257. Congress cannot include in budget laws any provisions introducing changes of a legislative or administrative or other nature nor can it reduce or suppress revenues of a permanent character, without at the same time establishing others to take their place, unless the reduction or suppression is the result of a reduction of permanent expenses of like amount; nor can it allot to any of the services that are to be provided for in the annual budget an amount greater than that indicated in the Government’s project. It can create new services or amplify existing ones through the medium of laws.
Every law that creates expenses outside of the Budget, or which involves expenses of that kind in future, must establish, under penalty of nullity, the means of covering them by one of these methods:
(a) Creation of new revenues.
(b) Suppression of prior expenditures.
(c) Definite verification of the surplus by the Tribunal of Accounts.
258. The study and preparation of the annual budgets of the Nation are functions of the Executive Branch; their approval or modification being a function of Congress, within the limits established in the Constitution. In case of peremptory necessity, Congress can resolve on a special budget by means of a law.
The Executive Branch shall submit the proposed annual budget to Congress, through the House of Representatives, 60 days prior to the date on which it is to become effective. The President of the Republic, and particularly the Minister of the Treasury shall be subject to the liability determined by law if the budget reaches Congress after the date above fixed. The House of Representatives must forward the proposed budget to the Senate, with its resolution, 30 days prior to the date on which it is to become effective.
If the general budget is not passed prior to the first day of the fiscal year in which it is to be effective, the one that has been in force shall be understood to be extended, together with the Law of Bases, by quarters. In this case, the Executive Branch can make no other modifications than those derived from expenses already paid, or services or expenses that are not necessary in the new fiscal period.
