Muscat: The State’s General Budget collected revenues of RO 4,361.3 million by the end of the first half of 2021, comprising a drop of 9.7 per cent compared to the first half of 2020, said the monthly bulletin of the Finance Ministry today.

Net oil revenues hit RO 2,273.4 million, registering a fall of 11.6 per cent compared to June 2020. This is attributed to a drop in oil prices, as well as a decline in average oil production due to the Sultanate’s commitment to the OPEC Plus agreement to cut production.

Gas revenues hit about RO 727 million by the end of June 2021, a drop of RO 14 million compared to the same period in 2020. This is attributed to the decline in the revenues of Oman LNG due to lower sale prices of liquefied natural gas as a result of a drop in global oil prices.

Current revenues grew by 31 per cent compared to the previous period in 2020, driven by investment dividends received from Oman Investment Authority (OIA), which stood at RO 413 million and the collection of about RO 656.2 million as tax and fee revenues.

Revenues from corporate income tax formed 52.4 per cent of the total revenues collected from taxes and fees. Customs tax revenues represented 18 per cent while the rate of tax revenues on goods and services accounted for 5.3 per cent of the total revenues from taxes and fees.

Capital revenues and recoveries dropped during the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. This is attributed to the privatization of part of Oman Electricity Transmission Company that generated revenues of about RO 365.4 million in March 2020.

The monthly bulletin of the Ministry of Finance indicated a decline in the state’s public spending during the first six months of 2021 by 3.3 per cent to reach RO 5,469.9 million compared to the same period in 2020 when it was RO 5,656.8 million. This decline is attributed to the policies and procedures pursued by the government to mitigate the economic repercussions posed by Covid-19, as well as due to rationalizing spending and boosting its efficiency.

Expenditures of civil ministries accounted for 36 percent of the total spending. The interest cost of loans represented 7 per cent.

The fiscal deficit of the budget until mid-2021 stood at about RO 1,108.6 million, which represents 25.1 per cent of the actual deficit in 2020 and 49.5 per cent of the approved deficit in 2021.

Methods of the total received financing, including withdrawals from Oman Investment Authority, stood at about RO 3,378.5 million. The payment of external and local loans amounted to about RO 1,390.5 million.