in the estimates of receipts and expenditure shall not include -
(a) sums representing the proceeds of any loan raised by the Government for a specific purpose and appropriated for that purpose by the Act authorizing the raising of the loan;
(b) sums representing any money or interest on money received by the Government subject to a trust and to be held or applied in accordance with the terms of that trust;
(c) sums representing moneys authorized to be advanced from the Consolidated Fund under an Act of Parliament and repayments thereof; and
(d) sums representing moneys received for or to be applied from any special fund established and regulated by this Constitution or by an Act of Parliament which provides that subsections (1) and (4) shall not apply to that fund.