Press TV -- A senior Iranian official says the government has started examining the budget bill for the 2012-2013 fiscal year and will submit it to the Majlis (parliament) by December.
“Due to the [upcoming] parliamentary elections and that lawmakers are have their hands full, efforts are being made to submit the budget bill to the Majlis as soon as possible,” Iran's Vice-President for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad-Reza Mir-Tajeddini was quoted by IRNA as saying on Saturday.
The 9th Majlis elections will be held on March 2, 2012, when candidates are expected to run for soon to be 310 seat Majlis.
The Iranian government submitted its 513-billion-dollar budget bill for the 2011-2012 fiscal year to the Majlis on February 20, a month before the beginning of the new Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2011).
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's delay in submitting the bill sparked criticism from lawmakers, who said Majlis did not have sufficient time to review all aspects of the bill.
The delay forced the lawmakers to approve a short-term emergency budget for March and April and to review the bill more than two months after the Persian New Year.
