JUAN CARLOS I REY OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following law.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

I

The budgetary consolidation process of the last few years, which has eliminated the deficit in our public accounts, has not only had an invigorating effect on our growth, but has also greatly strengthened our economic fundamentals as evidenced by our current differential behavior, in terms of growth of the Gross Domestic Product and job creation, with the average of the countries of the European Union.

The commitment to budgetary stability is one of the fundamental reasons why the Spanish economy is being able to maintain the path of real convergence with the countries of our environment, even in the low phase of the cycle. Indeed, our per capita income in purchasing power parity has gone from representing in 1995 78% of the Community average to 84% in 2002 according to the latest Eurostat data.

The balance of the budget continues to support, first of all, the macroeconomic stability scenario that ensures a more efficient framework for the development of economic activity; it continues to improve, on the other hand, financing conditions for our economy, generating an important flow of public savings and reducing the expulsion effect on private investment, and finally gives the State's General Budget a considerable margin of manoeuvre to address the context of international uncertainty, given that unlike other countries Spain can today let the automatic stabilisers play freely and avoid the introduction of any pro-cyclical bias in their fiscal policy.

In addition, the exercise of budgetary stability is compatible with the orientation of the budget towards those policies that most favor long-term productivity and growth, such as investment in infrastructure and expenditure on research, development and technological innovation, while ensuring a holistic coverage of social spending and the improvement of essential public services.

The budgetary stability laws have explicitly introduced the budgetary balance in our legal order, ensuring that budgetary stability is, from now on, the permanent scenario of public finances in Spain, both at the state level and at the territorial level. The measure goes beyond the scope of the State and affects the whole of the autonomous communities and local authorities, in order to make the stability of all the administrations responsible, without exception.

This discipline serves as the anchor of the public accounts, and with it the credibility of the economic policy of the government is strengthened. This is the case for the tax cuts undertaken in recent years, which are interpreted by the citizens as permanent and permanent, thus stimulating investment and consumption, and thus economic growth and the creation of employment.

Defined the general framework of budgetary balance, in particular by establishing a spending ceiling for the State-which prevents it from spending more and encourages it to spend better-it was necessary to descend into a microeconomic sphere for apply the guiding principles of the Stability Act to the various components of the budget. In this sense, the aforementioned rule, in its final disposition, imposes on the Government the obligation to forward to the General Courts a draft of the General Budget Law.

These guiding principles, all in line with the general principle of budgetary stability, are three: pluriannuality, transparency and efficiency. Pluriannuality strengthens the budgetary forecast and normalizes the procedure of all public administrations with the stability and growth programmes; transparency is the guarantor of the verification and scrutiny of the compliance with budgetary stability, and finally, efficiency in the allocation and use of public resources should be the reference in the direction of expenditure policies.

The new General Budget Law, which is born out of these basic principles, aims to achieve greater rationalisation of the budgetary process, continuing the path initiated by the laws of budgetary stability, to which develops.

The rationalization is achieved through the confluence of the improvements introduced at the level of systematization, while the law proceeds to the economic and financial management of the state public sector and systematizes its norms of accounting and control, and at the level of efficiency and efficiency, establishing a system of management by objectives, reducing the rigidity in the implementation of the budget appropriations and introducing the principle of responsibility of the institutions managers in the implementation of the budget appropriations. All these measures are in place in the process of modernization of the Public Finance, which is necessary to accompany and strengthen the development of the Spanish economy.

The immediate antecedent of this provision is the recast text of the General Budget Law, approved by the Royal Legislative Decree 1091/1988, of 23 September, which has its origin in Law 11/1977, of 4 January, General Budget, which, with modifications of greater or lesser importance, have assumed during a stage of more than 25 years the frame of reference of the budgetary process, accounting and control of the expenditure of the public sector state.

Although without a doubt, both from the legal and technical perspective, the 1977 General Budget Law and the subsequent recast text constituted a significant step forward and its implementation and implementation were The existence of reasons that manifest the need to proceed to its review and the promulgation of a new norm more adequate to the requirements that today are made to the state public sector in the referent to their capacity to manage the financial resources made available to them.

The General Budget Law is the legal document of reference in the regulation of the financial functioning of the state public sector. Its promulgation arises from the need to improve and extend the existing legislation, the 1977 General Budget Law and the subsequent recast text of 1988, with a view to further rationalisation of the budgetary process, in line with the new conditions that frame the financial activity of the State.

Various reasons have motivated the convenience and opportunity of the new standard. Among the most important are the following:

The move to the norm of the most modern and novel theories and techniques of budgeting, control and accounting in the field of public management, since the technological advance already allows the introduction of these improvements in the information and budgeting procedures to achieve efficient management without the need for guarantees and assurances that the management of public funds necessarily requires.

The correction of the dispersion of budgetary legislation that has occurred following the enactment of the recast text of the 1988 General Budget Law. On the one hand, the Law of Organization and Operation of the General Administration of the State of 1997 assumed the appearance of new forms of institutional organization that did not conform to the forms of organization and control contained in the Law General Budget.

On the other hand, in recent years it has been quite common to use the laws of annual budgets or the laws of "accompaniment" to introduce changes in the general budget and financial area, which have modified the rules and even the principles contained in the recast text.

The enormous development of the process of decentralization in Spain. The governments of the Autonomous Communities and local authorities have assumed new powers granted from the State Administration which have led to financial flows and forms of shared management which have been envisaged and be regulated in the new legal text.

In another order of things, the enormous development that the process of decentralization has taken place in Spain over the last 20 years has to be highlighted. Both the administrations of the autonomous communities and those corresponding to the local authorities have assumed new powers before being exercised by the State Administration, which have originated financial flows between the different Administrations and forms of shared management that have necessarily to be addressed and regulated in the new legal text.

Membership of the European Economic and Monetary Union is another important argument for addressing, through a new law, financial relations with it.

The new financial framework of Social Security makes it convenient to accommodate the new financial standard, consolidating its integration into the General Budget of the State without its autonomy as a legal institution. independent.

But it is perhaps the approval of Law 18/2001 of December 12, General of Budget Stability, which, as already pointed out at the beginning of this explanatory statement, makes it inevitable to draw up a new provision. the legal system of the financial economic regime of the state public sector.

In fact, where the most significant innovations in the regulation applicable to the budget process are introduced, it is in dealing with budgetary programming and the objective of stability.

The multi-annual budgetary scenarios shall be submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Council of Ministers prior to the approval of the draft General Budget Law of the State of each year and, where appropriate, contain the update of the forecasts contained in the budgetary scenarios approved in the previous financial year.

In the multi-annual framework of the budgetary scenarios, the General Budget of the State is set up annually and is also geared towards stability. The law defines the multiannual programmes and the detail of their content (objectives, means, activities, investor processes and monitoring indicators). These multiannual programmes, to be approved by the Minister of each department, shall be forwarded annually to the Ministry of Finance for the preparation of the multiannual budgetary scenarios.

Spending policies become the nuclear element of resource allocations, assessment of management, and achievement of objectives. The budgetary allocations to the expenditure management centres are expected to be carried out taking into account the level of achievement of the objectives in previous years.

Other significant developments in the law are in the easing of investment spending management, which go from linking the article level (two digits) to the chapter level (one digit), and expanding to any type of expenditure for the possibility of acquiring multi-annual expenditure commitments, provided that it has a place in the multi-annual budgetary scenarios, eliminating the assumptions provided for in the current legislation.

In addition, the range of the competent authority to approve budgetary changes, extending the current powers of the ministerial departments and granting powers to the Member States, is generally reduced. presidents or directors of the autonomous bodies, which do not have any competence in the current regulations.

II

Title I of the law begins by establishing, in Chapter I, the scope and organization of the state public sector.

The General Budget Law aims to regulate the budgetary, economic-financial, accounting, intervention and financial control of the state public sector.

With this the General Budget Law in the economic and financial field, the regulation that in matters of organization and functioning of the General Administration of the State and the entities linked or dependent of it, is contained in Law 6/1997 of 14 April.

As a reflection of the principle of universality of the budget, enshrined in Article 134 of the Spanish Constitution, the law makes a complete enumeration of the entities that make up the state public sector, which serves the criteria for majority financing and effective control by the General Administration of the State as well as the various entities dependent or linked to it.

The law refers to the definitions contained in the Law of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State, the General Law of Social Security, the Law of the Patrimony of Public Administrations and the Law of Foundations, with respect to the General Administration of the State, its public bodies, the Gestoras and the Common Services of Social Security, the state mercantile societies and the foundations of the state public sector. With regard to the latter, the second final provision amends Article 45 (1) of Law 50/2002 of 26 December on Foundations, in respect of the requirement that the majority of the members of the board of directors be appointed by the entities of the State public sector, and with respect to the extension of the prior authorization of the Council of Ministers to other assumptions other than the foundation's constitution.

The law also includes in the state public sector entities governed by public law with differentiated legal status, as well as to consortia with other administrations, in which the State's contribution is majority and belongs to is your effective control.

Finally, the law points to the full submission to its provisions of the funds without legal personality with funding in the General Budget of the State, and refers to the bodies with a differentiated allocation in the budget. General, excluding from the application of the law to the General Cortes, constitutionally endowed with budgetary autonomy.

The law serves to establish the regime applicable to the public sector entities to their economic-financial nature, classifying the different entities in three subsectors, the administrative, the sector Business public and the public sector.

The chapter declares the central character of the General Budget Law in the regulation of the economic-financial system of the State public sector, without prejudice to the specialties contained in other special rules and established in Community legislation.

Chapter II deals with the legal system of the State Public Finance, as a holder of rights and obligations of economic content, based on the concept of Public Finance provided for in the Law of 4 January 1977, and ratified by the recast text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1091/1999 of 23 September.

This chapter orders and systematizes the regime contemplated by the previous law.

Thus, it defines the common rules applicable to all the rights of the Public Finance, deals with the particular legal regime of the rights of public nature, reducing from five to four years the limitation period of the and the regime applicable to rights of a private nature.

The law establishes the application of the rules contained in it for the public rights of the State Treasury to the management of the income of public law of the entities of the state public sector not members of the State Public finances, without prejudice to the specialities laid down in the regulatory rules of those entities and in that of the corresponding revenue, and lays down the supplementary nature of the rules contained in the law in respect of the management of the quotas and other revenue from the public right of social security, in the absence of the provisions laid down in the the General Law on Social Security and the special provisions applicable to each of the revenue.

As regards the obligations of the Public Finance, the law reiterates the difference between the legal source of public expenditure and the source of the State's obligations, so that it is not enough for the obligation to be born to the public it is necessary for the Public Finance to be required to result from the execution of the Budgets, from a firm judicial judgment or from legally authorized non-budgetary operations, which is a constitutional requirement derived from the Article 134.1 of the Magna Charter, as laid down in the Constitution of the Constitutional Court in its Judgment number 63/1986, of 21 May, reiterated in Sentences Nos 146/1986 and 13/1992.

It also sets the limitation of obligations in the four years to the same as with rights of a public nature.

III

Title II is devoted to the General Budget of the State and begins by setting out, in Chapter I, the principles of budgetary stability, pluriannuality, transparency and efficiency in the allocation of the budgetary programming, as well as the budgetary management rules submitted to an annual budget which is framed within the limits of a multiannual scenario.

Chapter II contains a novel regulation when dealing with budgetary programming and the objective of stability. In particular, the programming of the activity of the State public sector is embodied in the multi-annual budgetary scenarios, both revenue and expenditure, which must be adjusted to the stability objective for the following three years and to which the General Budget of the State will be adjusted. It also sets out its procedure for drawing up, approving and its content.

Within this section, the multi-annual ministerial programmes and the Management Centres are defined and the allocation of resources is linked in priority to the level of achievement of the objectives in previous years, as specified in Article 31.

The definition of the General Budget of the State is set out in Chapter III, referring to them as a set of rights and obligations of economic content to be settled in the financial year that will be matching the calendar year.

It also simplifies the subjective scope of the budgets for which the previous regulation contained in the Royal Legislative Decree 1091/1988 delimit.

Regulates, likewise, this chapter the procedure for drawing up the budget, the procedure for its referral to the General Cortes and contemplates the supposed extension of the General Budget of the State if its approval within the time limits laid down, also regulating the structure adopted by the budget, both as regards the statements of expenditure and the statements of revenue.

Chapter IV rearranges and systematizes the rules on credit modifications, together with the allocation of powers in the field, in addition to the most important novelty of the role played by the Fund. budgetary implementation contingency to meet non-discretionary needs of a non-discretionary nature and to which certain types of amendments are applied in accordance with the procedure laid down in the law. It also refers, in a separate way, to the peculiarities presented by the autonomous organizations and the Social Security, with respect to the State, and some variations are introduced in the characterization of the assumptions of application of certain changes such as credit additions, transfers and generations.

It is also the case that the specific characteristics of the public entities, state mercantiles and public sector foundations in the public sector are included in a separate chapter. The Commission has been in the process of preparing a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on the implementation of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament. variations in their budgetary allocations.

The last chapter of Title II is devoted to budgetary management, establishing as a general principle the achievement of effectiveness in the achievement of a system of objectives to be established through the preparation of the multiannual programmes. The successive stages of the procedure for the management of public expenditure are described, as well as the designation of expenditure management and payment management powers. Certain aspects of budgetary management, such as the procedure for the freezing of recovery rights, the actions in relation to undue payments and other refunds, as well as the budgetary mechanisms of the Member States, are also envisaged. fixed cash and payment advances to be justified.

IV

Title III, Financial relations with other administrations, provides for financial operations with the European Union, with the autonomous communities and with local authorities.

Chapter I seeks the legal establishment of a permanent and effective framework for the flow of funds between Spain and the European Union.

In line with the above, an authorisation is given in this chapter to the Minister for Economic Affairs to carry out treasury operations which require financial relations with the European Communities, including In all cases, the European Social Fund for the purchase of products, grants and other market intervention financed by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, funds from the European Social Fund for the financing of the projects of the National Institute of Employment, and the provision of the various entities of the State and of the autonomous bodies of the funds from the European Union for the same purpose.

As regards cash advances, the obligation to cancel before the end of the financial year of the exceptional advances resulting from the intermediation of the Banco de España in the payments or its special processing, while advances for the implementation of actions and programmes financed or co-financed by European funds which are pending to be cancelled at the end of the financial year may be cancelled in the following financial year.

On the other hand, it is established in the case of co-financed actions, the reflection in the Budget of State Expenditure of the financing by the General Budget of the European Communities, together with the amount of the funding attributed to the State.

Finally, the promulgation of the General Law of Grants, determines the referral to it with a general character of the reimbursement of aids and of the financial responsibility. In the field of the common agricultural policy and where the European Community does not assume an amount which has previously been anticipated by the various public administrations, it is established that the amount not reimbursed by the Community will affect the the different public administrations in relation to their respective actions.

Chapter II, which regulates financial operations with the autonomous communities, responds to the character of the reference law or general law regulating the financial system of the state public sector of the General Law. Budget, and consequently it contains the general principles of the financial relations with the autonomous communities, which complete the specific regulation of the system of autonomous financing established by other laws, among which highlights Law 21/2001, of December 27.

This chapter also includes rules for the implementation of appropriations in the Expenditure Budget for grants corresponding to non-transferred implementing powers.

Finally, the amendment to Article 57 of Law 21/2001 of 27 December 2001 regulating the fiscal and administrative measures of the new system of financing for autonomous communities and cities should be highlighted. with autonomy status, which affects the advances granted to the autonomous communities to deal with the transitional cash flows.

The last chapter of Title III regulates the essential aspects of financial operations with local authorities, laying down the rules for the budgetary management of appropriations for the financial year. participation in State taxes and compensation of tax benefits in local taxes.

V

Title IV defines and develops the Financial Operations of the Public Treasury over five chapters.

Chapter I, relating to general rules, begins by defining the Public Treasury in the same terms as the recast text, such as the financial resources of the State Public Finance, attributing it as the main functions, inter alia, of the collection of the rights and the payment of the obligations of the State and the payment of the principle of unit of cash.

The State Debt, which consists of all the funds borrowed by the State, can be carried out by different means: public issuance, loan concertation, etc., not by exhaustive means through which it can be performed.

Finally, this first chapter sets out an article to establish the information that, with respect to financial operations, will be provided by the Government and the Minister of Finance to the General Courts.

Chapter II develops the State Debt regulations, establishing in its first section the legal enablement for the creation of debt, determining the way in which the authorized limits of the debt will be computed. variation of your living balance.

On the other hand, it establishes in which section of the budget the appropriations will be enabled to give budgetary cover to the expenses derived from it, as well as the way in which both the income and the expenses of these operations shall be attributed to the said appropriations.

The second section of this chapter develops operations relating to the State Debt, both on its contracting side and on the conduct of financial operations to limit, decrease, or diversify the risk or cost of debt incurred in both national currency and foreign currency.

It also establishes the competences of the different organs of the State Administration involved in the formalization of these operations and finally develops the regulations regarding the emission of values, operations of credit, risk hedging financial operations and other debt transactions, with a view that is more in line with financial actuality.

The third section, designed to develop the Legal Regime of the State Debt in respect of the securities representative of the Debt, regulates the transmission of the same and the prescription of the obligations of the Administration.

Chapter III, on the management of the State Treasury, introduces the annual approval of a Monetary Budget.

This instrument, designed to achieve a proper temporary distribution of payments and to avoid inefficiencies in the distribution and management of liquid availabilities, has its antecedent in the Plan for the Disposition of Funds referred to in Article 77 of the previous General Budget Law, and would integrate the General Administration of the State and its autonomous bodies.

Likewise, it is a novelty that the legal requirement that payments that conform to the Monetary Budget be ordered, as a general criterion and among homogeneous payments, in chronological order of receipt by the Directorate Treasury General and Financial Policy.

In particular, for efficient management of the State Treasury, other different criteria may be applied, including the amount of the operation, budget application or form of payment.

As far as relations with the Banco de España and other credit institutions are concerned, this rule does not substantially alter the provisions of the recast text.

Chapter IV provides for the indebtedness and treasury management of self-employed bodies and public entities.

This chapter covers the borrowing operations of the autonomous agencies, subject to the prior authorization of the State General Budget Law, which will establish the terms and limits of the same.

Finally, Chapter V is dedicated to the granting of endorsements by the General Administration of State, and should be highlighted as an essential novelty in the face of the previous General Budget Law, which does not include the possibility of that the Autonomous Bodies can grant endorsements.

VI

Title V refers to the accounting of the state public sector, setting it up as a system of economic and budgetary information on the activity developed by the member entities.

As a novelty in relation to the recast text of the previous General Budget Law, this text refers expressly to the purpose of the state public sector accounting to show the true image of the estate, the financial situation, the results and the implementation of the budget of each of the entities involved in, among other objectives, providing information for the determination of the costs of public services and facilitate management and decision making.

The indefinition of the various accounting situations in the state public sector is clarified, according to the applicable accounting plan (public, private or adaptation of the General Plan to non-profit entities), listing the entities that are subject to each of the schemes.

As a novelty, it is also worth noting the list of the recipients of the information provided by the accounts of the entities in the State public sector: management and management bodies, political representation and external and internal control.

All of the above, included in Chapter I, under the heading "General rules", must be added to the fact that an explicit enumeration of public accounting principles is to be carried out.

In Chapter II of this Title, which refers to the competences in accounting matters, after establishing the competences of the Minister of Finance, the corresponding development of the corresponding to the General Intervention of the State administration, as a Management and Public Accounting Manager.

Chapter III, relating to "Accounting information", begins by establishing the obligation for all entities in the public sector to formulate annual accounts in accordance with the accounting principles of implementation, within the maximum period of three months from the end of the financial year, by reference to the content to be held by those accounts, on the one hand for the entities to be applied by the public accounting principles; and another for the other entities in the state public sector.

Section 2 of Chapter III refers to the General Account of the State, including its content, its wording and referral to the Court of Auditors and its examination and verification.

A third section is included, as a novelty, under the heading "Information on the objective of stability and financial equilibrium", which includes the obligation of the autonomous communities and local authorities to to provide the necessary information for the measurement of the extent to which the objective of budgetary stability is achieved, as provided for in the Organic Law 5/2001, in the General Law on Budgetary Stability and in its Regulation of development.

Also, the obligation of the General Intervention of the State Administration to monitor compliance with the financial balance as well as the recovery plans arising from its non-compliance is established. in the exercise of the powers of centralization of the accounting information of entities in the state public sector.

Section 4 of Chapter III, called "Periodic Information", includes as new, both the obligation of the General Intervention of the State Administration to publish in the "Official State Gazette" annually a summary of the main states and documents forming the Account of the General Administration of the State, such as those of the entities to apply public accounting principles, as well as those referred to in Article 129, and which do not have the obligation to advertise in the Trade Register, to publish in the "Official State Gazette" annually a summary of the main states and documents that make up their annual accounts.

Chapter IV on the accountability of the Court of Auditors does not make any essential changes to the previous regulation of the procedure for the accountability of the Court of Auditors through the General Intervention of the State administration to which entities in the state public sector are subject.

One of the novelties, of a systematic nature, consists in the exclusion of the regulation of the audit of the annual accounts, which in the previous law was contained in the title of accounting and in the matter referred to the control, and that in this law it is regulated exclusively in the title of control, within the chapter relating to the public audit.

Finally, we highlight the legal regulation of the alleged accountability of state commercial companies and state public sector foundations that are extinguished or cease to have such a condition during the period to which the surrender relates, establishing the obligation to render a partial account to that date by the holder of the entity at the time of surrender.

VII

Title VI regulates the control of the economic-financial activity of the state public sector exercised by the General Intervention of the State Administration.

The regulation contained in this law does not make any essential changes to the regulation contained in the previous General Budget Law, with a focus on the changes made to the previous regulation in a clearer and more systematic exposure of the internal control, integrating in a single title the matter that was dispersed in different titles in the previous law.

Likewise, the control exercised over the entities that make up the Social Security system and that corresponding to the rest of the state public sector is a matter of priority. On the other hand, it regulates in a detailed way, unlike the previous General Budget Law, the control of a later character, distinct from the interventionor function, which is grouped in two modalities with its own substantive: the financial control and the public audit.

Chapter I, concerning general rules, configures the control as an internal control exercised with full autonomy with respect to the authorities and entities whose economic and financial management is controlled, and which has as the verification of the submission of such management to legality, to the principles of sound financial management and to those set out in the aforementioned General Law on Budgetary Stability. Also, and in line with the relevance attributed to objective budgeting, control is also conceived as an additional instrument to ensure its effectiveness.

The modalities, which are the financial function, the permanent financial control and the public audit, the principles of action and the duties and powers of the controlling staff, are set out in this chapter. Finally, the general control reports to be submitted to the Council of Ministers, and the regulatory specialties of the control of the entities that make up the Social Security system.

Chapter II regulates the exercise of the intervention function, establishing its scope and its modalities of exercise, and the assumptions of non-subjection to prior oversight.

As regards the regulation of prior limited taxation, the main innovations are in the legal reflection of certain items of verification that were previously collected in the Council's agreement. Ministers, and in the abolition of the subsequent full audit, thus overcoming the existing conceptual confusion with regard to the nature of the subsequent verification of the aspects not examined in the previous limited audit, which is not part of the the actions of prior audit, given their subsequent exercise and the use of audit techniques, which are covered by the actions of permanent financial control.

Finally, the qualms, the dispute resolution procedure, and the audit omission are regulated in that chapter.

The legal regulation of this last aspect is a novelty, given the regulatory status of the previous regulation, and which is justified by its importance in relation to budgetary discipline and objectives. of the aforementioned General Law on Budgetary Stability.

The allocation of a specific chapter to permanent financial control, which is regarded as an essential instrument for monitoring and monitoring the principle of budgetary stability, and its detailed regulation, also represents a new, taking into account that in the previous General Budget Law, only its scope was regulated, in accordance with current law its concept, content and legal status of the reports derived from its exercise, subject to to an annual plan of permanent financial control, which ensures its planning and systematic.

Finally, the public audit, characterised by its subsequent and non-permanent nature, and co-existing with the exercise of the financial controller, permanent financial control and private audit, is regulated in Chapter IV. of Law 19/1988 of 12 July, of Audit of Accounts, exercised on state mercantile societies, in the cases established by commercial law.

Within the chapter, the modalities of the public audit are regulated, the Annual Plan of Audits in which its annual planning is plasma and the reports resulting from its exercise, the second section being destined to the regulation of the audit of the annual accounts of the entities in the state public sector, and the third section for specific public audits.

VIII

Title VII is dedicated to the liabilities arising from violations of this law that damage or damage State Public Finance or the entities in the state public sector. The subjective scope of the previous regulation, which was limited to the State Public Finance, is therefore extended. This scope is also extended, as they are held accountable to the authorities and personnel at the service of the state public sector entities, in the face of the limitation established by the previous law to the authorities and officials.

The title regulates the alleged infringement, the types of liability, distinguishing between the dole and the fault, and the assumptions of solidarity and the community in the responsibility.

The specific responsibility of the financial controllers and the authorising officers and the procedural arrangements for the liability requirement is also regulated, with the jurisdiction conferred on the Court of Auditors and the corresponding to the Government and the Minister of Finance.

Finally, the legal regime of the reintegrans arising from the responsibility and the previous actions to ensure their demand is contemplated.

TITLE I

From the scope of application and from the State Public Finance

CHAPTER I

Scope and organization of the state public sector

Article 1. Object.

This law aims to regulate the budgetary, economic-financial, accounting, intervention and financial control of the state public sector.

Article 2. State public sector.

1. For the purposes of this law, they are part of the state public sector:

a) The General Administration of the State.

b) The autonomous agencies that are dependent on the General Administration of the State.

c) Business public entities, dependent on the General Administration of the State, or any other public bodies linked to or dependent on it.

(d) The managing entities, common services and mutual occupational accidents and occupational diseases of the Social Security in their public function of collaboration in the management of Social Security.

e) State commercial companies, as defined in the Law on the Heritage of Public Administrations.

f) State public sector foundations, as defined in the Foundations Act.

g) State entities governed by public law other than those referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this paragraph.

(h) Consortia having their own legal personality as referred to in Articles 6 (5) of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Administrative Procedure Common, and 87 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, when one or more of the subjects listed in this article have contributed mostly to the same money, goods or industry, or has engaged, in the time of its constitution, to finance the majority of the said entity and whenever its acts are subjects directly or indirectly to the decision-making power of a State body.

2. This law regulates the budgetary, economic and financial, accounting and control arrangements for the funds lacking in legal personality, the allocation of which is made mainly from the general budget of the State.

3. The bodies with a differentiated allocation in the general budget of the State which, lacking legal personality, are not integrated into the General Administration of the State, are part of the state public sector, regulating their regime. financial-economic by this law, without prejudice to the specialties established in its rules of creation, organization and operation. However, their accounting and control arrangements shall in any event be subject to the rules laid down in those rules, without being applicable in such matters as laid down in this law.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, this law will not apply to the General Courts, which enjoy budgetary autonomy in accordance with the provisions of Article 72 of the Constitution; however, coordination will be maintained. necessary for the elaboration of the Draft State General Budget Law.

Article 3. Administrative, business and foundational public sector.

For the purposes of this law, the state public sector is divided into the following:

1. The administrative public sector, consisting of:

(a) The subjects referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of paragraph 1 and in paragraph 3 of the previous Article.

(b) The entities referred to in paragraph 1 (g) and (h) of the previous Article, which meet either of the following two characteristics:

1. That its principal activity does not consist of the production in the market of goods and services intended for individual or collective consumption, or which carry out operations of redistribution of income and national wealth, in any non-profit case.

2. It is not primarily financed by commercial income, understood as such for the purposes of this law, income, whatever its nature, obtained as a counterpart to the supply of goods or services of services.

2. The business public sector, integrated by:

a) Business public entities.

b) State-owned commercial companies.

(c) The entities referred to in paragraphs (g) and (h) of paragraph 1 of the previous Article not included in the administrative public sector.

3. The founding public sector, made up of state public sector foundations.

Article 4. Applicable legal regime.

1. The economic and financial regime of the state public sector is regulated in this law, without prejudice to the specialties contained in other special rules and established in the Community legislation.

2. In particular, they shall be subject to their specific rules:

a) The state tax system.

(b) The principles and rules that constitute the legal system of the social security system, as well as the establishment, reform and abolition of the system's contributions and benefits.

(c) The general legal status of the state public sector assets, as well as the regulation of special demanios.

(d) The general legal system of financial relations between the state public sector and the autonomous communities and local entities.

e) The general legal regime of local farms.

(f) The basic principles and fundamental rules which constitute the legal system of aid or subsidies granted by entities in the public sector of the State in charge of their budgets or funds European Union.

g) The general regime of contracting entities in the state public sector.

(h) The regime for the contraction of financial obligations and the realization of expenses, in those matters that are not regulated in this law by their specialty.

3. The other rules of administrative law and, failing that, the rules of common law, shall be provided for.

CHAPTER II

From the State Public Finance Scheme

SECTION 1. RIGHTS OF STATE PUBLIC FINANCES

Article 5. Concept and rights of the State Public Finance.

1. The State Public Finance is constituted by the set of rights and obligations of economic content whose ownership corresponds to the General Administration of the State and its autonomous agencies.

2. The rights of the State Public Finance are classified as rights of a public nature and of a private nature.

The public finances of the State Public Finance are the taxes and other rights of economic content whose ownership corresponds to the General Administration of the State and its autonomous agencies that derive from the exercise of administrative powers.

Article 6. Common rules for the rights of the State Public Finance.

1. The Administration of the Rights of the State Public Finance corresponds, according to its ownership, to the Ministry of Finance and the autonomous agencies, without prejudice to the powers that this or other laws attribute to other departments or entities in the state public sector.

2. The management or custody of funds or securities of a public nature may be entrusted to private persons or entities, which shall provide security in cases, amounts and form to be determined in a regulated manner.

Article 7. Limits to which the rights of the State Public Finance are subject.

1. It will not be possible to dispose, tax or lease the economic rights of the State Public Finance outside of the cases regulated by the laws.

2. No exemptions, donations, rebates or moratoriums will be granted in the payment of the rights to the State Public Finance, but in cases and forms that determine the laws, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 16 of this Law.

3. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 10 (2) of this Law, it shall not be possible to judicial or extrajudicial proceedings on the rights of the State Public Finance, nor to submit to arbitration any disputes arising from the The same is true, but by means of a royal decree agreed upon in the Council of Ministers, after the hearing of the full State.

Article 8. Exercise of judicial actions by the State Public Finance.

State Public Finance will be able to exercise any judicial actions that are accurate for the best defense of their rights.

SECTION 2. LEGAL REGIME FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE PUBLIC NATURE OF STATE PUBLIC FINANCES

Article 9. General rules.

1. The public nature rights of the State Public Finance will be regulated by the rules contained in this section and in the special rules applicable to them. In particular, the application of the taxes shall be in accordance with the provisions of the General Tax Law in accordance with its system of sources.

2. Where the self-employed bodies meet with the General Administration of the State, they shall have preference for the recovery of the claims.

In the same way, they will enjoy the credits for the Social Security contributions and the concepts of joint collection and, where appropriate, the surcharges or interests that they carry out.

When credits are made for the General Administration of the State with credits for Social Security contributions and concepts of joint collection, they shall be charged in proportion to their respective amount.

Article 10. Prerogatives corresponding to the public nature of the State Public Finance.

1. Without prejudice to the prerogatives established for each right of a public nature by its regulatory rules, the collection of such rights shall be effected, where appropriate, in accordance with the relevant administrative procedures and shall enjoy the prerogatives established for taxes in the General Tax Law, and those provided for in the General Tax Collection Regulation.

2. The privileged character of the appropriations of the State Public Finance grants the right of abstention in the conforating processes, in whose course, however, it may subscribe to the agreements or conventions provided for in the legislation of the to agree, in accordance with the debtor and with the guarantees that are deemed appropriate, a singular payment conditions, which may not be more favourable to the debtor than those included in the agreement or agreement that put an end to the judicial process. It may also agree to the compensation of such claims in the terms laid down in the rules governing public revenue.

For the subscription and conclusion of the agreements and conventions referred to in the preceding paragraph, authorization shall be required of the competent authority of the State Administration of Tax Administration in the case of claims The management of the collection shall correspond, in accordance with the law or under the agreement, with observance, in this case of the agreed upon.

In the case of claims relating to the Salarial Guarantee Fund, the subscription and conclusion of conventions within the framework of procedures shall require the authorization of the competent body, in accordance with the rules laid down in the regulatory body of the autonomous body.

In the remaining credits of the State Public Finance, the competition belongs to the Minister of Finance, and it is possible to delegate to the organs of the State Administration of Tax Administration.

The procedures will be established to ensure proper coordination in the procedures in which State Public Finance credits with Social Security credits and the rest of the the entities that make up the State public sector, and in those cases where there are cases in which there is a singular execution of judicial or administrative procedures corresponding to those entities.

Article 11. Birth, acquisition and extinction of the public rights of the State Public Finance.

1. The public nature rights of the State Public Finance are acquired and born in accordance with the provisions of the regulatory regulations of each right.

2. The public nature rights of the State Public Finance are extinguished by the causes provided for in the General Tax Law and the other ones provided for in the laws.

Without prejudice to the provisions of this law and the regulatory regulations of every right, the procedure, effects and requirements of the forms of extinction of public rights of the State Public Finance subject to the provisions of the General Tax Law and the General Tax Collection Regulation.

Article 12. Award procedure and suspension of the award procedure.

1. The award of proof of payment of the debts corresponding to the rights of a public nature issued by the competent bodies shall be sufficient to initiate the award procedure and shall have the same executive force that the court judgment to proceed against the goods and rights of the obligors to the payment.

2. The administrative procedures for the award may be suspended in the case of appeals or appeals filed by the interested parties, in the form and with the legal or regulatory requirements established.

3. The award procedure shall be suspended immediately, without the need to provide a guarantee, where the person concerned shows that material, arithmetic or factual error has occurred in the determination of the debt, or that the debt is has been prescribed or has been entered, waived, compensated, deferred or suspended.

4. If, in respect of such proceedings, complaints are lodged with regard to third-party proceedings or for other civil action per person which no liability has for the State Public Finance under its own or transmitted, own or transmitted obligation or management to the appropriations which are the subject of the procedure,

following shall be done:

(a) In the case of third-party cerceria, once the assurance measures have been taken, such procedures shall be suspended only in the part which relates to the goods or rights at issue, this incident on the administrative path as before the court.

When the complaint is denied on the administrative path, the award procedure will be continued, except for documentary justification within the prescribed period of time of the judicial proceedings.

The public administration may agree to suspend the award procedure when the execution may result in damages of impossible or difficult repair. In both cases, the suspension agreement shall lay down the regulatory measures for the insurance of the respective claims.

(b) If the third party is better off, the procedure shall be continued until the goods have been completed and the product obtained shall be entered as a deposit as a result of the third party.

Article 13. Deferral or fractionation of amounts owed to the State Public Finance.

1. The amounts due to the State Public Finance may be deferred or split on the basis of a legal relationship governed by public law, in cases, by the means and through the procedure. established regulentarily.

Such amounts must be guaranteed except in the following cases:

(a) Low value when they are lower than the figures set by the Minister of Finance.

(b) Where the debtor lacks sufficient assets to guarantee the debt and the execution of his assets will substantially affect the maintenance of the productive capacity and the level of employment of the respective economic activity, except that this would cause serious bankruptcy for the interests of the State Public Finance.

2. The deferral and fractionation of the amounts owed to the State Public Finance by the Autonomous Communities and the local corporations will be governed by their specific legislation, which will take into account the necessary reciprocity between administrations.

Article 14. Debt compensation.

1. In cases and with the requirements to be laid down, the public finances in favour of the State Public Finance which are in the process of collecting, in whole or in part, compensation may be extinguished in whole or in part by compensation, both voluntary and executive, with the credits recognised by the debtor in favour of the debtor.

In addition, the debts not covered by the previous paragraph may be compensated for when the regulatory rules for taxes and other public law resources provide.

When a settlement whose amount has been fully or partially entered is overridden and replaced by another, it may be decreased in the amount previously entered.

2. Extinction by offsetting the debts that the Autonomous Communities and local corporations have with the General Administration of the State will be regulated by their specific legislation.

3. The debts owed by the autonomous bodies, the Social Security, and any other public law entities to the General Administration of the State, may be made by way of compensation, in the case of debts due, liquid and required.

This compensation may not affect social security contributions.

In addition, the due, liquid and enforceable debts that state entities governed by public law will be compensable.

4. The laws governing the various revenue from public law may provide for the establishment of current account systems for the purpose of facilitating the clearing and payment of credits and debits against the State Public Finance.

5. In addition, the law shall establish the cases in which the appropriations and debits which a number of subjects shall hold against the State Public Finance may, at the request of the State Treasury, be treated together for the purposes of their compensation.

Article 15. Prescription of the rights of the State Public Finance.

1. Except as established by the laws governing the various resources, the right of State Public Finance shall be prescribed at four years of age:

(a) To recognize or liquidate credits in your favor, by counting the term from the day when the right was able to be exercised.

(b) The recovery of recognised or settled claims, from the date of their notification or, if not required, from their due date.

2. The prescription of the rights of the State Public Finance shall be interrupted in accordance with the provisions of the General Tax Law and shall apply ex officio.

3. The rights of the State Public Finance declared prescribed shall be discharged in the respective accounts, subject to the processing of the appropriate file.

4. The declaration and requirement of the responsibilities to which, where appropriate, the limitation of the prescription of claims by the State Public Finance shall be adjusted to the provisions of the rules governing the accounting liability.

Article 16. Low-level economic rights.

The Minister of Finance may have the non-liquidation or, where appropriate, the cancellation and discharge of all those settlements of which are debts lower than the amount that he or she establishes as insufficient for the coverage the cost of their levy and collection.

Article 17. Interest on late payment.

1. The amounts due to the State Public Finance shall be of late interest from the day following that of its maturity. This paragraph includes the amounts collected through collaborating entities, restricted accounts, settlement offices and other collecting entities on behalf of the State Public Finance that are not paid by those entities. at the Treasury within the time limits.

2. The interest of late payment shall be the result of the application, for each year or period of the periods of calculation, of the legal interest laid down in the Budget Law for those financial years.

3. The provisions of this Article shall be without prejudice to the subject matter of excise duty.

Article 18. Management of rights of public nature of Social Security and of public sector entities not members of the State Public Finance.

1. The management of the other public-law revenues of the state public sector entities, not members of the State Public Finance, shall be subject to the provisions of this section, without prejudice to the specialties established in the legislation. (a) the regulatory authority of such entities and the corresponding revenue.

2. The management of the quotas and other revenue from the public right of social security shall be governed by the provisions of the General Law on Social Security, and by the special provisions applicable to each of the revenue, in accordance with Article 1 (1) of the Treaty. The rules laid down in this section are defective. References made in this section to the Ministry of Finance shall be construed as references to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

SECTION 3. RIGHTS OF THE PRIVATE NATURE OF STATE PUBLIC FINANCES

Article 19. Rights of the private nature of the State Public Finance.

1. The effectiveness of the private rights of the State Public Finance will be carried out in accordance with the rules and procedures of private law.

2. The amounts due to the State Public Finance may be deferred or divided by virtue of a legal relationship of private law, in the cases and under the conditions laid down by the Minister of Finance, for the General administration of the State, and, jointly, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of the Ministry of Education of the autonomous body, for the rest.

SECTION 4. OBLIGATIONS OF STATE PUBLIC FINANCES

Article 20. Sources of the obligations.

The obligations of the State Public Finance are born of the law, of the legal businesses and of the acts or acts that, according to the law, generate them.

Article 21. Enforceability of obligations.

1. The obligations of the State Public Finance are only payable when they result from the execution of the budgets, in accordance with the provisions of this law, of a firm judicial judgment or of non-budgetary operations legally authorized.

2. If such obligations are due to benefits or services, the payment may not be made if the creditor has not fulfilled or guaranteed his or her obligations.

Article 22. Extinction of obligations.

1. The obligations of the State Public Finance are extinguished by the causes mentioned in the Civil Code and in the rest of the legal system.

2. The management of the budgetary appropriations in order to extinguish the obligations of the State Public Finance shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Title II of this Law and provisions for development.

Article 23. Prerogatives.

1. No court or administrative authority may provide for the seizure or dispatch of any order against property and property rights where they are materially affected by a public service or a public service, where their returns or the proceeds of their disposal are legally affected at various purposes, or in the case of securities or securities representing the capital of State companies which carry out public policies or provide services of interest general economic.

2. Compliance with judicial decisions determining obligations under the State Public Finance shall be the responsibility of the administrative body which is competent for the matter, without prejudice to the possibility of calling, where appropriate, other modalities of implementation in accordance with the Constitution and laws.

3. The administrative body responsible for compliance shall agree to the payment from the corresponding credit, in the form and with the limits of the respective budget. If a budgetary modification is necessary for the payment, the corresponding procedure shall be completed within three months of the day of the notification of the judgment.

Article 24. Interest on late payment.

If the Administration does not pay the creditor of the State Public Finance within three months of the day of notification of the judgment or of the recognition of the obligation, it shall pay him the indicated interest. in Article 17 (2) of this Act, on the amount due, since the creditor has, after the expiry of that period, claimed in writing the fulfilment of the obligation.

In tax matters, administrative procurement and forced expropriation will apply the provisions of your specific legislation.

Article 25. Prescription of obligations.

1. Except as provided by special laws, they shall prescribe at four years:

(a) The right to the recognition or liquidation by the State Public Finance of any obligation that had not been requested with the presentation of the supporting documents. The time limit shall be counted from the date on which the service or the determining performance of the obligation was concluded or from the day on which the right was exercised.

(b) The right to demand the payment of obligations already recognised or settled, if it is not claimed by the legitimate creditors or their successors. The time limit shall be counted from the date of notification, recognition or settlement of the respective obligation.

2. With the expressed caveat in favor of special laws, the prescription will be interrupted in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.

3. The obligations under the State Public Finance that have been prescribed shall be low in the respective accounts, subject to the processing of the appropriate file.

TITLE II

From the General Budget of the State

CHAPTER I

Principles and rules for programming and budget management

Article 26. Principles and rules for budgetary programming.

1. Budgetary programming shall be governed by the principles of budgetary stability, pluriannuality, transparency and efficiency in the allocation and use of public resources, in accordance with the provisions of Law 18/2001 of 12 December 2001. General of budgetary stability.

2. The laws and regulations, at the stage of drafting and approval, the administrative acts, contracts and collaboration agreements and any other actions of the subjects that make up the state public sector affecting the public expenditure, they must assess their impact and impact, and be strictly subject to the budgetary resources and the limits of the multiannual budgetary scenarios.

Article 27. Principles and rules for budgetary management.

1. The management of the state public sector is subject to the annual budget regime approved by the General Courts and framed within the limits of a multi-annual scenario.

2. The budgetary appropriations of the General Administration of the State, its self-employed bodies and those of the public sector entities with a limited budget shall be used exclusively for the specific purpose for which they have authorised by the General Budget Law of the State or by amendments made in accordance with this law.

The limiting and binding character of these credits will be the one corresponding to the level of specification with which they appear in those.

3. The resources of the State, those of each of its autonomous agencies and those of the entities belonging to the state public sector with limited budget will be used to satisfy all of their respective obligations, except by law establish their affectation at certain purposes.

4. The rights to be settled and the obligations recognised shall apply to the budgets for their full amount, without the possibility of binding obligations by way of minoring of the rights to be liquidated or already entered, unless the law so permits. express.

The returns of income which are declared to be undue by the competent court or authority and those provided for in the rules governing such income, the reimbursement of the cost of the revenue, are exempted from the foregoing provision. guarantees provided by those administered in order to obtain the precautionary suspension of payment of the budgetary revenue, as soon as the declaration of its origin has become firm, and the contributions to the collection of the taxes in the event of such suspension. legally provided for.

For the purposes of this paragraph, the resulting amount shall be understood as the resulting amount after applying the exemptions and bonuses that are derived.

5. The budget and its amendments shall contain sufficient and adequate information to enable verification of compliance with the principles and rules governing them and the objectives to be achieved.

CHAPTER II

Budget programming and stability objective

Article 28. Multi-annual budgetary scenarios and objective of stability.

1. The multiannual budgetary scenarios in which the State's General Budget will be set up annually, constitute the programming of the activity of the State public sector with a limited budget in which the basic budgetary balances, the expected development of income and resources to be allocated to expenditure policies, in the light of their corresponding strategic objectives and the expenditure commitments already undertaken. The multiannual budgetary scenarios shall determine the limits, for the following three years, which the government action must respect in cases where its decisions have a budgetary impact.

2. The multiannual budgetary scenarios shall be in accordance with the objective of budgetary stability corresponding to the State and the Social Security established in accordance with Article 8 of Law 18/2001 of 12 December 2001. Budgetary stability, referred to in the following three years.

3. The multi-annual budgetary scenarios shall be drawn up by the Ministry of Finance, which shall report to the Council of Ministers prior to the adoption of the draft General Budget Law of the State of each year and, where appropriate, they shall contain the update of the forecasts contained in the budgetary scenarios approved in the previous financial year.

4. The multi-annual budgetary scenarios shall be integrated by a revenue scenario and an expenditure scenario.

The revenue scenario shall take into account the trend effects of the economy, the economic factors that may be estimated and the resulting changes in the rules governing them.

The expenditure scenario shall allocate the available resources in accordance with the priorities established for the implementation of the different expenditure policies, taking into account in any case the obligations arising from the public sector activity which has its maturity in the period to be considered and the expenditure commitments existing at the time of its preparation which may generate obligations due in the period covered by it.

Article 29. Multi-annual ministerial programmes.

1. The multiannual budgetary scenarios shall contain the organic distribution of the available resources and shall be developed in multiannual programmes, covering the following three years, and adjusted to their forecasts and limits, in which the Management centres shall set out the objectives to be achieved and the actions necessary to achieve them as well as the allocations for the budgetary programmes.

2. The multiannual programmes shall be forwarded annually to the Ministry of Finance for the preparation of multiannual budgetary scenarios.

3. The multiannual programme of each ministry shall contain the programmes of all the management centres which are dependent on it and shall be approved by the Minister. The multiannual Social Security Programme shall be drawn up separately by the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs.

4. The multi-annual action programmes of the business public entities, state commercial companies and other public sector entities without a limiting budget, as set out in Article 65 of this Law, shall be integrated, for information purposes, in the multi-annual programmes of the ministries which are functionally dependent.

5. The procedure for drawing up and the structure of multiannual programmes and multiannual programmes shall be drawn up by order of the Minister for Finance, in which the time limit and the form of referral to the Ministry of Finance shall be determined.

6. The multiannual programmes shall establish their content referred to the following:

(a) The multiannual objectives expressed in an objective, clear and measurable way to be achieved in the period, structured by programmes or groups of budgetary programmes.

b) The activity to be performed for the achievement of the objectives.

c) The necessary economic, material and personal resources with specification of the credits which, for the achievement of the annual objectives that these programmes establish, it is proposed to make available to the expenditure responsible for its execution.

d) The real and financial investments to be made.

e) The performance indicators associated with each of the objectives that allow the measurement, monitoring and evaluation of the outcome in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, economy and quality.

7. Multi-annual programmes shall have a content consistent with the sectoral plans and other existing action programmes at the level of each department.

Article 30. Multi-annual programmes of the managing centres.

1. The multiannual programmes of the various expenditure management centres shall be integrated into the multiannual programme of each ministry and shall be drawn up by the holders of the centres concerned and their content shall be adjusted to that laid down for that programme. Article 29 (6) of this Law is a multiannual programme.

2. The procedure for drawing up and the structure of the multiannual programmes of the expenditure management centres shall be established by order of the Minister for Finance.

Article 31. Budgetary allocation and objectives.

1. The General Budget of the State shall be in line with the multiannual budgetary scenarios and shall meet the objectives set out in the multiannual programmes of the various ministerial departments, with In any event, the restrictions which the Government may determine for the financial year to which it relates shall be subject to restrictions in order to comply with the objectives of economic policy.

2. The budgetary allocations to the expenditure management centres shall be carried out taking into account, inter alia, the level of compliance with the objectives in previous years.

The objectives of an instrumental character shall be related to the final objectives for which they are involved.

CHAPTER III

Content, elaboration, and structure

SECTION 1. ST CONTENT AND PRINCIPLES OF SORTING

Article 32. Definition.

The General Budget of the State constitutes the encrypted, joint and systematic expression of the rights and obligations to be liquidated during the financial year by each of the bodies and entities that are part of the public sector. state.

Article 33. Subjective scope and content.

1. The General Budget of the State shall be composed of:

(a) The budgets of the differentiated bodies and the subjects that make up the administrative public sector.

b) The current operating budgets and capital and financial operations budgets of the business and public sector entities in the public sector.

c) The budgets of the funds referred to in Article 2.2 of this Act.

2. The General Budget of the State will determine:

(a) The economic obligations which, at most, may be recognised by the subjects referred to in subparagraph (a) of the previous paragraph.

(b) The rights to be recognized during the corresponding financial year by the entities mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

(c) The expenditure and revenue and the investment and financial operations to be carried out by the entities referred to in subparagraph (b) of the previous paragraph.

d) The objectives to be achieved in the exercise by each of the managers responsible for the programs with the resources assigned to them by the respective budget.

e) The estimation of tax benefits that affect State taxes.

(f) The financial operations of the funds referred to in paragraph (c) of the previous paragraph.

Article 34. Temporary scope.

1. The financial year shall correspond to the calendar year and shall be charged against:

(a) The economic rights settled during the financial year, whatever the period of the financial year.

(b) The economic obligations recognised until the end of December, provided that they correspond to acquisitions, works, services, benefits or, in general, expenditure incurred within the financial year and by the respective credits.

2. By way of derogation from the preceding paragraph, the appropriations in the budget in force at the time of issue of the payment orders shall apply, the obligations resulting from the settlement of arrears in favour of the staff receiving their payment. remuneration from the General Budget of the State as well as those of its origin in court decisions.

3. The holders of the ministerial departments may authorise, after a favourable report by the Directorate-General for Budgets, the allocation to the appropriations for the current year of obligations arising from previous financial years as a result of the of expenditure commitments acquired, in accordance with the law, for which credit is available in the financial year. The decision of the ministerial department shall, in any event, state the reasons for which the allocation to the budget was not made in the year in which the obligation was generated.

In the case of obligations under Social Security, the initiative shall be the responsibility of the directors or presidents of the entities that make up the Social Security system and the authorization shall be the responsibility of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs.

In the field of the National Institute of Health Management, the authorization will be the responsibility of the Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, at the initiative of the director of the entity.

Once the imputation is authorized, it will be sent to the Ministry of Finance's Directorate-General for Budget, for its reason.

4. In the case of obligations of previous years which need to be imputed to a budget and are not included in the assumptions provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the imputation shall require a rule with a law of law which authorizes it.

Article 35. Budget appropriations and programmes.

1. Budget appropriations each of the individual expenditure allocations, which are set out in the budgets of the bodies and entities referred to in Article 33.1 of this Law, made available to the management centres for the coverage of the needs for which they have been approved. Its specification shall be determined, in accordance with the organic, programme and economic grouping, as appropriate in each case, as provided for in Articles 40, 43 and 44 of this Act, without prejudice to the necessary breakdowns for the purposes of the appropriate accounting for its execution.

2. The budgetary programmes of a multiannual nature and under the responsibility of the head of the expenditure management centre consist of the set of expenditure deemed necessary for the development of activities aimed at achieving certain pre-set objectives that may be intended to:

(a) the production of goods and services, (b) the fulfilment of specific obligations or (c) the performance of the other activities entrusted to the expenditure management centres.

3. The activities of horizontal services and the instruments themselves may be set up as support programmes for better management and management of the appropriations necessary for their implementation.

4. An annual budget expenditure programme is the set of appropriations which, in order to achieve the annual objectives set by it, are made available to the manager responsible for its implementation.

These are the annual implementation of the multi-annual budgetary programmes.

The verification of the degree of compliance with a budgetary programme shall be carried out on the basis of the results when these are measurable and identifiable. Where the results are not measurable, the effectiveness of the programme shall be carried out by means of indicators allowing for indirect measurement.

SECTION 2. BUDGET ELABORATION

Article 36. Processing procedure.

1. The annual fixing of the limit of non-financial expenditure to be respected by the budget of the State shall be made with the extension and in the form provided for in Article 8 of Law 18/2001 of 12 December, General Budget Stability.

2. The procedure under which the preparation of the general budget of the State shall be governed shall be established on the order of the Minister of Finance and shall be subject to the following rules:

First. The guidelines for the distribution of expenditure, laying down the criteria for drawing up proposals for budgets and their quantitative limits with the priorities and constraints to be respected, will be determined by the Minister of Hacienda.

To this end, the Committee on Spending Policies will be set up, the composition of which will be determined by the order of the Minister of Finance.

The Commission will respect the adequacy of the criteria for setting priorities and drawing up proposals to the budgetary policy limits and objectives that budgets must meet.

Second. The ministries and other bodies of the State with differentiated appropriations in the general budget of the State shall send to the Ministry of Finance their corresponding budget proposals, adjusted to the limits laid down in the guidelines. set.

Similarly, the various ministries will refer to the Finance Ministry proposals for revenue and expenditure budgets of each of the autonomous agencies and other entities assigned to them.

The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs will send the revenue and expenditure budget proposals of the National Institute of Health Management to the Ministry of Finance, which will form the final preliminary draft and forward it to the Ministry of Finance. Labour and Social Affairs for the incorporation of Social Security.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will send the revenue and expenditure budget proposals of the Institute of Migration and Social Services to the Ministry of Finance, which will form the final preliminary draft. to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for the incorporation of Social Security.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, with the preliminary drafts prepared by the management bodies, common and mutual services of accidents at work and occupational diseases, will form the preliminary draft budget of the Social security, which will be incorporated in the preliminary draft budgets of the National Institute of Health Management and the Institute of Migration and Social Services and will send it to the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministers of Labor and Social Affairs and Finance will raise the draft Social Security Budget to the Government for approval.

Likewise, the ministries will submit proposals containing the budgets of current operations and capital and financial operations of the business public entities, of the state and of the the state public sector foundations which are functionally dependent on each of them, accompanied by the documentation referred to in Article 29 of this Law.

Third. The expenditure budget proposals shall be accompanied, for each programme, by their corresponding annual objectives, in accordance with the respective multiannual programme, within the limits which are achievable with the allocations. intended for each of the programs.

Fourth. In the framework of this procedure, in order of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, the own specifications of the procedure for drawing up the Social Security Budgets will be established.

3. The revenue budget of the General Administration of the State shall be drawn up by the Ministry of Finance, in such a way as to adjust to the allocation of resources of the multiannual programming provided for in Article 29 and to the implementation of the economic policy objectives set by the government for the financial year.

4. The proposals and other documentation necessary for the preparation of the General Budget of the State shall be formulated and processed using the information technology provided by the Ministry of Finance, which shall also fix the deadlines for submission in the order setting out the procedure for drawing up the preliminary draft.

5. It will be up to the Finance Minister to raise the draft of the State General Budget Law to the Government's agreement.

Article 37. Referral to the General Courts.

1. The draft General Budget Law of the State, which is composed of the articles with its annexes and the statements of revenue and expenditure, with the level of specification of appropriations provided for in Articles 40 and 41 of this Law, will be sent to the General Courts before 1 October of the year before which it relates.

2. The draft State General Budget Law will be accompanied by the following additional documentation:

a) The descriptive memories of the spending programs and their annual objectives.

(b) The explanatory notes to the contents of each budget, specifying the main changes they make in relation to the current ones.

(c) An annex to the economic development of the credits, by expense management centers.

(d) An annex, of a multiannual nature, of public investment projects, which shall include their territorial classification.

e) The settlement of the previous year's budgets and an advance in the liquidation of the current financial year.

f) The Social Security accounts and balances of the previous year.

g) The consolidated statements of the budgets.

h) An economic and financial report.

i) A memory of tax benefits.

Article 38. Extension of the General Budget of the State.

1. If the General Budget Law of the State is not approved before the first day of the relevant economic year, the initial budgets for the preceding financial year shall be automatically considered as extended until the approval and publication of the the new ones in the "Official State Gazette".

2. The extension shall not affect the appropriations for expenditure relating to programmes or actions ending in the financial year whose budgets are carried over or for obligations which are extinged therein.

3. The organic structure of the extended budget shall be adjusted, without alteration of the total amount, to the administrative organisation in force in the year in which the budget is to be implemented.

SECTION 3 BUDGET STRUCTURES

Article 39. Structure of state public sector budgets.

The structure of the General Budget of the State and its annexes will be determined, in accordance with the provisions of this law, by the Ministry of Finance, taking into account the organization of the state public sector, the the economic nature of the revenue and expenditure and the objectives and objectives to be achieved.

Article 40. Structure of the states of expenditure of the General Budget of the State.

1. The statements of expenditure of the budgets referred to in Article 33.1. of this law shall be structured according to the following classifications:

(a) The organic classification that will group by sections and services the credits assigned to the different centers of expenditure of the organs with differentiated endowment in the budgets, the General Administration of the State, its autonomous bodies, social security entities and other entities, as appropriate.

b) The classification by programmes, which will allow the management centers to group their credits according to the provisions of Article 35 of this law and to establish, according to the Ministry of Finance, the objectives to be achieved the result of its budgetary management. The structure of programmes shall be in line with the content of the expenditure policies contained in the multiannual programming.

(c) The economic classification, which shall group the appropriations by chapters by separating the current, capital, financial and budgetary implementation contingency fund operations.

In current operations appropriations, staff expenditure shall be distinguished, current expenditure on goods and services, financial expenses and current transfers shall be distinguished.

In capital operations credits will be distinguished, real investments and capital transfers.

The Contingency Fund will collect the envelope to address unforeseen needs in the form set out in Article 15 of Law 18/2001 of December 12, General Budget Stability.

Financial operations credits will be distinguished from financial assets and financial liabilities.

The chapters will be broken down into articles and these, in turn, into concepts that can be divided into subconcepts.

2. Irrespective of the budgetary structure, the appropriations shall be identified functionally in accordance with their purpose, deducted from the programme in which they appear or, exceptionally, of their own nature, in order to have a classification functional of the expense.

Article 41. Structure of income statements.

The income statements of the budgets referred to in Article 33.1. of this law shall be structured according to the organic and economic classifications:

(a) The organic classification shall distinguish the revenue corresponding to the General Administration of the State and those corresponding to each of the autonomous agencies, those of the Social Security and those of other entities, according to proceed.

b) Economic classification shall group income, separating streams, capital flows, and financial operations.

Current income will be distinguished: direct taxes and social contributions, indirect taxes, taxes, public prices and other income, current transfers and property income.

Capital revenues will be distinguished: disposal of real investments and capital transfers.

Financial operations will be distinguished: financial assets and financial liabilities.

The chapters will be broken down into articles and these, in turn, into concepts that can be divided into subconcepts.

CHAPTER IV

Of credits and their modifications

SECTION 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 42. Specialty of credits.

The appropriations for expenditure shall be used exclusively for the specific purpose for which they have been authorised by the Budget Law or to the purpose of the amendments adopted in accordance with this law.

Article 43. Specification of state budgets.

1. In the budget of the State the appropriations shall be specified at the level of the concept, with the exception of appropriations for staff expenditure and current expenditure on goods and services, which shall be specified at the level of Article and actual investments at the level of chapter.

2. However, they shall be specified at the level corresponding to their particular economic classification, the following appropriations:

(a) Those intended for protocolary and representative attention and reserved expenses.

(b) Those declared to be extensible in accordance with Article 54 of this Law.

c) Those who establish nominee grants.

(d) Those which, if applicable, are set out in the Budget Act for each financial year.

e) Extraordinary credits to be granted during the financial year.

Article 44. Specification of the budget of the autonomous bodies and of social security.

1. In the budget of the autonomous bodies, the Social Security and, as the case may be, the other entities in Article 3 (1) of this Law, except those referred to in the previous Article, the appropriations shall be specified at the level of the concept, except those for staff expenditure, current expenditure on goods and services and actual investments, which shall be specified at the level of the chapter.

2. However, they shall be specified at the level corresponding to their particular economic classification, the following appropriations:

(a) Those intended for protocolary and representative attention.

(b) Those declared to be extensible in accordance with Article 54 of this Law.

c) Those who establish nominee grants.

(d) Those which, if applicable, are set out in the Budget Act for each financial year.

e) Extraordinary credits to be granted during the financial year.

3. The Social Security Budget appropriations shall be specified at the level of the group of programmes, except for the appropriations for the protective action in their non-contributory and universal mode, which shall be specified at the level of the programme.

Article 45. Liquid availabilities of the autonomous agencies and other entities in the state public sector.

The Minister of Finance is authorized to declare non-availability of current or capital transfers to entities in the state public sector, when as a result of the existence of sufficient Liquid availabilities may not be necessary for the exercise of their budgeted activity.

Likewise, the Minister of Finance is authorized to require the entry into the Treasury of all or part of these liquid availabilities, with the exception of those from social contributions and collection concepts. where they may not be necessary to finance the exercise of the indicated activity.

When in such entities there are collective organs of administration, the income must be previously agreed upon by them.

Article 46. Limitation of expenditure commitments.

The expense credits are limited. No commitments shall be made for expenditure and no obligations shall be acquired in excess of the amount of the appropriations authorised in the statements of expenditure, the administrative acts and the general provisions being void in full. lower than the law that does not comply with this limitation, without prejudice to the responsibilities governed by Title VII of this Law.

Article 47. Expenditure commitments of a multiannual nature.

1. Commitments on expenditure which may be extended to post-financial years may be purchased, provided that they do not exceed the limits and annuities set out in the following number.

2. The number of exercises to which the expenditure may be applied shall not exceed four. The expenditure charged to each of the subsequent financial years may not exceed the amount resulting from the initial appropriation to which the operation corresponds to the following percentages: in the following immediate financial year, 70%, in the second exercise, 60 percent, and in the third and fourth exercises, 50 percent.

The holds referred to in the additional fourteenth provision of the recast text of the Law on Public Administrations, approved by the Royal Legislative Decree 2/2000 of 16 June, will count for of the limits set by the above percentages.

These limitations shall not apply to commitments arising from the financial burden of debt and leases of buildings, including mixed lease and acquisition contracts.

When there is no initial credit and some expenditure that cannot be delayed until the following financial year and commitments arising from future financial years cannot be delayed, the above percentages shall apply. on the credit to be provided by the credit transfers provided for in Article 51 (a)

In this case, the limits referred to in this section will be computed together.

3. The Government may, in particularly justified cases, agree on the modification of the above percentages, increase the number of annuities or authorise the acquisition of commitments on expenditure to be met in subsequent years. the case that there is no initial credit. To this end, the Minister of Finance, at the initiative of the Ministry concerned, will submit to the Council of Ministers the appropriate proposal, after a report by the Directorate-General for Budgets, which establishes its coherence with the programming to which it is refer to Articles 28 and 29 of this Law.

4. The commitments referred to in this Article shall be specified in the multiannual budgetary scenarios and shall be subject to separate accounting.

Article 48. Acquisitions, deferred payment works and other commitments of a multi-annual nature.

1. The maturity of the obligation to pay the purchase price of acquired immovable property directly whose amount exceeds EUR 6 million may be deferred without, in any event, the initial disbursement to the signature of the deed may be less than 25 percent of the price, and the remainder may be distributed in the following four years within the percentage limits contained in Article 47 of this Law.

2. The procedure described in Article 47 of this Law shall apply in the case of works contracts which are carried out in the form of full payment of the works, as provided for in Article 99.2. of the recast of the Law of Public Administration contracts, approved by the Royal Legislative Decree 2/2000 of 16 June.

Article 49. Timing of credits.

1. The appropriations in the statement of expenditure for each budget may be incurred only in respect of obligations arising from acquisitions, works, services and other services or expenditure in general carried out in the financial year itself, without prejudice to the provisos set out in Article 34 (2) and (3) of this Law.

2. Appropriations for expenditure which, on the last day of the financial year are not affected by the fulfilment of obligations already recognised, shall be cancelled in full, without prejudice to Article 58 of this Act.

Article 50. Budgetary implementation contingency fund.

1. The budget of the State, in order to deal with non-discretionary needs during the financial year, of a non-discretionary nature for which the appropriate appropriation is not to be made in whole or in part, shall include a section under the 'Budget Implementation Contingency Fund' means, in the amount of two per cent of the total expenditure for non-financial operations, intended solely to finance, where appropriate, the following amendments:

(a) The credit extensions covered by Article 54.

(b) Extraordinary appropriations and credit supplements, in accordance with the provisions of Article 55.

(c) Credit additions, in accordance with Article 58.

In no case may the Fund be used to finance modifications to cover expenditure or actions resulting from discretionary decisions of the Administration, which lack budgetary coverage.

2. The implementation of the Contingency Fund will be approved, on the proposal of the Minister of Finance, by agreement of the Council of Ministers prior to the authorization of the respective modifications of credit.

3. The Government will forward to the General Cortes, through the Minister of Finance, a quarterly report on the use of the Fund regulated in this article.

SECTION 2 OF THE CREDIT MODIFICATIONS

Article 51. Modification of the initial credits.

The amount and purpose of the appropriations contained in expenditure budgets may only be modified during the financial year, within the limits and in accordance with the procedure laid down in the following Articles, by:

a) Transfers.

b) Generations.

c) Extensions.

d) Extraordinary credits and credit supplements.

e) Incorporation.

Article 52. Credit transfers.

1. Transfers are transfers of appropriations between appropriations. They can be made between different budget credits even with the creation of new credits, with the following restrictions:

(a) They may not be made from loans for financial operations to the rest of the loans, or from loans for capital operations to loans for current operations.

(b) They may not be made between appropriations of different budget sections.

(c) They shall not minate any extraordinary credits or credits that have been supplemented or extended in the financial year.

This restriction will not affect credits with an extensible character of the entities that make up the Social Security system or when they affect credits in section 06 Public Debt.

(d) In the field of the institutions that make up the Social Security system, no extensible appropriations can be used except to finance other extensible appropriations.

2. The foregoing restrictions shall not affect credit transfers which may be carried out as a result of administrative reorganisations or the transfer of powers to autonomous communities; those resulting from agreements or agreements concluded between collaboration between different ministerial departments, state bodies with differentiated sections in the State Budget or autonomous bodies; those that are carried out to comply with the provisions of Law 16/1985 of 25 June of the Spanish Historical Heritage and those that are carried out from the contingency program.

3. In no case shall transfers be able to create credits for nominee grants unless they are derived from a rule of law or from grants or contributions to other public sector entities.

Article 53. Generations of credit.

1. The generations are modifications that increase the credits as a result of the realization of certain revenues not anticipated or higher than those contemplated in the initial budget.

2. Revenue from the financial year may be given to generations as a result of:

a) State contribution to the self-employed or to institutions with a limited budget, as well as self-employed bodies and entities with a limiting budget and other natural or legal persons to the State or others self-employed bodies or entities with a limited budget, to jointly finance expenditure which is, by its nature, covered by the objectives or objectives assigned to them.

b) Sales of goods and services.

c) Enajenations of quiesced.

d) Loan repayments.

e) Revenue legally affected to perform certain actions.

(f) Revenue from revenue from undue payments made from current budget appropriations.

3. The generation may only be carried out when the corresponding receipts have been made. However, in the case of autonomous bodies, generation as a result of the assumption provided for in subparagraph (a) of the preceding paragraph may be carried out after the recognition of the right by the body or where there is a firm commitment to input, provided that the revenue is provided for in the financial year itself.

4. Where the revenue comes from the sale of goods or services, the generations shall be made only in respect of claims intended to cover expenditure of the same nature as those arising from the acquisition or production of services. the goods in question or the provision of the service.

Where the disposal relates to fixed assets, the generation may only be made in the appropriations corresponding to operations of the same economic nature.

Income from repayment of loans may only give rise to generations in those loans for the granting of new loans.

5. By way of derogation, revenue made in the last quarter of the previous year may be generated by credit in the financial year.

Article 54. Extensible credits.

1. Exceptionally, the conditions for the extension of the appropriations for the payment of pensions of the State's Passive Classes and those intended to meet specific obligations of the respective financial year, derived from rules with a range of law, shall be extended. Tax and duly explicit relate to the state of expenditure of the General Budget of the State and, in its virtue, its amount may be increased to the amount to be attained by the respective obligations.

In addition, they will have the status of extensible loans to meet obligations arising from the Debt of the State and its autonomous agencies, both by interest and amortisation of principal and by related expenses. of the operations of issue, conversion, exchange or redemption of the same.

2. In any event, they are considered to be extensible in the amount resulting from the obligations which are recognised and settled in accordance with the provisions applicable in each case, the appropriations included in the Social Security Budgets which are detailed continuation:

(a) Those intended for the payment of pensions of all kinds; temporary disability benefits, family protection, maternity, and risk during pregnancy, as well as single deliveries and recovery allowances, provided that they are legally or legally established, and their payment by the Social Security and their amount is not grisly compulsory and is objectively determined.

(b) Those intended for the payment of minimum income, mobility and third-person income guarantee allowances provided for in the Social Integration Act for the Disabled, in so far as they have been extended by the State Budget.

(c) Those who support the constitution of income for the payment of pensions.

3. Credit extensions affecting operations of the State budget shall be financed from the Contingency Fund, as provided for in Article 50 of this Act, or with a reduction in other non-financial budget appropriations.

The financing of the credit extensions in the budget of the self-employed bodies may be carried out only from the part of the remaining cash flow at the end of the previous financial year which has not been applied in the the budget of the body or with higher revenues over those initially planned.

In the event that the proposed financing for the modification of the budget of the agency makes it necessary to modify the budget of the State expenditure, both modifications will be agreed by the procedure that is application to that of the State.

The financing of the credit extensions in the Social Security Entities Budget may be carried out from the portion of the treasury balance at the end of the previous financial year which has not been applied in the budget, with higher income on those originally planned or with lower budget appropriations.

4. Appropriations which have been previously granted shall not be extended except in the field of the institutions which comprise the social security system and in section 06 'Public debt' provided that their approval does not reduce the capacity of the financing of the State in the financial year, calculated in the form set out in Article 3 (2) of Law 18/2001 of 12 December 2001, General Budget Stability.

Article 55. Extraordinary credits and state credit supplements.

1. Where expenditure is to be carried out from the State Budget, which cannot be delayed until the following financial year, and there is no adequate or insufficient credit, and no extension of the consignment and its allocation is not possible through the The other figures provided for in Article 51 shall be dealt with in the form of an extraordinary or additional appropriation of the initially envisaged. The funding of these will be done in the following manner:

(a) If the need arises in non-financial operations of the budget, the extraordinary or additional credit shall be financed by means of a reduction in the appropriations of the Contingency Fund or in other non-financial claims appropriate.

b) If the need arises in financial operations of the Budget, it will be financed with Public Debt or with low in other credits of the same nature.

2. The Minister of Finance will propose to the Council of Ministers the referral of a bill to the General Cortes, after the report of the Directorate-General for Budgets and the opinion of the State Council in the following cases:

(a) In the case of extraordinary loans to meet the obligations of previous financial years, whether or not it is financed by means of a low in the Contingency Fund or in other appropriations, or in the case of supplements credit to meet the obligations of previous financial years, where they are to be financed with a low level of other claims.

(b) In the case of extraordinary or additional claims to meet the obligations of the financial year when they are financed with a reduction in other claims.

(c) In the case of extraordinary or supplementary claims affecting financial operations of the Budget.

3. The Council of Ministers will authorise the extraordinary appropriations to meet current financial year obligations, as well as the credit supplements when they are financed with a low in the Contingency Fund.

Article 56. Rules for the extra and extraordinary appropriations of the autonomous bodies.

1. Where the need for extraordinary or additional credit concerns the budget of an autonomous body, it shall be authorised in accordance with the following paragraphs.

2. The financing of special or additional appropriations may be made only from the part of the carryover of cash at the end of the preceding financial year which has not been applied in the budget of the body, or with higher income on those initially planned.

In the event that the proposed financing for the modification of the budget of the agency makes it necessary to modify the budget of State expenditure, both modifications will be agreed jointly, through the the procedure that applies to that of the State.

3. The competence to authorise extra or extra appropriations shall be:

(a) To the Presidents or Directors of the bodies up to a figure of 10% of the corresponding chapter of their initial expenditure budget, where it does not exceed the amount of EUR 500 000, excluding those affecting expenditure of the staff or those referred to in Article 43 (2) of this law, giving account of the agreements to the Minister for which they are dependent and the Minister of Finance.

(b) To the Minister of Finance when, in excess of any of the above limits, 20 percent of the corresponding chapter of his initial expenditure budget is not reached, nor is the amount of 1,000,000 euros exceeded. It shall also be for the authorisation of those who are among the exclusion cases referred to in paragraph (a) provided that the amount of the exclusion scenario does not exceed the limits set out in this paragraph.

c) To the Council of Ministers in the remaining cases.

4. The limits laid down in paragraph 3 above, for the purposes of determining the competence to make such amendments, shall cover all those carried out in the financial year, and shall be independently taken into account as expenditure on staff or the expenditure referred to in Article 43 (2) or on the other expenditure.

The modifications to be financed with an increase in the State's contribution shall not be computed for the determination of those limits.

5. The Minister of Finance will give a quarterly account to the General Cortes of the extraordinary credits and credit supplements dealt with under this article.

Article 57. Extraordinary credits and Social Security credit supplements.

1. Where the need for an extraordinary or additional credit is concerned with the budget of the Social Security institutions, their authorisation shall be processed in accordance with the provisions set out in

following paragraphs.

2. The financing of extraordinary or additional appropriations may be carried out only from the portion of the cash balance at the end of the preceding financial year which has not been applied in the budget of the institution or with higher income on those initially planned.

The competition to authorize extraordinary or supplementary credits will be the responsibility of the Government when its amount exceeds two percent of the initial budget of the Ministry of Finance. the respective Entity and the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, or the Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs when the amendment concerns the budget of the National Institute for Health Management, where the amount does not exceed that percentage.

3. The percentage limits laid down in paragraph 2 above, for the purposes of determining the competence to agree on these amendments, shall cover all those carried out in the financial year for the budget concerned, without that they are computable in their determination, financed with an increase in the State's contribution.

4. The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs will give a quarterly account to the General Cortes of the extraordinary credits and credit supplements granted under this article.

Article 58. Credit additions.

By way of derogation from Article 49, the credit balances of the preceding financial year may be incorporated into the corresponding appropriations for an exercise, in the following cases:

a) When provided by a legal range rule.

(b) Those coming from the generations referred to in Article 53 (2), in paragraphs (a) and (e).

(c) Withholding derivatives for the financing of extraordinary credits or credit supplements, when their payment has been anticipated in accordance with the procedure provided for in this law and the granting laws have been pending approval by Parliament at the end of the financial year.

(d) Those resulting from extraordinary credits and credit supplements that have been granted by law in the last month of the previous financial year.

Credit additions affecting the State budget shall be financed by means of a reduction in the Contingency Fund as provided for in Article 50 of this Act or with a reduction in other operations appropriations. financial.

Credit additions to the Budget of self-employed bodies and Social Security institutions may be made only from the part of the cash-back which at the end of the preceding financial year has not been applied to the body's budget.

In the Social Security budget they may be incorporated into the corresponding appropriations, the remaining amounts resulting from the extraordinary credits and credit supplements authorized in the last month of the previous year.

Article 59. Application of certain modifications to the contingency fund.

To the amendments relating to the payment of the Public Debt, as well as to those that do not reduce the capacity of State financing in the financial year, computed in the form set out in Article 3.2 of Law 18/2001, of 12 December, General Budget Stability, shall not apply to them as set out in Article 16 of that Act, with the exception of the extraordinary appropriations and credit supplements referred to in Article 58,c) above.

Article 60. Treasury advances.

1. By way of exception, the Government, on a proposal from the Minister of Economy, will be able to grant advances of Treasury to meet unpostponed expenses, with the maximum limit in each exercise of one percent of the credits authorized to the State by the State General Budget Law, in the following cases:

(a) When, once the processing of the cases for the granting of extraordinary credits or credit supplements has been initiated, the Council of State has been favourably ruled.

(b) Where a law has been enacted establishing obligations for which the granting of extraordinary credit or credit supplement is required.

2. If the extraordinary credit or the credit supplement to be granted in the State Budget is intended to finance needs raised in the budget of the autonomous agencies, the granting of the advance of the Treasury will entail the authorization to pay for the aforementioned needs through Treasury operations in the agency.

3. If the General Courts do not approve the bill granting the extraordinary credit or the credit supplement, the government, on a proposal from the Minister of Finance, will have the cancellation of the Treasury advance from the credits of the the respective ministerial department or self-governing body, where appropriate, the minoring of which causes less disruption to the public service.

SECTION 3 OF THE POWERS IN THE FIELD OF CREDIT MODIFICATIONS

Article 61. Powers of the Government.

It is up to the Government, on the proposal of the Minister of Finance and on the initiative of the ministers concerned:

a) Authorize transfers between different budget sections as a result of administrative reorganizations.

(b) Authorising, in respect of the budget of the autonomous bodies, the amendments referred to in Article 56 (3) (c) of this law.

(c) Authorizing, in respect of the Social Security budget, the amendments reserved to the Government in Article 57 (2) of this Law.

(d) Authorise the extraordinary and supplementary appropriations referred to in Article 55 (3

.

Article 62. Powers of the Minister of Finance.

Corresponds to the Minister of Finance:

1. Authorize the following budgetary modifications:

(a) Non-reserved transfers to the competence of the Council of Ministers which, in accordance with Article 63, cannot be directly agreed by the holders of the departments concerned.

(b) The generations provided for in Article 53 (2) (c) and those which correspond to the State Budget in the cases defined in paragraphs (b) and (e) of the same paragraph, even if the revenue is would have performed in the last quarter of the previous year.

(c) The additions of the remaining regulated in Article 58.

(d) The credit extensions provided for in Article 54.1.

(e) The provisions of Article 56 (3) (b), in respect of the budget of the self-employed bodies.

2. To agree or to refuse budgetary changes, in the case of cases of jurisdiction of the holders of the ministries and autonomous bodies, where there is a negative report of the Delegated Intervention and the holder of the competition refers to it in discrepancy to the Minister of Finance.

Article 63. Powers of the Ministers.

1. The holders of the various ministries may authorise, after a favourable report of the delegated intervention competent in the ministry or, where appropriate, the entities referred to in Article 3.1 of this law, the following amendments budget:

(a) Transfers between credits of the same programme or between programmes of the same service, including the creation of new credits in the case of those intended for the purchase of current goods and services or real investments, provided that they are previously covered by the codes defining the economic classification and are not increased by personnel or other codes listed in Article 43 (2) of this Act.

(b) Generations of credit in the cases referred to in Article 53 (2) (a), (d) and (f) of this Act, even if the revenue had been realised in the last quarter of the previous year.

The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs will exercise, in respect of the Social Security Budget, the powers that Article 62 grants to the Ministry of Finance, except in the case of the extension of the appropriations to which it refers. paragraph (d) of this Article. However, when transfers increase appropriations for the protective action of social security in its non-contributory and universal modality with a reduction in appropriations for the protective action of social security in its form This will require a favourable report from the Ministry of Finance. In the part concerning the expenditure budget of the National Institute of Health Management, this competence shall be exercised by the Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs.

The presidents of the state organs with differentiated sections in the General Budget of the State will have the powers established in this issue in relation to the budgetary modifications of the budget of the State. expenditure, without prejudice to the principle of budgetary autonomy of the General Courts. In the case of the Presidents of the Constitutional Bodies, the limitation contained in paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall not apply with respect to the increase in staff costs.

2. The presidents and directors of the autonomous bodies, and of the other entities covered by Article 3.1 of this law, in addition to the powers conferred on them by Article 56, shall exercise the powers conferred on them by the on the generations contained in Article 53 (2) (b) and (e), as well as those laid down in this Article in favour of the Ministers, who may endorse them in whole or in part. The endorsement agreements shall be communicated to the Directorate-General for Budgets.

3. The presidents and directors of the social security institutions shall be responsible for the authorization, in their respective budgets, of the following

:

(a) The credit generation referred to in Article 53, except in the case of paragraph 2.c), even if the revenue had been realised in the last quarter of the previous year.

b) The extensions to Article 54.2.

(c) Transfers between the same programme and chapter or programmes of the same entity and chapter, including with the creation of new credits in the case of those intended for the purchase of current goods and services and investments real, provided that they do not affect staff costs, formal and representative actions or a deviation from the objectives of the programmes.

However, when transfers increase credits for the protective action of Social Security in its non-contributory and universal modality with low credits for the protective action of Social Security in its contributory mode, the favourable report of the Ministry of Finance will be required.

These powers may be endorsed, in whole or in part, by the Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs in respect of the budget of the National Health Management Institute and the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs in respect of the budget of the other Social Security Entities.

4. Once the budgetary changes referred to in this Article have been authorized, the agreements affecting the budget of the State or its agencies shall be forwarded to the Directorate-General for Budgets of the Ministry of Finance for the purpose of implementing the their execution.

CHAPTER V

From the Business Public Entities, State Mercantile Companies and State Public Sector Foundations

Article 64. Budget.

1. State commercial companies and business public entities shall draw up an operating budget detailing the corresponding annual resources and allocations. They will also form a capital budget in the same detail. The operating and capital budgets will be integrated into the general budget of the State.

The entities referred to in Article 2 (1) (g) and (h), integrated in the business public sector, shall also be drawn up by the institutions. The references made in this chapter to the business public entities shall also apply to the entities expressed in this paragraph.

The funds referred to in Article 2 (2) of this Law and the foundations of the State Public Sector shall also develop operating and capital budgets.

2. The operating and capital budgets shall consist of a forecast of the profit and loss account and the financing table for the financial year. An estimate of the institution's balance sheet, as well as the additional documentation to be determined by the Ministry of Finance, shall be accompanied as an annex to those budgets.

3. Institutions shall forward the financial statements referred to in the preceding paragraph, in addition to the financial year relating to the draft general budget of the State, to the liquidation of the last financial year and to the progress of the liquidation of the current exercise.

4. Together with the operating and capital budgets, the entities shall transmit to the institutions an explanatory memorandum on their content, the execution of the preceding financial year and the forecast of the execution of the current financial year.

Article 65. Multi-annual action programme.

1. An institution which is required to draw up the operating and capital budgets in accordance with Article 64 of this law shall also annually make a multiannual programme of action, with the exceptions referred to in paragraph 2. Article 66 of this Law.

2. The multiannual action programme shall be composed of the financial statements determined in Article 64 of this Law and, together with the documentation referred to in the following paragraph, shall reflect the economic and financial data provided for the exercise relating to the draft general budget of the State and the following two exercises immediately, according to the strategic and objective lines defined for the institution.

3. The multiannual action programmes shall be accompanied by the following additional information:

(a) Hypothesis of the evolution of the main macroeconomic indicators that have served as a basis for the development of the multi-annual action programmes.

b) Main premasses of the approach that conform to the entity's strategic lines.

c) Multi-annual objectives to be achieved.

d) Memory of the entity's main performances.

e) Investment program.

f) The financial plan for the period that will quantify resources and external sources of funding.

g) The remaining documentation to be determined by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 66. Processing.

1. The operating and capital budgets shall be transmitted by the institutions in conjunction with the updated multiannual action programmes, before 10 July of each year, through the department from which they are dependent, to the Ministry of Finance. The basic structure and supporting documentation of these documents shall be established by the Ministry of Finance and shall be developed by each entity according to its needs.

2. They are not obliged to present the multiannual action programme for State-owned commercial companies which, in accordance with the provisions of the existing trade legislation, may submit an abbreviated balance sheet, unless they receive the General budget of the State grants of exploitation or capital or other contribution of any nature.

The multi-annual action programme will also not have to be presented by the state public sector foundations.

3. Institutions which are required to draw up the operating and capital budgets held directly or indirectly by the majority of the share capital of one or more state commercial companies may present their operating and operating budgets. capital and, where appropriate, its multi-annual action programmes on a consolidated basis with those state-owned commercial companies, relating to companies which are the subject of consolidated presentation. This rule shall not apply to those state-owned commercial companies which, in turn, are mainly engaged, directly or indirectly, by another entity which is required to draw up the operating and capital budgets.

They shall, in any event, present the operating and capital budget and, where appropriate, the multi-annual action programme on an individual basis, public enterprise entities and state public sector foundations, as well as state commercial companies applying to the State General Budget for grants of exploitation or capital or any other contribution of any nature.

4. The multiannual action programmes shall be submitted to the Government's agreement before the end of February of each year, on a proposal from the Minister for Finance. For these purposes, institutions shall, in due course, draw up the necessary adaptations, as a result of the approval process by the General Cortes of their operating and capital budgets and forward them to the Ministry of Finance through of the department from which they are dependent.

Article 67. Budgetary Changes.

1. State-owned commercial companies and public entities will direct their operation to the achievement of the objectives of the approaches reflected in their operating and capital budgets and in their multi-annual action, where appropriate.

2. Where any of the entities referred to in the previous paragraph is responsible for the general budget of the State for operating grants or capital grants or other contributions of any kind, the authorisations for annual variations shall be assume an increase in allocations from their operating and capital budgets shall be adjusted to the following:

(a) If the variation affects the State contributions collected in the General Budget of the State, the competition shall be the responsibility of the authority which has attributed it to the corresponding amendments. budget.

(b) If the changes do not affect the above mentioned State contributions, it will be the responsibility of the Minister of Finance when the amount exceeds the amount of EUR 600,000 and the five per cent of the figures approved for the total the allocation of both the operating budget and the capital budget, excluding from the calculation of the first the taxes and the results and the second the variation of the working capital. However, where the variation exceeds the amount of EUR 12 million and 10%, the authorisation shall be the responsibility of the Government.

(c) Without prejudice to the above paragraph, it shall be the responsibility of the Government to authorise the variation by an amount exceeding the amount of EUR 600,000 and five per cent of the figure approved individually for the staff costs, except always the limits determined by law. In the case of allocations for tangible and intangible investments, financial investments and long-term indebtedness, the limits of the previous subparagraph shall be EUR 12 million and 10% respectively.

In other cases, the variation of the allocations will be authorized by the Minister of Finance.

3. Business public entities and state public sector foundations will only be able to increase, during the financial year and up to five percent, the total amount they devote to the financing of the commercial companies ' programs. state in which they participate. In other cases, government authorization shall be required.

Article 68. Agreements with the State.

1. In cases where agreements and contracts with the State which give rise to special schemes are laid down, both by the entities referred to in Article 64 (1) of this Act and by any other State which receive grants from the exploitation and capital or other contribution of a different nature from the General Budget of the State shall be established at least the corresponding clauses on the following matters:

a) Macroeconomic and sectoral assumptions that serve as the basis for the agreement.

b) Objectives of personnel policy, profitability, productivity or technical restructuring of economic exploitation, as well as indicators of evaluation of those.

(c) Contributions from the General Budget of the State in its various modalities referred to in this paragraph.

d) Means to be used to adapt the agreed objectives to the variations in the respective economic environment.

e) Effects to be derived from non-compliance with agreed commitments.

(f) Control by the Ministry of Finance of the implementation of the agreement and the results derived from its implementation.

2. The control referred to in paragraph 1 (f) above shall not exclude the control of the respective departments or bodies from which the entities which have concluded the relevant convention are dependent.

3. The subscription to the convention referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall not exclude the drawing up of the operating and capital budget and the multiannual action programme.

CHAPTER VI

From Budget Management

SECTION 1-GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT

Article 69. Principles of operation of economic and financial management.

1. The subjects that make up the state public sector will adapt their economic and financial management to the fulfillment of the effectiveness in the achievement of the objectives set and the efficiency in the allocation and utilization of public resources, in a framework of objectivity and transparency in their administrative activity.

2. The programming and execution of the economic-financial activity of the State public sector will aim to develop objectives and control the management of the results, contributing to the continuous improvement of the procedures, services and public benefits, in accordance with the spending policies established by the Government and based on the available resources.

3. The State shall observe the appropriate channels of cooperation and coordination with other public administrations, in order to rationalize the use of the resources with which the State public sector is given.

4. The heads of the administrative bodies and bodies that make up the state public sector will be responsible for achieving the objectives set, promoting an efficient use of public resources and providing a quality service to the public. citizens.

SECTION 2. MANAGEMENT BY STATE ADMINISTRATIVE PUBLIC SECTOR OBJECTIVES

Article 70. Target system.

1. The expenditure management centres responsible for the various budgetary programmes shall establish, through the preparation of the multiannual programmes referred to in Article 30 of this Law, a system of objectives to be met in their respective programmes. action area, appropriate to the nature and characteristics of the area.

2. The systems for the management and control of public expenditure must be geared to ensuring the achievement of the final objectives of the budgetary programmes and to providing information on their compliance with the deviations which may have been achieved. produced and its causes.

Article 71. Results Balance and Management Report.

The holders of the expenditure management centres responsible for the various budgetary programmes shall draw up a balance of results and a management report on the fulfilment of the objectives set for that financial year. in the multiannual programme for that expenditure management centre, which shall be incorporated into the accounts of the corresponding annual accounts, in accordance with the terms set out in Article 128 of this Act.

Article 72. Evaluation of spending policies.

The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the various expense management centers, will promote and coordinate the ongoing evaluation of spending policies in order to ensure that they achieve their objectives. strategic and the socio-economic impact they intend.

SECTION 3. MANAGING STATE GENERAL BUDGETS

Article 73. Stages of the procedure for the management of expenditure.

1. The management of the expenditure budget of the State and its autonomous agencies and of the managing entities and the common services of social security shall be carried out through the following phases:

a) Approval of the expense.

b) Spending commitment.

c) Recognition of the obligation.

d) Sort of payment.

e) Material payment.

2. The approval is the act by which a certain or approximate amount of expenditure is authorized to be carried out, reserving for that purpose all or part of a budgetary credit.

The approval starts the execution procedure for the expense, without involving relationships with third parties outside the State Public Finance or Social Security.

3. The commitment is the act by which, after the completion of the legally established procedures, the performance of previously approved expenses, for a certain or determinable amount, is agreed upon.

The commitment is an act with legal relevance to third parties, linking the State Public Finance or the Social Security to the performance of the expenditure to which it relates in the amount and conditions established.

4. The recognition of the obligation is the act by which the existence of an enforceable claim against the State Public Finance or the Social Security is declared, derived from an approved and committed expenditure and which entails the proposal of corresponding payment.

The recognition of obligations under the State Public Finance shall be produced after documentary accreditation before the competent body of the performance of the creditor's performance or the right of conformity with the agreements that in their day approved and committed the expense.

The Minister of Finance, after reporting the General Intervention of the State Administration, will determine the documents and requirements that, according to each type of expenditure, justify the recognition of the obligation.

5. In accordance with Article 22 (1) of this Law, the obligations of the General Administration of the State, its autonomous bodies and of the Social Security are extinguished by payment, compensation, prescription or any other means in the terms laid down in this law and in the special provisions resulting from it.

6. Where the nature of the operation or expenditure so determines, the precise execution stages shall be cumulated in a single act.

Article 74. Responsibilities for the management of expenditure.

1. It is up to the ministers and the holders of the other bodies of the State with differentiated allocations in the general budget of the State to approve and to commit the own costs of the services in their capacity, except for the cases reserved by the the law on the jurisdiction of the Government, as well as the recognition of the corresponding obligations, and the interest of the General Authorising Officer of the State in carrying out the corresponding payments.

2. With the same legal proviso, it is up to the presidents or directors of the autonomous state bodies to approve and commit the expenditure, as well as the recognition and payment of the obligations.

3. It is the responsibility of the directors of the managing bodies and the common services of the Social Security, the approval and the commitment of the expenditure and the recognition of the obligation, and the interest of the General Computer of Payments of the Social Security of the corresponding payments.

4. The powers referred to in previous numbers may be de-concentrated by means of a royal decree agreed upon in the Council of Ministers, or be the subject of delegation in the terms laid down in law.

5. The bodies of the ministerial departments, their self-employed bodies and the management bodies and the common services of social security, competent for the subscription of cooperation agreements or programmes with other Public administrations or public or private entities shall require the approval of the Council of Ministers when the expenditure arising from them is an indeterminate amount or has to be extended to subsequent years.

Prior to the subscription, the appropriate expenditure file will be processed, in which the maximum amount of the obligations to be acquired will be included and, in the case of multi-annual expenditure, the corresponding distribution of annuities.

Article 75. Ordering of payments.

1. Under the top authority of the Minister of Economy, the Director-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy is responsible for the functions of the General Authorising Officer of the State.

2. Similarly, under the authority of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, the Director General of the General Treasury of Social Security is responsible for the functions of the General Authorising Officer for the Management Entities and Common Services. of Social Security.

3. Payment orders shall be issued in favour of the creditor set out in the appropriate payment proposal, although, on the order of the Minister for Economic Affairs, the cases in which they may be issued in favour of Enabling, paying-off, or payable, may be regulated. Depository of funds, as well as collaborating entities under Law 38/2003, of November 17, General of Grants and other agents mediators in the payment, who will act as intermediaries for their subsequent delivery to the creditors.

4. The Ministers for Economic Affairs and Labour and Social Affairs, in the fields of their respective powers, may arrange for the amendment or removal of any of the payment procedures through the intermediary referred to in paragraph 1. previous.

Article 76. However, the rights of recovery.

The providences and proceedings of the embargo, the implementing rules, the agreements to initiate administrative proceedings for compensation and the acts of similar content, which have been handed down by judicial or administrative bodies, in relation to the rights of individuals to be charged to the General Administration of the State or to the Administration of Social Security, and which are payable through the State Payments Management or through the the managing bodies and the common services of social security, shall communicate necessarily to the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy or to the General Treasury of Social Security for its due practice by consulting the accounting information system and shall contain at least the identification of the affected person with expression of the name or social name and its tax identification number, the amount of the embargo, execution or retention and the specification of the right of recovery affected by the amount, the body to which the payment proposal corresponds; and obligation to pay.

Article 77. Undue payments and other refunds.

1. For the purposes of this law it is understood by undue payment that it is made by mistake material, arithmetic or in fact, in favor of person in whom there is no right of collection in front of the Administration with respect to that payment or in amount that exceeds that entered in the act or document which recognised the right of the creditor.

2. The recipient of a total or partial undue payment is obliged to refund. The authorising officer, or the body which, in each case, is competent, either on its own initiative or in the communication of the administrative body proposing the payment, shall immediately arrange for the refund of the amounts unduly paid in accordance with the (a) the procedure laid down in Article 3 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No. 65/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Parliament and of the Council

3]

3. The review of the acts of which reintegrating other than those corresponding to the undue payments referred to in paragraph 1 above shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures for the ex officio review of null and void acts, provided for in Law 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, or in accordance with the specific drawback procedures laid down in the rules governing the different income, depending on the cause to be determined by your invalidity. The effectiveness of the revenue shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter II of Title I of this Act.

4. Except as provided for in the rules governing the various reintegrations, the repayment of undue payments or declared invalid in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall bear the interest provided for in Article 17 of this Law and from the time the collection occurred.

Article 78. Fixed cash advances and wiggle funds.

1. In accordance with the provisions of this law and in its regulatory development, the ministers and the presidents or directors of the autonomous organizations, prior to the report of the Directorate General of the Treasury and Financial Policy in the first case, and the report of their Delegated Intervention in both cases shall, in the field of their respective powers, lay down the rules governing the payments satisfied by fixed-box advances, determining the general criteria for expenditure which may be satisfied by such a system, the budgetary concepts to which the limits will apply (i) quantitative restrictions for each of them, their application to the budget and any estimates deemed appropriate.

The provisions of funds of a non-budgetary and permanent nature that are made for payments, boxes and ratings for immediate and subsequent attention to the chapter of expenditure are fixed by fixed cash advances. current or recurring expenditure on goods and services in the budget of the year for which they are carried out.

2. The Director-General of the General Treasury of Social Security, after reporting the General Intervention of Social Security, shall establish the rules governing the payments satisfied by means of manoeuvre in the field of the institutions Social Security Management and Common Services.

3. In any event, the total amount of fixed cash advances may not exceed seven per cent of the total appropriations in the chapter for current expenditure on goods and services in the budget in force for each autonomous ministry or body. each time.

The Spanish Agency for International Cooperation is authorized to exceed the total amount of the fixed cash advance payments of seven percent provided for in this article, up to a maximum of 14 percent of the total appropriations in the chapter for current expenditure on goods and services in the budget in force at any time.

The percentage referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph may be increased to a maximum of 10% of the appropriations in Article 23, "compensation for service", of the 222A programme, "Citizen security", of the Ministry of the Interior, and only applicable to the management of the indicated article.

4. Similarly, the total amount of wiggle funds allocated to all management centres belonging to the same Social Security institution may not exceed three per cent of the appropriations in the chapter for current expenditure of the same institution. (

) the goods and services of the budget in force at any time

Percentage that can be raised by up to seven percent by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

5. The administrative units responsible for these funds, which shall form part of the Public Treasury or the Social Security patrimony, as appropriate, shall justify their application and situation as determined by regulation.

Article 79. Payments to justify.

1. Where, exceptionally, the supporting documentation of the obligations provided for in Article 73 (4) cannot be provided, proposals for budgetary payments may be processed and funds shall be made available with the character of a justify.

The issuing of booklets may also be issued to justify where the services and benefits to which they relate have or are to be held abroad.

2. The same character shall have the payment proposals made to satisfy the costs to be carried out in a locality where there is no dependency on the ministry, body, managing body or common service concerned. In such cases, the issuing of payments to be justified shall be authorised by the ministers, presidents or directors of the autonomous bodies or the management bodies and common services of social security, who shall designate the body responsible for manage these payments. The designation referred to shall involve the allocation of powers for the implementation of the expenditure and payments resulting from them and the training, surrender and justification of the relevant accounts.

3. In accordance with Article 49 of this Law, the bookies to be justified may only be met by obligations of the same financial year. However, the Council of Ministers may agree that, with the funds provided to justify for expenditure abroad charged to a budget, expenditure incurred in the following financial year shall be treated if it is deemed relevant to the budget. general interest.

4. The recipients of these payment orders shall be required to provide proof of the application of the amounts received. The surrender period shall be three months, except for payments of expropriations and payments abroad which may be rendered within six months. The Director-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy, and, where appropriate, the presidents or directors of the autonomous agencies of the State and the management entities and common services of Social Security may, exceptionally, extend these deadlines. Six and 12 months, respectively, on a proposal from the credit management body, with a report of the Delegated Intervention.

5. The recipients of the payment orders to justify are responsible, in the terms provided for in this law, for the custody and use of the funds and the surrender of the account.

6. In the course of the two months following the date of contribution of the supporting documents referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, the approval or repair of the account by the competent authority shall be carried out.

Article 80. Revenue Budget Management.

1. Revenue Budget management will be performed in the following successive or concurrent phases:

a) Recognition of the right.

b) Extinction of the right.

2. Recognition of the right is the act which, in accordance with the rules applicable to each specific resource, declares and liquidates a credit in favour of the General Administration of the State, its autonomous bodies or the managing entities and services Social Security Common.

3. In accordance with Article 11 (2) of this Law, the termination of the right may be caused by its collection in cash, as well as in kind, or by compensation, in the cases provided for in the special provisions of this Law. application. The extinctions of rights for other causes shall be subject to differentiated accounting, distinguishing between those produced by cancellation of the liquidation and those produced in the process of collection by prescription, remission or insolvency.

Article 81. Revenue returns.

In the management of returns of income, the recognition of the right to return will be distinguished, the origin of which will be the realization of an undue income or other legally established cause, and the payment of the refund.

TITLE III

Of Financial Relations with Other Administrations

CHAPTER I

Financial operations with the European Union

Article 82. Treasury operations with the European Union.

1. The Minister for Economic Affairs is hereby authorised to carry out treasury operations which require financial relations with the European Union.

In the above frame, they are included, in any case:

(a) Product purchases, as well as grants and other market interventions funded by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund.

Cash advances in favour or on behalf of the European Union shall be cancelled with the reintegrations made by the European Union.

b) Funds from the European Social Fund to co-finance projects of the National Employment Institute. These funds shall be applied to the National Employment Institute's Revenue Budget and shall, through appropriate cash-flow operations, cancel advances made in favour of the National Employment Institute to cover cash flows.

(c) The making available to entities other than the State of the funds from the European Union to which they are bound.

Such a provision will be made as the above funds are received.

2. Cash operations carried out pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of the preceding paragraph shall be reported on a quarterly basis to the Budget Committees of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.

3. If, exceptionally in accordance with the rules in force, advances of funds are made as a result of the intermediary of the Banco de España in the payments or the special processing of the financial relations with the Union These advances must be cancelled before the end of the financial year in which they have been produced.

However, advances for the implementation of actions and programmes financed or co-financed by European funds which are pending cancellation at the end of the financial year may be cancelled in the following financial year.

Article 83. Co-financed actions.

In the case of actions co-financed between the General Budget of the European Communities and that of the State, the expenditure budget of the State must, together with the financing provided by the State, collect the amount of co-financing from the European Union.

Article 84. Recovery of aid and financial liability arising from the management of the funds from the European Union.

The recovery of aid and the financial liability arising from the management of the funds from the European Union will be subject to the provisions of the General Law on Grants and Community legislation.

In the field of the common agricultural policy and in the event that the European Community does not assume an amount which has previously been anticipated by the various public administrations, the amount not reimbursed by the Community will affect the different public administrations in relation to their respective actions.

CHAPTER II

Financial operations with the Autonomous Communities

Article 85. General principles of financial relations arising from the application of the system of financing of the Autonomous Communities.

The financial relations arising from the application of the financing system of the autonomous communities shall be subject to the general principles of legality, budgetary allocation and the granting of cash advances:

1. In application of the principle of legality, the rules governing the calculation and financial management of the economic means transferred from the General Administration of the State to the Autonomous Communities by application of the financing system in force at any time will be collected in standard with a law range.

2. The principle of budgetary allocation implies that the general budget of the State of each financial year shall contain the appropriations necessary to deal with transfers of economic resources to be carried out by the autonomous communities. application of the existing funding system at any time.

For these purposes, the credits to make the final settlement of previous financial years effective will have the character of extendable.

3. In accordance with the principle of the granting of cash advances, the autonomous communities may make advances on account of the resources to be transferred to them by application of the system of financing in force at any time, in the terms established in rule with a law range. These advances shall be reimbursed in the financial year, except in cases and under the conditions laid down in a rule of law.

Article 86. Managed grants.

1. The appropriations of the General Budget Law of the State for the financing of sectors, services, activities or subjects in respect of which the Autonomous Communities have assumed implementing powers and have not been the subject of direct transfer under that law, will have to be distributed territorially in favour of such autonomous communities, by means of rules or collaboration agreements which will incorporate objective criteria for distribution and, where appropriate, conditions for granting the grants, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article.

In no case shall the appropriations to be managed by an organ of the General Administration of the State or agency dependent on it be allocated territorial distribution to ensure the full effectiveness of the appropriations within the the basic management of the sector, to ensure the same possibilities of obtaining or enjoying the potential of its potential recipients throughout the national territory or to avoid exceeding the overall amount of the State resources allocated to the sector.

2. Where, as a result of the transfer of State services to the Autonomous Communities, the Autonomous Communities are required to manage and administer the grant credits, the following rules shall be taken into account:

First. The management and administration shall be carried out in accordance with the State rules governing each type of subsidy and, where appropriate, by the Autonomous Communities to the extent that they are competent for this.

Second. The objective criteria which serve as the basis for the territorial distribution of subsidies and their distribution shall be fixed by the Sectoral Conference corresponding to the beginning of the economic year. Financial commitments for the General Administration of the State will be formalized by agreement of the Council of Ministers.

Third. Without prejudice to the second preceding rule, it may be established in cases where this is justified, general reserves of appropriations not distributed at the origin in order to cover unforeseen needs or demands. length of budget execution.

Fourth. The appropriations to be managed by each autonomous community shall be free of charge and shall be made effective by fourths in the second calendar fortnight of each quarter, without the exception of this rule other than that of the payment corresponding to the first quarter, which shall be made effective as soon as the territorial allocation of the appropriations, as provided for in the previous rule, has been effected.

When grants are for the purpose of personal and social benefits, the autonomous communities will be free of the grants at the beginning of the month.

The payments for the financing of the Operational Programme for Fisheries for Objective 1 regions 1, Regions, transitional arrangements and the Single Programming Document (SPDs) for the Regions of Out of Objective No 1 may be released in full once the resulting distribution and distribution objective criteria have been agreed at the Sectoral Conference and the endorsement by the Council of Ministers Agreement.

Fifth. The remaining uncommitted funds remaining at the end of each exercise, which are held by the Autonomous Communities, will continue to maintain the specific destination for which they were transferred and will be used in the following exercise as a cash position at the source as remnants that will be discounted from the amount to be transferred to each Autonomous Community.

If the subsidy to which the remainder corresponds is abolished in the budget of the following financial year, it shall first be used to make the obligations outstanding at the end of the financial year effective immediately preceding and the remaining uncommitted will be reintegrated into the State.

Sixth. After the end of the financial year, and no later than 31 March of the following financial year, the autonomous communities shall send to the ministerial department a statement of implementation of the financial year, indicating the total amounts of commitments of credits, recognized obligations and payments made in the year, detailed for each of the budgetary applications of the State Expenditure Budget from which the credit transfers were made. The information will be brought to the attention of the Sectoral Conference and taken into account in the adoption of the fund distribution agreements.

Seventh. The autonomous communities which manage the aid referred to in this Article shall have adequate control of the aid to ensure the correct procurement, enjoyment and destination of the funds received by the beneficiary.

CHAPTER III

Financial operations with local entities

Article 87. Participation in State taxes.

1. The appropriations to make effective the final settlement of the participation of local corporations in state taxes shall be considered to be extensible up to the amount of the obligations to be recognized in the implementation of the the law.

2. The participation of local authorities in the taxation of the State of each financial year shall be effective during the same period, by means of deliveries on account of the final liquidation carried out on the following. The amount and periodicity of such deliveries shall be fixed for each financial year in the General Budget Law of the State.

Article 88. Final liquidations.

1. The creditor balances in favour of the local entities resulting from the final liquidations of their participation in the State taxes shall be effective in their entirety after they have been carried out.

2. The debtor balances resulting from such settlements, due to excess in the account deliveries, shall be reintegrated by their compensation from the deliveries to account subsequent to the practice of the final settlement. corresponding.

3. These debtor balances shall be reintegrated over a period of up to three years, with quarterly retentions equivalent to 25% of a monthly delivery, unless, on the basis of this criterion, the time limit is exceeded, in which case adjust the frequency and the amount of holds corresponding to the object that this situation does not occur.

Article 89. Compensation of tax benefits.

1. Where, pursuant to Article 9 of Law 39/1988 of 30 December 1988, the Local Government Regulators, to compensate for tax benefits in local taxes recognised by a law of the State, the corresponding appropriations shall be made available in The General Budget of the State, which shall be considered as extensible up to the amount of the obligations to be recognised.

2. In any event, the compensation shall be the subject of an application by the entities concerned, in accordance with the procedure laid down in each case by the Ministry of Finance, in which the recognition must be explicitly justified. in favour of the tax benefit taxpayers granted.

TITLE IV

Treasury, State Debt, and Financial Operations

CHAPTER I

General Rules

Article 90. Public Treasury.

Make the Public Treasury all financial resources, be money securities or credits from the General Administration of the State and its autonomous agencies, both for budget and non-budgetary operations.

Article 91. Functions of the Treasury.

These are functions entrusted to the Treasury:

(a) Pay the State's obligations and collect their rights, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 103 of Law 31/1990 of 27 December of the General Budget of the State.

b) Serve the principle of box unit by centralizing all funds and securities generated by budget and non-budgetary operations.

c) Distribute in time and in the territory the funds available for the timely satisfaction of the obligations of the State.

d) Contribute to the proper functioning of the national financial system.

e) Issue, contract, and manage the State Debt and execute the financial operations relative to it.

f) Reply to the endorsements entered into by the State in accordance with the provisions of this law.

g) Perform the others that are derived or related to the ones listed above.

Article 92. State debt.

Constitutes the Debt of the State the set of funds borrowed by the State through public issuance, concertation of credit operations, subrogation in the debtor position of a third party or, in general, by means of any other financial operation of the State, to finance the State's expenditure or to constitute active cash positions.

Article 93. Information to the General Cortes on the financial operations of the Treasury.

1. The Government shall inform the Budget Committees of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate on a quarterly basis of the detailed balance of the financial operations agreed upon under this Title.

2. The Minister of Economy will approve, for his referral to the Government and the Cortes, an annual report on the government's debt policy in the preceding year.

This Memory will reflect the outstanding balance of the State's Debt at the end of the preceding financial year, as well as that corresponding to the autonomous agencies. For such purposes, each autonomous body shall forward to the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy the data, information and documentation necessary for the preparation of this Report.

CHAPTER II

From State Debt

SECTION 1 GENERAL RULES

Article 94. Legal enablement for the creation of Debt.

1. The creation of State Debt will be authorized by law. To this end, the General Budget Law of the State shall establish the limit of the variation of the outstanding balance of the State's debt of each financial year to which the financial transactions involving the creation of debt will be adjusted. This limit shall be understood to be net of changes in the active cash positions held by the State in the Bank of Spain or in other financial institutions.

The limit set out in the preceding paragraph shall be automatically understood as a result of the increase or decrease in payments either which, under legal provisions, is to be addressed or to revenue effectively collected in respect of those provided for in the State General Budget Law.

2. In developing the legal authorization to create debt for one year, the Minister of Economy will be able to arrange for the creation of State Debt during the month of January of the following year for an amount that does not increase by more than 15 percent. of that authorisation. Such an increase shall be computed for the purposes of compliance with the debt creation limit which is legally authorised for the whole of the second of the years mentioned.

Article 95. Budgetary coverage of the expenditure arising from the Debt.

In the Debt section of the State, the loans will be made available to deal with the contractual or advance repayments and the financial expenses arising from the State Debt, including in particular the placement, negotiation, administration and management of the same.

The Minister for Economic Affairs will be responsible for the approval of the necessary budgetary changes within this section, including those changes that involve the creation of new credits.

Article 96. Full implementation of the revenue and expenditure arising from the Debt and Exceptions.

The product, amortization and interest expense and related concepts of the State Debt operations shall be applied for their full amount to the State Budget, with the exception of:

(a) The product and the amortisation for the amount that was obtained from the Treasury bills, from the continuing emissions on the outside of commercial paper and medium-term notes, from the short-term provisions of the credit and any other term financing instruments of less than one year, which, on a transitional basis and during the financial year, shall be considered as non-budgetary operations, with the sole responsibility of the budget of the General government of the State, the amount of net variation of such transactions during the financial year.

(b) In financial swap transactions, when settlement is agreed on the basis of differences in principal or interest on the capital, such differences shall be attributed to the revenue or expenditure budget, corresponds to each settlement.

However, where one of the two parts of the financial swap, debtor or creditor, has a fractional settlement period other than the other, the differences shall be charged to the Budget, revenue or expenditure, as corresponds, at the time of the settlement of the longest period, to the product of the fractional settlements in a non-budgetary trading account.

SECTION 2. OPERATIONS RELATING TO STATE DEBT

Article 97. Transactions relating to the Debt.

1. The creation of State Debt by means of securities or credit operations, in national currency or in foreign currency, shall be made in the terms set out in the following Articles.

2. Operations based on financial instruments shall aim both to limit the exchange rate risk and to limit, diversify or modify the risk or cost of the State Debt due to the evolution of interest rates and to facilitate their placement, negotiation, administration and management. These operations shall be carried out in accordance with the following Articles.

Article 98. Competence for the formalisation of debt transactions.

1. It is for the Minister for Economic Affairs to authorise the operations referred to in the preceding Article and to lay down the procedures to be followed for the contracting and formalisation of such operations and for the exercise of powers which are listed in the following Articles. The Minister may delegate such powers in an ordinary manner to the Director General of the Treasury and Financial Policy. Where the formalisation of the operation is to take place abroad, the Minister, or by his delegation the Director-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy may delegate to the relevant diplomatic representative or an official of the Ministerial department designated for this purpose, even if it is of a lower category than a general manager.

2. The Minister for Economic Affairs may also authorize the provisional negotiation by the Director General of the Treasury and Financial Policy of the operations referred to in the previous article, the effective implementation of which will be subject to the subsequent final authorisation by the Minister, where the Minister has not delegated his powers to the Director-General. The relevant file shall be consistent with the terms and conditions referred to in the preceding paragraph as well as the procedure and circumstances of the award of the operation.

3. The State Debt transactions shall be carried out on the financial markets in accordance with the rules, rules, techniques, conditions and clauses customary in such markets, and may agree to submit to arbitration or to refer to a foreign legislation or courts, provided that the provisions of Article 23 of this law are observed.

Article 99. Emission of values.

1. In the terms of the delegation or authorization, the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy may issue securities denominated in national currency or in foreign currency, inside or outside, establishing its own form. representation, nature and name, period, interest rate and other characteristics of the interest.

In any case, the placement of a securities issue may be fragmented over time, as well as the amount of time, the different tranches may be placed according to different emission techniques and at different prices. Similarly, the grouping in homogeneous emissions of similar securities issued on a different date may be authorised.

The separation of coupons and principal for the purposes of their negotiation, as well as the reconstitution of values from those, may be authorised in one or more securities or securities categories.

2. The securities may be issued by auction, which shall be carried out in accordance with the rules made public prior to its conclusion, or by any other technique deemed appropriate on the basis of the type of operation concerned, the functions attributed to the Treasury in Article 91.

In particular, they can:

(a) Submissions to the public, in general, between authorised placers or a restricted group of persons who acquire special commitments in respect of the placement of the debt or the functioning of their markets.

b) Part or all of an issue at an agreed price to one or more financial institutions to ensure their placement.

c) Realize simple selling operations or with repurchase agreements of new issues, extensions of existing emissions or securities that the Treasury has on its securities account.

Article 100. Credit operations.

The concertation of credit lines or loan operations in national currency or in foreign currency will be carried out in accordance with the procedures that are regulated, in which the principles of objectivity, transparency and publicity appropriate to the type of operation concerned.

Article 101. Debt-related financial instruments.

In transactions based on financial instruments, whether they are financial swaps or other types of transactions, the risk or the cost of the debt securities shall be accurately identified for the purposes of the exchange rate risk. State due to the evolution of the interest rates to be limited, to diversify or to modify and, where appropriate, the specific borrowing operations to which they are associated.

Article 102. Other operations relating to the Debt.

The Minister of Economy is empowered to:

1. In order to achieve an adequate management of the State Debt, to acquire marketable debt securities on the secondary market with a destination either to its amortisation or to its maintenance in an account of securities opened to the effect by the Treasury Public.

2. Carry out exchange, conversion, early amortisation, even partial, or modification of any conditions of the operations that make up the State Debt, under the provisions of the respective emission standards or contraction, or by mutual agreement with creditors.

3. Regulate the regime of one or more types of entities that collaborate with the Treasury both in the dissemination of the State Debt and in the provision of liquidity to its market.

4. To conclude collaboration agreements with financial institutions and, in particular, with collective investment institutions or other institutional investors, in order to promote both the best placement of the State's Debt and its liquidity. market, determining, where appropriate, the consideration to be made by them.

5. Agree to changes in the conditions of the State Debt that are due to its best administration or to its representation in the accounts, without prejudice to the economic rights of the holder.

SECTION 3 LEGAL STATUS OF THE STATE DEBT

Article 103. Regime of the securities representative of the State Debt.

1. Public Debt may be represented in notes on account, securities or any other document that formally recognises it.

2. The values representative of the State Debt shall apply to them the regime established by the general legal system according to the modality and the characteristics of the same.

3. Securities issued to the State Debt holder who have been stolen, stolen or lost or destroyed shall be subject to the administratively established procedure or, failing that, that established by commercial law.

4. The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall determine the procedure to be followed in the case of nominative or bearer-bearer certificates after their presentation in the respective public offices, or which have been the subject of partial destruction which does not prevent the their identification.

5. The holder of securities representative of the State Debt shall be considered a creditor of the State even if it has agreed with the seller, even at the same time as the purchase of the securities, its future sale.

Article 104. Debt transmission regime.

1. The transmission of the debt shall not be subject to any more limitations than those arising from the rules of creation itself, the markets regulators in which it is negotiated or, where applicable, the rules applicable to the control of changes.

2. In the subscription and transmission of the negotiable public debt, the intervention of the public purse shall be required only where the latter is represented by securities and the law applicable to them so provides. It shall not be required, in any case, for transactions with Treasury notes and those other where securities are extinged for processing into account.

Article 105. Prescription.

1. It will prescribe at the age of five the obligation to pay the interest of the Debt of the State and to return the capital called to reimbursement, counted respectively from the maturity of the interest and the day of the call for reimbursement. In the case of a call for conversion or compulsory exchange, it shall prescribe the obligation to repay capital at 10 years from the last day of the period laid down for the operation.

Where the capital called for reimbursement is affected by securities lodged with the Administration, the limitation period for the repayment obligation shall start from the date on which it was known to the interested, no bond is required or your lift is agreed upon.

2. Where the payment obligations arising out of the State Debt are made through a third party and after six months the latter cannot transfer the funds to the holder or holder, the amount shall be deposited, at the disposal of the accredit their right, in the account which for such purposes is designated in the Banco de España, to be observed, in any case, the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article.

3. The interruption of the prescription shall be verified in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.

4. The provisions of this Article shall be without prejudice to the system of limitations applicable to the operations of the State in which the powers laid down in Article 98 (3) of this law are used.

5. The capital of the State's Debt shall be prescribed at 20 years of age without receiving any interest, nor shall it be held by the State Government before the State Administration of Public Finance, which involves or involves the exercise of its right.

CHAPTER III

From State Treasury Management

Article 106. Monetary budget.

1. The Minister of Economy, in order to obtain an adequate temporary distribution of payments and a correct estimate of the need for government debt, will approve annually, on a proposal from the Directorate General of the Treasury and Policy Financial, a monetary budget to which the issue of payment orders will be accommodated. It will also contain a forecast on state revenue.

2. For the preparation of the same, the General Directorate of the Treasury and Financial Policy may collect from the State public sector, as defined in Article 2.1 of this Law, how much data, forecasts and documentation it deems appropriate on the payments and revenues. which may have an impact on the budget referred to.

3. The monetary budget may be amended in the course of an exercise on the basis of data on its implementation or changes in revenue or payments forecasts.

Article 107. Payment ordering criteria.

1. As a general rule, the amount of payments ordered at any time shall be adjusted to the monetary budget, as set out in the previous Article.

2. The authorising officer shall apply objective criteria for the issue of payment orders, such as the date of receipt, the amount of the transaction, the budgetary implementation and the form of payment, among others.

Article 108. Treasury accounts and operations to facilitate treasury management.

1. As a general rule, the income and payments of the State and its self-employed bodies shall be channelled through the account or accounts held in the Banco de España, as appropriate with the Bank of Spain, in accordance with Article 13 of Law 13/1994, of 1 June, Autonomy of the Banco de España. However, the Minister for Economic Affairs may establish exceptional circumstances in which the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy may authorise the opening of accounts in other credit institutions, in accordance with the terms laid down in the next item.

2. In order to facilitate the management of the State's treasury, the Minister for Economic Affairs may authorise the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy to carry out operations for the temporary acquisition of assets or loans. Such authorisation shall specify the conditions under which such operations may be carried out.

The temporary acquisition of assets may be subject to securities of public debt of any Member State of the European Union, as well as to other public entities or supranational institutions or other securities of fixed income of such credit quality, traded on regulated markets.

3. The assets referred to in the previous paragraph, which would have been the subject of a guarantee in favour of the Banco de España, as provided for in the sixth provision of Law 13/1994, of 1 June 1994, of the Bank of Spain, may be temporarily applied by its holders in coverage of the treasury management operations of the General Directorate of the Treasury and Financial Policy of the State, implemented through the Banco de España, in the terms that the Minister of Economy set and whenever the following conditions are met:

(a) The holder of the assets grants his or her consent, which may be provided in the contract or guarantee document concluded with the Banco de España.

(b) There are collateral assets available, once the obligations of the Bank of Spain are adequately secured and to the satisfaction of the Bank of Spain.

The assets mentioned will be subject to compliance with the Treasury's obligations, with this guarantee having full effects against third parties, without any more formality than the fact that the Banco de España adequately identifies the security assets for each of these obligations, making the corresponding breakdown. This breakdown must be maintained as long as the operation concerned has not reached its conclusion. Once such obligations have been met, the assets will be again affected by collateral against the Banco de España.

In the event of non-compliance with the obligations contracted against the Treasury, the execution of the guarantees applied temporarily will be carried out by the Banco de España acting on behalf of the first, through the the procedures provided for in paragraph 2 (b) of the sixth provision of Law 13/1994, of 1 June 1994, of the Autonomy of the Banco de España. For these purposes, the certification provided for in the first subparagraph of that letter must be issued by the Treasury, and a certification by the Banco de España accreditative of the temporary condition of the guarantee assets must also be accompanied. are the object of execution.

Article 109. Relationship to credit institutions.

1. The opening of a State Treasury fund account outside the Bank of Spain will require prior communication to the Directorate General of the Treasury and Financial Policy, with the aim of opening and providing for the use. Following the favourable report of the management centre, the route will be issued for the start of the relevant procurement file, which will be in line with the provisions of the rules on public administration contracts, by means of negotiated procedure with a minimum of three offers and without requiring the provision of final security.

Three months after the communication and without notification of the favourable report, the report shall be deemed to be unfavourable.

Awarded, and prior to the formalization of the contract, the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy will authorize the opening for a term of three years extendable for three years. The contracts will necessarily contain a clause excluding the right to compensation and respect for the benefit of the public funds established in Article 23 of this law. It may be agreed that the management costs of the account will be reduced from the interest earned by the account.

2. The Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy may order the cancellation or cessation of the accounts referred to in the preceding paragraph where it is found that the reasons for the authorization or the failure to comply with the conditions are not subsist. conditions imposed for use.

3. The Directorate-General for the Treasury and Financial Policy may conclude agreements with credit institutions to determine the operating arrangements for the accounts in which the funds of the General Administration of the State or its autonomous bodies, and in particular the interest rate to which they shall be paid, the fees payable, where appropriate, the means of payment associated with them and the reporting obligations assumed by the credit institutions.

4. The Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy, in relation to the accounts opened in credit institutions referred to in this Article, may be obtained from the managing body or the corresponding credit institution, any data intended to verify compliance with the conditions under which the account was authorised to be opened.

Article 110. Means of payment.

Under the conditions established by the Ministers of Economy and Finance, in their respective fields, the revenues and payments of the General Administration of the State and its autonomous agencies may be carried out by means of bank transfer, check, cash or any other means of payment, whether or not they are banking. Under these conditions, it may be established that, in the performance of certain revenue or payments of the General Administration of the State, only certain means of payment may be used, specifying in each case the particular conditions of usage.

CHAPTER IV

Borrowing and managing the treasury of self-employed bodies and business public entities

Article 111. Borrowing operations of the self-employed and business public entities.

1. The autonomous bodies may not enter into debt operations unless the General Budget Law of the State, in the light of the special nature of the conditions and activity to be carried out by the agency, authorizes the subscription of such operations. operations, which shall be carried out on the terms and with the limit laid down in that law.

For the purpose of compliance with that limit, the active cash positions set up by the body shall not be deducted.

2. In that case, the powers referred to in Article 98 of this Law shall be construed as referring to the President or Director of the body concerned.

3. Borrowing operations by self-employed bodies shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter II of this Title, unless the General Budget Law of the State authorising operations expressly provides otherwise.

4. Business public entities shall require legal authorisation to issue debt or credit, except in the case of credit operations which are designed and cancelled within the same financial year.

Article 112. Management of the treasury of the autonomous bodies.

1. It is for the chairman or director of the autonomous body to order the payments in respect of the budget of expenditure of the body, subject to the criteria of ordination laid down in Article 107 of this law.

2. Autonomous bodies shall channel their income and payments in accordance with Articles 108, 109 and 110 of this Act.

CHAPTER V

From State endorsements

Article 113. Object of the endorsements.

1. The General Administration of the State may, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, consolidate the obligations arising from credit operations concerted within or outside by natural or legal persons, public or private. private, by granting the corresponding endorsement.

2. In any event, the endorsements to be granted shall be compatible with the common market, in accordance with Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

Article 114. Competence in the granting of endorsements.

1. The granting of endorsements by the General Administration of the State shall be authorized by means of the corresponding law which shall contain at least the determinations referred to in paragraph 2 of the following Article. As expressly not governed by the law authorizing them, the provisions of this chapter and its implementing rules shall apply to those referred to therein.

2. By way of derogation from the preceding paragraph, the Council of Ministers may, upon a declaration of the public interest which motivates it, authorise guarantees of concerted operations by:

(a) Public entities of a territorial or institutional nature, state mercantile societies and international bodies of which Spain is a member.

(b) Natural or legal persons to finance assets and investments in general that are to be affected by administrative concession that must be reversed by the General Administration of the State.

Article 115. Endorsements granted by the Council of Ministers.

1. The total amount of the endorsements referred to in paragraph 2 of the preceding article of this law may not exceed the limit which the General Budget Law of the State indicates in each financial year.

The annual limit of endorsements shall be understood as referring to the principal of the approved transactions. The guarantee granted shall not guarantee more than the payment of principal and interest, unless otherwise expressly provided for in the Budget or concession law.

2. The authorization of the Council of Ministers referred to in paragraph 1 above may refer specifically to each operation or to include several of them, with determination, in any case, of the identity of the avalados, of the period within which they shall be be awarded the endorsements, and of their individual or global maximum amount.

Article 116. Formalization of the endorsements.

The granting of guarantees from the General Administration of the State should be agreed, if necessary, by the Minister of Economy, who, without prejudice to the limits that may have been established in the mandatory authorization of the Council The provisions of the law may be agreed upon in the financial markets.

In particular, you can agree to:

(a) The waiver of the excision benefit provided for in Article 1830 of the Civil Code.

(b) Exceptionally, in the endorsements that guarantee foreign credit operations, the submission to arbitration or the referral to foreign law or courts, provided that the provisions of Article 23 of this Regulation are observed law.

The endorsements are presumed to be granted on a subsidiary basis, unless otherwise expressly provided.

Article 117. Commission accrual.

The endorsements granted by the General Administration of the State shall bear in favour of it the commission which, if any, would have been determined.

Article 118. Risk limitation.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the enabling title for granting, the Minister of Economy may establish mechanisms to limit the risk of execution of endorsements granted by the General Administration of the State.

TITLE V

State Public Sector Accounting

CHAPTER I

General rules

Article 119. General principles.

1. Entities in the State public sector shall apply the accounting principles that correspond to this chapter, both to reflect all types of operations, costs and results of their activity, and to facilitate data and information with economic significance.

2. The accounts of the State public sector are set up as an economic and financial information system which aims to show, through states and reports, the true image of the heritage, the financial situation, the the results and the implementation of the budget of each of the entities involved.

3. Entities belonging to the State public sector are subject to the obligation to account for their operations, whatever their nature, to the Court of Auditors through the General Intervention of the State Administration, in accordance with the criteria set out in Chapter IV of this Title.

Article 120. State public sector accounting purposes.

State public sector accounting must enable compliance with the following management, control, and analysis and information purposes:

1. Show the implementation of the budgets, highlighting the budgetary results, and provide information for the monitoring of the objectives set out in the State Budget.

2. To highlight the composition and the situation of the heritage as well as its variations, and to determine the results from the heritage economic point of view.

3. Provide information for the determination of the costs of public services.

4. To provide information for the preparation of all types of accounts, statements and documents to be submitted or referred to the Court of Auditors and other control bodies.

5. To provide information for the preparation of the economic accounts of public administrations, public non-financial corporations and public financial institutions, in accordance with the European System of National and Regional Accounts.

6. To provide information for the exercise of controls on legality, finance, economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

7. To provide information to enable the analysis of the economic and financial effects of the activity of public authorities.

8. Provide useful financial and economic information for decision making.

9. Provide useful information for other recipients.

Article 121. Application of accounting principles.

1. The accounting of entities in the State public sector shall be developed in accordance with the accounting principles that correspond to the criteria set out in the following paragraphs.

2. They shall apply the public accounting principles provided for in the following Article, as well as the development of the principles and rules laid down in the General Public Accounting Plan and its implementing rules for the entities that make up the administrative public sector.

3. They shall apply the accounting principles and standards set out in the Spanish Business Code and the General Accounting Plan of the Spanish company, as well as in their adaptations and provisions that develop it, the entities that make up the sector business public.

4. They shall apply the accounting principles and standards set out in the adaptation of the General Accounting Plan to non-profit entities and provisions that develop it, the state public sector foundations that make up the sector Foundational public.

Article 122. Public accounting principles.

1. The entities referred to in paragraph 2 of the preceding Article shall, in addition to the budgetary principles provided for in Title II of this Act, apply the following accounting principles:

(a) The temporary imputation of expenses and income must be carried out from the economic-heritage point of view, according to the actual current of goods and services that they represent, without prejudice to the criteria that they must follow for their budgetary allocation.

(b) All accounting facts must be recorded in the appropriate chronological order.

c) The activity shall be presumed to continue for an indefinite period.

d) The assessment criteria will not be varied from one exercise to another.

e) The application of these principles should be presided over by the consideration of the importance in relative terms that the same and its effects could present, provided that a standard of mandatory compliance is not violated.

f) Revenue should only be counted effectively at the end of the financial year.

Of the expenditure, the actual costs must be taken into account and, as soon as they are known, those which involve foreseeable risks or eventual losses, with origin in the financial year or in the previous year, without prejudice to the fact that the budgetary allocation of the same is carried out when they are actually carried out.

g) All goods, rights and obligations must be included in their purchase price or production cost. Obligations should be accounted for by their redemption value.

(h) The accounting system should show the relationship between the costs incurred by an institution and the revenue required for its financing during the financial year.

(i) In no case should the assets and liabilities, and the costs and revenues that make up the annual accounts, be compensated for.

(j) It shall be an accounting entity with legal personality and its own budget, which must form and account.

k) The imputation of the accounting transactions or facts must be effected, from the economic-patrimonial point of view, to assets, liabilities, expenses or income in accordance with the rules laid down in the General Accounting Plan Public. In addition, those operations to be applied to the expenditure and revenue budgets shall be recorded from the budgetary point of view in accordance with the rules laid down in Title II of this Act.

2. In cases of conflict between the public accounting principles, the principles set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the previous paragraph should prevail.

3. Where the application of these accounting principles is not sufficient for the annual accounts to express the true picture, additional information shall be provided in the annual accounts on the additional accounting principles applied.

4. In exceptional cases where the application of an accounting principle is incompatible with the true picture to be shown by the annual accounts, that application shall be deemed to be inappropriate, which shall be mentioned in the annual accounts, explaining their motivation and indicating their influence on the assets, financial situation, budget execution and the results of the entity.

Article 123. Recipients of the accounting information.

The information provided by the accounts of the entities of the state public sector will be directed to its management and management bodies, to those of political representation and to the external and internal control bodies, to the agencies international, in terms and with the limits laid down in regulation, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 136.

CHAPTER II

Competencies in accounting matters

Article 124. Powers of the Minister of Finance.

Corresponds to the Minister of Finance, on the proposal of the General Intervention of the State Administration:

a) Approve the General Public Accounting Plan, in which the public accounting principles will be collected and developed.

b) Determine the general data recording criteria, presentation of the accounting information, the content of the annual accounts to be submitted to the Court of Auditors and the procedures for referral of the accounts, to such effects, the use of electronic, computer or telematic means.

c) Determine the content, structure, elaboration rules, and criteria for aggregation or consolidation of the General Account of the State.

d) Establish the surrender of consolidated annual accounts in respect of entities in the state public sector.

e) Determine the content of the report provided for in Article 129 (3) of this Law.

Article 125. Powers of the General Intervention of the State Administration.

1. The General Intervention of the State Administration is the executive center of public accounting, to which it is responsible:

(a) Promote the exercise of regulatory authority in accounting matters attributed to the Minister of Finance by this law and propose to this law the approval of the General Plan of Public Accounting.

b) Approve the development regulations of the General Public Accounting Plan and the partial or special plans to be drawn up in accordance with it, as well as those of the entities referred to in Article 3 (3) 121, which are drawn up in accordance with the Spanish company's General Accounting Plan.

(c) Determine the annual accounts and other documentation that the entities that make up the Social Security System must submit to the Court of Auditors.

(d) Approve the accounting instructions by which the accounting rules to be submitted to the entities to be applied by the public accounting principles, as well as the models and structure of the accounts, are laid down. accounting documents and accounts, statements and accounting reports in general not to be submitted to the Court of Auditors.

e) Establish the basic principles of the analytical accounting of state public sector entities that should apply public accounting principles.

(f) Establish the general principles and criteria to which the monitoring of objectives set out in the State General Budget should respond to state public sector entities.

g) Inspect the activity of the accounting offices of state public sector entities subject to public accounting principles.

(h) Establish the functional requirements and, where appropriate, the IT procedures, relating to the accounting information system, which must be applied by State public sector entities subject to accounting principles; public.

i) Determine the specifications, procedure and periodicity of the accounting information to be sent to the General Intervention of the State Administration, by the State public sector entities subject to the principles Public accountants.

j) Establish the criteria, procedures and exceptions for centralization in the General Intervention of the State Administration of the databases of its accounting information system of public sector entities state subject to public accounting principles.

k) Approve the accounting rules applicable to the funds regulated in Article 2 (2) of this Law.

2. The General Intervention of the State Administration is the managing center of public accounting, to which it is responsible:

a) Manage the accounting of the General Administration of the State.

b) Centralize the accounting information of the various entities in the state public sector.

(c) To seek the presentation of the accounts to be submitted to the Court of Auditors.

d) Forming the General Account of the State.

e) To monitor and promote the organization of the existing accounting offices in all the ministerial departments and public bodies in which the service so advises, and which will be in charge of the officials who legally have this role attributed.

(f) to collect all reports and economic-accounting opinions carried out by the entities that are to be accountable to the Court of Auditors.

You may also have direct access to the databases of the accounting information systems of those entities.

g) Develop the national accounts of the units that make up the public sector sector, in accordance with the criteria for institutional delimitation and imputation of operations established in the European System of National and Regional Accounts.

(h) Develop the report on the degree of compliance with the objective of budgetary stability in the terms of Article 9 of the General Law on Budgetary Stability.

i) Develop the national accounts of the units that make up the sub-sector of public non-financial corporations and public financial institutions and in accordance with the criteria of institutional delimitation and imputation of operations established in the European System of National and Regional Accounts.

j) Design the mechanisms and perform appropriate actions to ensure and protect the integrity, consistency and confidentiality of the data contained in the accounting information systems.

3. The management and management of the public accounts in the field of the entities that make up the Social Security System shall be exercised by the General Intervention of the State Administration through the General Intervention of Social Security, to which it will be:

(a) Address the accounting of the entities that make up the Social Security system and manage the accounting of the managing entities and common services of Social Security.

b) Develop the adaptation of the General Plan of Public Accounting to the entities that make up the Social Security System and submit it for approval to the General Intervention of the State Administration.

c) Approve the implementing rules for such adaptation to the Contable Plan and the partial or special plans to be drawn up in accordance with it, as well as those of the entities referred to in Article 121 (3); which are drawn up in accordance with the General Accounting Plan of the Spanish company, when they are taken into account by Entities that make up the Social Security system.

(d) Approve the accounting instructions by which the accounting rules to be submitted to the entities that make up the Social Security system to be applied by the accounting principles shall be established; public, criteria for the operation of their accounting offices, models and structure of accounting documents and accounts, statements and accounting reports in general that do not have to be submitted to the Court of Auditors.

e) Inspect the activity of the accounting offices of the managing entities and common services of Social Security.

f) Act as the central accounting officer of the Social Security System, centralizing the accounting information of the various entities in the Social Security System, for which it is appropriate to determine the information that the entities shall refer to it, as well as their periodicity and communication procedures.

(g) To seek the presentation of the accounts and other documents to be submitted by the institutions belonging to the Social Security system to the Court of Auditors.

(h) Examine the accounts to be submitted for audit by the Court of Auditors, making, where appropriate, any comments it deems appropriate.

i) Forming the General Account of Social Security, for referral to the Court of Auditors in the same time as that established for the General Account of the State, for which the purposes may be obtained from the institutions considers necessary to perform the accounting aggregation or consolidation process. Failure to make a statement of account shall not constitute an obstacle to the General Intervention of Social Security being able to form the Social Security System Account with the accounts received.

j) Develop the official statistical-accounting documentation of the Social Security System.

k) The administration of the Social Security Accounting Information System, determining the criteria by which it is to be governed.

l) Establish the functional requirements and the IT procedures relating to the accounting information system to be applied by the entities integrating the social security system other than the entities management and common services of the same, allowing the integration of their accounting databases into the accounting information system of Social Security.

(m) Other functions relating to the management of the accounts of the entities in the System of Social Security and the management of the accounts of the managing entities and common security services Social, as well as those that specifically can assign the General Intervention of the State Administration.

Article 126. Additional objective control systems.

1. The system of accounting information of public sector entities to apply the public accounting principles shall include the monitoring of the objectives proposed by the management centres approved in the general budget. of the State.

2. The management centres may design and implement additional systems to monitor the objectives set out in the previous paragraph.

CHAPTER III

Accounting information

SECTION 1. ANNUAL ACCOUNTS

Article 127. Formulation of the annual accounts.

All entities in the State public sector shall make their annual accounts, in accordance with the accounting principles applicable to them, within the maximum period of three months from the end of the financial year, making them available to the appropriate auditors as provided for in Articles 163 and 168 of this Law.

Article 128. Content of the annual accounts of the entities to be applied by the public accounting principles.

1. The annual accounts of the entities to be applied by the public accounting principles shall comprise: the balance sheet, the economic-wealth income account, the state of settlement of the budget and the memory. These documents form a unit.

2. The balance sheet shall comprise, with due separation, the assets and rights as well as any deferred expenses constituting the entity's asset and the liabilities and own funds that form the liability of the entity.

3. The economic-wealth income account shall comprise, with due separation, the income and profits of the financial year, the expenses and losses of the financial year, and, by contrast, the result of savings or savings.

4. The state of settlement of the budget shall comprise, with due separation, the settlement of the expenditure budget and the entity's revenue budget as well as the budgetary result.

The balance of results and the management report referred to in Article 71 of this Law shall also be included, in which the extent to which the objectives are achieved shall be reported, the costs incurred and the costs incurred. physical and financial deviations which, if any, would have occurred.

5. The full, comprehensive and comments on the information contained in the balance sheet, the economic income statement and the state of the budget.

In particular, the memory shall inform the treasury balance of the entity obtained from the recognised obligations not satisfied on the last day of the financial year, the receivables and the liquid funds. existing at 31 December, taking into account in their calculation the possible resources affected by the financing of specific expenditure and the rights to be recovered which are considered to be difficult or impossible to collect.

6. The Minister of Finance shall determine the content and structure of the above documents.

Article 129. Content of the annual accounts of the other entities in the State public sector.

1. The annual accounts of the entities to apply the accounting principles and standards set out in the General Accounting Plan of the Spanish company, as well as their adaptations and provisions, shall be those laid down in the that plan.

These entities shall include in their annual accounts the proposal for the distribution of the result of the financial year, the approval of which shall be subsequently carried out by the competent body.

2. The annual accounts of the entities to apply the accounting principles and standards set out in the adaptation to the General Accounting Plan for non-profit-making entities shall be those laid down in that standard.

3. State commercial companies, public entities, the rest of the public sector entities subject to the principles and accounting standards set out in the General Accounting Plan of the Spanish company and the In addition to the annual accounts, the state public sector foundations shall submit a report on the fulfilment of the economic and financial obligations assumed by those entities as a result of their membership in the sector. public.

SECTION 2. STATE GENERAL ACCOUNT

Article 130. Content of the General Account of the State.

1. The General Account of the State shall be formed by the following documents:

(a) General account of the administrative public sector, which shall be formed by the aggregation or consolidation of the accounts of the entities in that sector.

Likewise, the account of the management of taxes transferred to the autonomous communities will be accompanied as required by Article 52 of Law 21/2001 of 27 December 2001, of fiscal and administrative measures of the new system of financing of the autonomous communities of the common regime and cities with autonomy status.

b) General account of the business public sector, which shall be formed by the aggregation or consolidation of the accounts of the entities to be applied by the accounting principles set out in the General Accounting Plan of the Spanish company, as well as in its adaptations and provisions that develop it.

(c) General account of the public fund sector, which shall be formed by the aggregation or consolidation of the accounts of institutions which are required to apply the accounting principles set out in the accounting rules relating to non-profit-making entities.

d) Memory that will complete, extend, and comment on the information contained in the above documents.

2. The General Account of the State shall provide information on:

a) The economic, financial and patrimonial situation of the state public sector.

b) The economic-property results of the financial year.

c) The execution and settlement of the budgets and the degree of achievement of the objectives.

3. The Minister of Finance may decide to obtain an aggregate or consolidated account of all state public sector entities, or in their case by sector.

Article 131. Training and referral of the General Account of the State to the Court of Auditors.

1. The General Account of the State of each year shall be formed by the General Intervention of the State Administration and shall be submitted to the Government for referral to the Court of Auditors by 31 October of the following year to which it relates.

2. The General Intervention of the State Administration may obtain from the various entities the information it deems necessary to carry out the accounting aggregation or consolidation processes.

3. Failure to make a statement of account shall not constitute an obstacle to the General State Administration's intervention to the General Account of the State with the accounts received.

4. The accounts of an institution may be added or consolidated even if the report has been refused opinion in the required audit report, issued with an unfavourable report or with the exception of the accounts, although these circumstances will be recorded in the report. explanatory to that General Account.

Article 132. Examination and verification of the General Account of the State.

The Court of Auditors, by delegation of the General Courts, shall carry out the examination and verification of the General Account of the State within six months of the date on which it has received them. The plenary session, heard by the Prosecutor, will dictate the definitive statement that deserves it to raise it to the Chambers with the appropriate proposal, giving the government a move.

SECTION 3. INFORMATION ON THE OBJECTIVE OF STABILITY AND FINANCIAL EQUILIBRIUM

Article 133. Public sector economic accounts.

For the purposes of Article 125 (2) (g), (h) and (i), public units shall be required to provide the collaboration and information necessary for the preparation of the economic accounts of the public sector and how much information, in the field of national accounts of public units, is set by internal and Community legislation.

The autonomous communities shall provide the information necessary for the measurement of the degree of achievement of the objective of budgetary stability in accordance with the procedure laid down in Organic Law 5/2001 of 13 December 2001. complementary to the General Law on Budgetary Stability.

Local corporations will provide the necessary information for the measurement of the degree of achievement of the objective of budgetary stability in accordance with the procedure provided for in the General Law of Stability Budget.

Article 134. Monitoring the situation of financial imbalance.

The General Intervention of the State Administration, in the exercise of the powers of centralization of the accounting information provided for in this law, will follow the fulfillment of the financial equilibrium of the entities in the State public sector to which it is applicable, as well as the reorganisation plans arising from its non-compliance.

SECTION 4. PERIODIC INFORMATION

Article 135. Information to be submitted to the General Courts.

Without prejudice to the power of the General Courts to request information from the Government that they deem appropriate, the General Intervention of the State Administration, on a monthly basis, will make available to the Committee on Budgets of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate information on the implementation of the budgets. At the same time, the General Intervention of Social Security shall forward to these Commissions information on the implementation of the budgets of the institutions which are part of the social security system.

Article 136. Information to be published in the "Official State Gazette".

1. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall, on a monthly basis, publish in the Official State Gazette information relating to the implementation of the budget of the State and its amendments and operations treasury, and of the others considered to be of general interest.

2. In addition, the General Intervention of the State Administration will publish in the "Official State Gazette" a summary of the main states and documents that form the General Account of the State.

3. The General Intervention of the State Administration, will publish in the "Official State Gazette" annually, a summary of the main states and documents that conform to the Account of the General Administration of the State.

4. Institutions that have to apply public accounting principles as well as other entities that have no obligation to publish their accounts in the Trade Register shall publish annually in the "Official State Gazette", the balance sheet and the account the economic-wealth result and a summary of the remaining states that make up the annual accounts. For these purposes, the General Intervention of the State Administration shall determine the minimum content of the information to be published.

5. The General Intervention of the State Administration may publish the above information through other means deemed appropriate, other than the "Official State Gazette".

CHAPTER IV

Accountability

Article 137. Obligation to render accounts.

State public sector entities shall surrender to the Court of Auditors, through the General Intervention of the State Administration, the accounting information regulated in Section 1 of Chapter III of this Chapter. title.

Article 138. Storytellers.

1. The holders of the entities and bodies subject to the obligation to be accountable shall be accountable and, in any event:

(a) The authorities and officials responsible for managing the revenue and expenditure, as well as the other operations of the General Administration of the State.

b) The holders of the entities that make up the Social Security System.

(c) The presidents or directors of the autonomous bodies and of the public entities and other entities of the state public sector.

(d) The presidents of the board of directors of state commercial companies.

e) The liquidators of the state mercantile companies in the process of liquidation.

f) The presidents of the board, or those who have executive functions assigned to the foundations of the state public sector.

2. The accounts referred to in the previous paragraph are responsible for the accounting information and it is for them to account, within the time limits set for the purpose and duly authorised, of the accounts to be sent to the Court of Auditors.

The responsibility for providing truthful information in which accountability is given is independent of the accounting liability set out in Title VII of this Act, in which those who adopted the resolutions are committed. or performed the acts reflected in those accounts.

3. They shall also be held to account in the manner in which they are regulated by individuals who, by way of exception, administer, collect or preserve State funds or securities, without prejudice to the interests of the parties concerned. operations.

4. If a trading company ceases to be part of the State public sector, it shall be required to pay the accounts for that accounting period, assuming the surrender obligations of the Chairman of the Management Board on the date of in which the said surrender occurs.

If a state mercantile company agrees to disband, it shall be held to account until the date of the dissolution agreement and also from that date until the completion of the settlement process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the settlement company approves annual accounts, the surrender shall be annual.

5. In the event of the extinction of a state public sector foundation, it shall be held to account until the date of effectiveness of the extinction.

In the event of the liquidation of a state public sector foundation, the state public sector foundation shall be accountable from that date to completion of the settlement process.

However, if the settlement foundation approves annual accounts, the surrender will be annual.

If a state public sector foundation ceases to be part of it, it will be required to render the accounts corresponding to that accounting period, assuming the obligations of surrender the president of the state the date on which the surrender occurs.

Article 139. Accountability procedure.

1. In compliance with their obligation to be accountable, the accounts shall send their approved annual accounts to the General Intervention of the State Administration, accompanied by the corresponding audit report, in accordance with the Articles 163 and 168 of this law or, where applicable, imposed by commercial law, in the case of state commercial companies, within seven months of the end of the financial year. The management report and the report provided for in Article 129 of this Law must also be accompanied by the management report. In the case of foundations of the state public sector, this last report should be accompanied.

2. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall send to the Court of Auditors the documentation referred to in the preceding paragraph within one month of receipt of the statement.

TITLE VI

From the control of the economic-financial management carried out by the General Intervention of the State Administration

CHAPTER I

General rules

Article 140. Control of the economic-financial management of the state public sector.

1. As the supreme audit body of the accounts and the economic management of the State and the public sector, the Court of Auditors is responsible for the external control of the state public sector, in the terms laid down in the Constitution, in their organic law and other laws governing their jurisdiction.

2. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall exercise in accordance with this law the internal control of the economic and financial management of the State public sector, with full autonomy in respect of the authorities and other entities. whose management controls.

Article 141. Control of grants and aid.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will exercise control over collaborating entities and beneficiaries of grants and aid granted by state public sector subjects and those funded by the State Administration. Community funds in accordance with the provisions of the General Law on Subsidies and Community Regulations.

Article 142. Objectives of the control.

1. The control regulated in this title has as objectives:

a) Verify compliance with the regulations that apply to the management object of the control.

b) Verify the proper recording and accounting of the operations performed, and their true and regular reflection in the accounts and statements that, in accordance with applicable provisions, should form each organ or entity.

(c) Evaluate that the activity and procedures under control are carried out in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and, in particular, those provided for in the General Law on Budgetary Stability.

d) Verify compliance with the objectives assigned to the spending management centers in the State General Budget.

2. The control shall be carried out by means of the financial controller, the permanent financial control and the public audit, as referred to in Chapters II, III and IV of this Title.

Article 143. Scope and exercise of control.

The control referred to in this Title shall be exercised over the whole of the organs or entities of the state public sector by the General Intervention of the State Administration, through its central services or its Delegated interventions.

In the field of the Ministry of Defense and Social Security, control will be exercised, respectively through the General Intervention of Defense, and the General Intervention of Social Security, dependent on the functionally, for these purposes, from the General Intervention of the State Administration.

Article 144. Principles of action and prerogatives.

1. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall exercise its control functions in accordance with the principles of autonomy, deconcentrated exercise and internal hierarchy through the control bodies referred to in the previous article.

2. The control referred to in this Title shall be exercised in full autonomy with respect to the body or entity whose management is the subject of control. For such purposes, officials who carry out such duties shall have functional independence in respect of the holders of the bodies whose management they control and shall adjust their action to the rules in force and the instructions given by the intervention. General of State Administration.

3. The contradictory procedure governs the solution of the differences that may arise in the exercise of control of the intervention function. This principle shall be embodied in the dispute resolution procedure laid down in Article 155 of this Law.

In the field of permanent financial control and public audit, the scope of the adversarial procedure shall be that laid down in the regulatory regulations of the relevant reports, without prejudice to the provisions of the Article 161 and Article 166 (3) of this Act.

4. The General Controller of the State Administration and its Delegated Controller may obtain directly from whom the legal advice and technical reports it deems necessary, as well as the background and documents precise for the performance of his duties. Where the advice and reports are to be obtained from bodies whose competence extends to the whole of the General and Institutional Administration, the General Intervention of the State Administration shall, in any case, be requested.

5. The General Controller of the State Administration and its delegated financial controllers may institute the remedies and claims to authorize the provisions in force.

Article 145. Duties and powers of the controller staff, duty of collaboration and legal assistance.

1. The officials who perform the control functions shall be required to keep confidentiality and secrecy in respect of matters which they know for the reason of their work.

The data, reports or records obtained in the development of their functions may be used only for the purposes of the control and, where appropriate, for the denunciation of facts which may constitute administrative infringement, accounting or crime liability.

The Parliamentary Committees of Inquiry may also have access to such data, reports or records, in the terms established by Royal Decree Law 5/1994 of 29 April.

In other cases where access to the control reports is legally applicable, the request for the control reports shall be addressed directly to their addressees.

2. The authorities, whatever their nature, the heads or directors of public offices, those of the entities in the state public sector and those who in general exercise public functions or develop their work in such entities. they shall provide to the officials responsible for control the support, assistance, assistance and collaboration required by them, providing the necessary documentation and information for such control.

3. Any natural or legal person, public or private, shall be required to provide, upon request of the control body of the General Intervention of the Acting State Administration, any kind of data, reports or antecedents, deducted directly from their economic, professional or financial relationships with other people, with transcendence for the control actions that they develop.

4. The legal services of the State shall provide assistance which, where appropriate, corresponds to officials who, as a result of their participation in control actions, are the subject of summons by courts.

Article 146. General public audit and permanent financial control reports.

1. The General Intervention of the State Administration will present annually to the Council of Ministers through the Minister of Finance a general report with the most significant results of the implementation of the Annual Financial Control Plan. Permanent and the annual audit plan for each financial year.

2. The General Intervention of the State Administration will be able to raise to the consideration of the Council of Ministers through the Minister of Finance the reports of permanent financial control and audit that, by reason of its results, it considers Anticipate your knowledge.

Article 147. Control of the entities that make up the Social Security system.

1. The Government at the proposal of the General Intervention of the State Administration, and at the initiative of the

General Intervention of Social Security, will approve the rules for the exercise by the latter of the control in the entities that integrate the system of Social Security.

2. The rules governing the control of the institutions which make up the system of social security shall be based on the provisions of this Title, which shall apply as far as is not provided for in those rules, without prejudice to the direct application of such rules. where appropriate. To this end, the references made in this title to the various bodies of the General Administration of the State and its autonomous bodies shall be construed as references to the relevant bodies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Managing entities and Common Services of Social Security.

CHAPTER II

From the Controller Function

Article 148. Definition.

The purpose of the intervention function is to control, before they are approved, the acts of the public sector that give rise to the recognition of rights or to the performance of expenses, as well as the income and payments of them. they are derived, and the investment or application in general of their public funds, in order to ensure that their management complies with the applicable provisions in each case.

However, the prior audit and intervention of the public treasury's rights and revenues may be replaced by the checks carried out in the exercise of the permanent financial control and the audit public, except for acts corresponding to returns of revenue.

Article 149. Scope of application.

1. The intervention function shall be exercised by the General Intervention of the State Administration and its delegates in respect of the acts performed by the General Administration of the State, its autonomous bodies, and the managing entities and Social Security Common Services.

2. The Council of Ministers, acting on a proposal from the General Administration of the State Administration, may agree on a reasoned basis on the application of permanent financial control, in place of the intervention function, in respect of all the activity of the body or some areas of management, in those self-employed bodies in which the nature of their activities justifies it.

3. Where, in the management procedures which give rise to such acts, documents and files, various public administrations are involved, the intervention function shall be limited to the actions taken in the field of management. Administrations referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 150. Modes of exercise.

1. The intervention function shall be exercised in its forms of formal and material intervention. The formal intervention shall consist of the verification of compliance with the legal requirements necessary for the adoption of the agreement, by examining all documents which are required to be incorporated into the file. The actual and effective implementation of public funds will be verified in the material intervention.

2. The exercise of the intervention function shall comprise:

(a) The prior audit of acts that recognise rights of economic content, approve expenditure, acquire expenditure commitments, or agree on movements of funds and securities.

b) The intervention of the recognition of the obligations and the verification of the investment.

c) The formal intervention of the payment order.

d) The material intervention of the payment.

Article 151. Not subject to prior audit.

They shall not be subject to the prior audit provided for in paragraph 2 (2) of the previous Article: (a) minor contracts; (b) expenditure of a periodic and other successive character, after the audit of expenditure corresponding to the initial period of the act or contract of which it derives or its amendments; (c) expenditure less than EUR 5 000 whose payment is made by means of the special procedure for the advance of a fixed cash advance, as laid down in Article 78 of this Law; (d) expenditure relating to the holding of electoral processes referred to in the ninth provision of this law and (e) grants with nominative allocation.

Neither shall be subject to prior scrutiny of expenditure less than EUR 5 000 which is made from funds provided to justify, where the services or services to which they relate have or are to be held in foreign territory.

Article 152. Audit and prior intervention of basic requirements.

1. The Government, on a proposal from the General Intervention of the State Administration, may agree, that the prior audit and intervention referred to in Article 150, shall be limited to checking the following:

(a) The existence of budgetary credit and that the proposal is adequate and sufficient to the nature of the expenditure or obligation that it proposes to contract.

In cases where it is a matter of entering into multi-annual expenditure commitments, it shall also be verified if the provisions of Article 47 of this Law are complied with.

b) That the expenses or obligations are proposed to the competent body.

(c) The competence of the contracting authority, the grant of the grant, of which it concludes the cooperation agreement or of the one that resolves the matter of the patrimonial responsibility and, in general, of the one that dictates the act administrative, where the authority does not have the power to approve the expenditure in question.

d) That the obligation recognition files correspond to approved and audited expenses favorably.

e) The existence of the authorization of the Council of Ministers in the cases that are required pursuant to Article 12 (2) of the Law on Public Administration Contracts.

(f) The existence of the authorization of the holder of the ministerial department in the cases that, pursuant to Article 12 (1) of the Law on Public Administration Contracts, so require.

g) Those other extremes that, due to their importance in the management process, determine the Council of Ministers at the proposal of the Minister of Finance, prior to the report of the General Intervention of the State Administration.

In the determination of these extremes, particular attention will be given to those requirements set out in the regulatory regulations to ensure objectivity and transparency in public actions.

2. However, the general system of prior audit for expenditure of an indeterminate amount and those other than those to be approved by the Council of Ministers shall apply.

Article 153. Prior audit and intervention of payments to be justified and fixed cash advances.

The requirements to be verified in the prior audit of the payment orders to be justified and in the setting up or modification of the fixed cash advances and their fund repositions shall be determined, as well as the procedure to be followed in the intervention of their supporting accounts.

Article 154. Repair.

1. If the intervention, when carrying out the audit or intervention, is in disagreement with the content of the acts examined or with the procedure followed for its adoption, it shall make its reservations in writing, by appointment of the legal basis in which it supports its criteria. The formulation of the repair shall suspend the processing of the file until it is settled, either for the purpose of the correction of the deficiencies noted or, in the case of non-acceptance of the repair, by the decision of the procedure provided for in the next item.

2. Where the general system of supervision and prior intervention is applied, the formulation of the repair shall be made in the following cases:

a) When based on credit failure or the proposed failure is not considered appropriate.

b) When the expenditure is proposed to an organ that lacks competence for approval.

(c) Where serious irregularities are found in the documentation supporting the recognition of the obligation or the right of the recipient is not sufficiently credited.

d) When the repair derives from material checks of works, supplies, acquisitions, and services.

(e) Where requirements or formalities have been omitted that could result in the act being nullity, or where the continuation of administrative management may cause economic bankruptcy to the Public Treasury or a third party.

In the event that the defects observed in the case stem from non-compliance with non-essential requirements or formalities, the Intervention may issue a favourable report, but the effectiveness of the act will be conditional on the (a) the correction of such defects prior to the approval of the dossier. The managing body shall send to the intervention the supporting documentation of the failure of such defects.

If the conditions indicated for the continuity of the file are not released by the managing body, the corresponding repair shall be considered as formulated.

3. In the event that the intervention function is carried out under the special system of audit and prior intervention of basic requirements, only the formulation of repair shall be carried out if one of the necessary checks is not met. laid down in Article 152 (1).

Interventors may make any additional observations they deem appropriate, without the same having, under any circumstances, suspensive effects in the processing of the files concerned.

In this special scheme, the possibility contained in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply.

Article 155. Discrepancies.

When the managing body does not accept the proposed repair, it will propose to the General Intervention of the State Administration through the Department's Secretariat, in the case of ministries and through the presidents or directors of the bodies or entities in other cases, a reasoned written discrepancy, with an appointment of the legal provisions on which they support their criteria.

Raised the discrepancy will proceed as follows:

(a) In cases where the repair has been made by a delegated intervention it will be up to the General Intervention of the State Administration to know the discrepancy, being its binding resolution for that one.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the repair has been formulated by a delegated intervention in centers, agencies and agencies of the Ministry of Defense, or in the managing entities and common services of Social Security, it will be up to the General Intervention of the Defense and the General Intervention of Social Security, respectively, to establish their criteria that will be binding on that.

When the repair has been formulated by the General Intervention of the Defense or by the General Intervention of Social Security or they have confirmed that of a delegated intervention, the discrepancy, it will correspond to the General Intervention of the State Administration to resolve the same, being its binding resolution for those.

(b) Where the repair has been formulated by the General Intervention of the State Administration or has been confirmed by this management centre of another General or delegated Intervention, the discrepancy shall be the responsibility of the Council of Ministers to adopt final resolution.

Article 156. Default of audit.

1. In cases where, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable provisions, the intervention function is mandatory and has been omitted, the obligation cannot be recognised, the payment shall be processed or the payment is to be made in a favourable manner. actions until such omission is remedied in the terms provided for in this article.

2. In such cases, the issuing of a report by the General Intervention Agency of the State Administration with knowledge of such omission shall be required, which shall be forwarded to the authority which initiated the proceedings.

This report, which will have no audit nature, will show at least the following extremes:

(a) The infringements of the legal order that would have been shown to have submitted the file to audit or prior intervention at the appropriate time.

(b) The benefits that have been made as a result of that act.

c) The provenance of the review of the acts that have been issued with violation of the order.

d) The existence of adequate and adequate credit to address outstanding obligations.

The delegates will report their report to the General Intervention of the State Administration at the time of issue.

3. It shall be the responsibility of the holder of the department to which the body responsible for processing the file belongs or to which the autonomous body is attached, without which the competent authority may be the subject of a delegation, submitting the matter to the Council of Ministers for adoption of the resolution.

4. The favourable agreement of the Council of Ministers will not exempt from the requirement of the responsibilities to which, where appropriate, there should be.

CHAPTER III

From Permanent Financial Control

Article 157. Definition.

Permanent financial control shall be exercised in the bodies and entities established in the following Article and shall have the purpose of verifying a continuous form carried out through the corresponding delegated intervention, the situation and the functioning of the public sector entities in the economic and financial aspect, in order to verify compliance with the regulations and guidelines that govern them and, in general, that their management complies with the principles of good financial management and in particular compliance with the stability objective budget and financial balance.

Article 158. Scope of application.

1. Permanent financial control shall be exercised over:

a) The General Administration of the State.

b) The autonomous agencies that are dependent on the General Administration of the State.

c) The managing entities and common services of Social Security.

(d) State entities governed by public law as referred to in paragraph 1 (g) of Article 2 of this Law.

e) The business public entities provided for in Article 2.1.c).

(f) The mutual occupational accidents and occupational diseases of Social Security, when they are immersed in one of the cases provided for in Article 74.1 of the General Law of Social Security.

2. The Council of Ministers may agree, on a proposal from the Ministry of Finance and on the initiative of the General Intervention of the State Administration, that in certain public entities and public entities of public law of the State (g) in Article 2 (1) of this Act, permanent financial control shall be replaced by the public audit actions set out in the Annual Audit Plan.

Article 159. Content of the permanent financial control.

1. Permanent financial control shall include the following actions:

a) Verification of compliance with regulations and procedures applicable to the aspects of economic management to which the financial controller does not extend.

(b) Monitoring of budgetary implementation and verification of compliance with the objectives assigned to the programmes of the centres of expenditure management and verification of the results and management report.

c) Report on the proposed distribution of results referred to in Article 129 of this Law.

d) Checking the cash planning, management, and situation of the treasury.

e) The actions envisaged in the remaining titles of this law and in the other budgetary and regulatory norms of the economic management of the state public sector, attributed to the delegated interventions.

(f) Analysis of operations and procedures, in order to provide an assessment of their economic and financial rationality and their suitability for the principles of good management, in order to identify their possible deficiencies and propose the recommendations in order to correct them.

2. The actions referred to above shall be documented in reports.

Annually a comprehensive report of the results of the ongoing financial control actions carried out during the financial year will be produced.

3. The activities of permanent financial control to be carried out in each financial year and the specific scope fixed for them shall be determined in the annual plan of permanent financial control drawn up by the General Intervention of the Administration of Status, which may be modified when circumstances warrant.

Article 160. Permanent financial control reports.

1. The reports referred to in paragraph 1 (e) of the previous Article shall be in accordance with the procedure for the preparation, content and addressees of the rules laid down in their regulatory standards.

2. The other reports set out in the previous article shall be developed in accordance with the rules that the General Intervention of the State Administration approves, which shall establish its periodicity, content, recipients and the procedure for its preparation.

Article 161. Reports of action and follow-up of corrective actions.

1. The General Intervention of the State Administration may formulate reports of action arising from the recommendations and proposals for action for the managing bodies contained in the annual reports on permanent financial control referred to in Article 159 (2), where some of the following conditions are met:

(a) Where deficiencies have been identified and controlled management operators do not indicate the necessary measures and the time limit for their solution.

b) When they manifest discrepancies with the conclusions and recommendations and are not accepted by the control body.

c) When they have manifested their conformity, they do not take the measures to address the deficiencies revealed.

2. The action reports shall be addressed to the holder of the department responsible for or to which the controlled body or entity is attached and, in the event of the failure of the holder of the department, to be raised to the Council of Ministers through the Minister. (') Decisions taken by the Council of Ministers in this regard will be binding on both the management and control bodies.

3. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall carry out a continuous monitoring of corrective actions that have been decided as a result of the deficiencies identified in the reports.

CHAPTER IV

From Public Audit

SECTION 1 GENERAL RULES

Article 162. Definition.

The public audit will consist of the verification, carried out subsequently and carried out in a systematic way, of the economic and financial activity of the state public sector, through the application of the review procedures selective content in the audit rules and instructions issued by the General Intervention of the State Administration.

Article 163. Scope.

The public audit shall be carried out, in accordance with the provisions of the annual audit plan referred to in Article 165 of this Law, on all organs and entities belonging to the State public sector and on the funds to Article 2 (2) of this Law, without prejudice to the actions relating to the exercise of the financial controller and the permanent financial control, and to the actions submitted to the exercise of the private audit of the Law 19/1988, of July 12, Audit of Accounts, imposed on state mercantile societies by commercial law.

Article 164. Forms of exercise.

1. The public audit shall adopt the following modalities:

(a) The audit of accounting regularity, consisting of the review and verification of the accounting information and documentation in order to verify its compliance with the accounting rules and in its budgetary case application.

(b) The compliance audit, the purpose of which is to verify that economic and financial management acts, operations and procedures have been developed in accordance with the rules that apply to them.

c) The operational audit, which constitutes the systematic and objective examination of the operations and procedures of an organisation, programme, activity or public function, in order to provide an independent assessment of its economic-financial rationality and its suitability for the principles of good management, in order to identify its possible deficiencies and to propose the appropriate recommendations in order to correct them.

2. The General Intervention may determine the performance of audits in which audit objectives of accounting, compliance and operational regularity are combined.

Article 165. Annual audit plan.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will draw up an annual audit plan, which will include the actions to be carried out during the corresponding financial year. directly to that centre, as those whose implementation must be carried out through the General Intervention of Defence and the General Intervention of Social Security. The annual audit plan shall also include actions for public support and grants.

The General Intervention of the State Administration may modify the audits initially provided for in the annual plan where circumstances warrant it.

Article 166. Audit reports.

1. The results of each public audit performance shall be reflected in written reports and shall be developed in accordance with the rules that the General Intervention of the State Administration approves, which shall establish the content, recipients, and the procedure for the preparation of such reports.

2. In any event, the reports shall be sent to the holder of the controlled body or entity, the Minister of Finance and the department of the department or to which the controlled body or entity is attached. The presidents of the public bodies, state-owned commercial companies, state public sector foundations, and other state public entities, which have a similar or similar board of directors or other board of directors. The audit report shall send the audit reports relating to the entity to them.

However, when the reports refer to the Occupational Accident and Disease Mutuals of Social Security, the reports shall be forwarded to the holder of the report and to the management and supervisory body.

3. The provisions of Article 161 for performance reports arising from permanent financial control shall also apply to public audit reports.

4. Without prejudice to the above paragraph as regards the determination of the addressees of the reports, the audit of annual accounts shall in any case be rendered to the Court of Auditors together with the annual accounts, in accordance with the established in Article 139 of this Law.

5. Each year the General Intervention of the State Administration shall forward to the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the regulations, a summary report of the audits of annual accounts carried out, in which the reflect the caveats contained in those reports.

SECTION 2. AUDIT OF ANNUAL ACCOUNTS

Article 167. Definition.

1. The audit of the annual accounts is the form of the audit of the accounting regularity which aims at the verification as to whether the annual accounts represent in all significant respects the true and true image of the financial situation, the results of the institution and, where appropriate, the implementation of the budget in accordance with the accounting and budgetary rules and principles that apply to it and contain the information necessary for its interpretation and appropriate understanding.

2. The audits carried out by the General Intervention of the State Administration, the annual accounts of the state public sector entities subject to the General Accounting Plan of the Spanish company and their adaptations, shall comprise, in addition to the purpose provided for in paragraph 1, the revision of the accounting information included in the report relating to the fulfilment of the economic and financial obligations assumed by those institutions as a result of their The Commission is not aware of the fact that it is not a Member State. contained in the annual accounts.

3. The audit of the annual accounts of the foundations of the State public sector, in addition to the purpose provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2, shall verify the fulfilment of the founding purposes and of the principles to which it shall adjust its activity in the selection of staff, recruitment and provision of funds for beneficiaries when these resources come from the State public sector. It shall also extend to the verification of the implementation of the operating and capital budgets.

4. The General Intervention of the State Administration may extend the object of the audit of annual accounts to other aspects of the management of public entities in particular when they are not subject to financial control or financial control. permanent.

Article 168. Scope of the annual accounts audit.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will annually audit the annual accounts of:

(a) the autonomous bodies, the public undertakings, the State entities governed by public law referred to in Article 2.1.g of the said law, the consortia referred to in Article 2 (1) (h), occupational accidents and occupational diseases of the Social Security and the funds referred to in Article 2.2 which are held by independent accounts.

b) State public sector foundations forced to be audited by their specific regulations.

(c) State-owned commercial companies and public sector foundations not subject to the obligation to audit themselves that would have been included in the annual audit plan.

SECTION 3. SPECIFIC PUBLIC AUDITS

Article 169. Compliance audit.

The General Intervention of the State Administration shall carry out the audit of compliance with those bodies and entities of the State public sector that are included in the Annual Plan of Audits, and shall include verification selective adequacy to the legality of budgetary management, procurement, personnel, income and grant management, as well as any other aspect of the financial economic activity of the audited entities.

Article 170. Operational audit.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will carry out the operational audit of those organs and entities of the public sector that are included in the Annual Plan of Audits and with the scope to be established in the that plan, through the following modes:

1. Audit of budgetary programmes, consisting of the analysis of the adequacy of the objectives and of the monitoring and self-assessment systems developed by the managing bodies, the verification of the reliability of the balance sheets and management reports, as well as the assessment of the results obtained, the alternatives considered and the effects produced in relation to the resources used in the management of the budgetary action programmes and plans.

2. Audit of systems and procedures, consisting of the exhaustive study of an administrative financial management procedure with the aim of detecting possible deficiencies or, where appropriate, obsolescence and proposing measures appropriate corrective actions or the replacement of the procedure in accordance with the general principles of good management.

3. Audit of economy, efficiency and efficiency, consisting of the independent and objective assessment of the level of effectiveness, efficiency and economy achieved in the use of public resources.

Article 171. Audit of contracts-programmes and follow-up of financial balance plans.

1. In cases where, by virtue of a contract-programme or other agreements between the State and the entities referred to in Article 68 of this Law, the contributions to be made by the State are subject to the amount of the compliance with certain objectives, the amount or development of certain financial measures, or the fulfilment of certain macroeconomic assumptions, the General Intervention of the State Administration shall carry out an audit whose The aim will be to verify the adequacy of the proposed settlement by the body provided for in the the compliance with these conditions.

2. The annual audit plan shall cover in particular the financial control of the State-owned public sector entities provided for in Article 2 (2) of Law 18/2001 of 12 December 2001 on budgetary stability submitted to the Commission. The Sanitation Plan provided for in Article 18 of the Act.

Article 172. Audit of the initial Action Plans.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will carry out the review of the compliance with the forecasts contained in the initial plans for action, which are regulated in Articles 61 and 62 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April 1997. the organisation and functioning of the General Administration of the State, with the aim of reporting on the adequacy of the reality of its objectives and on the continuity of the circumstances that gave rise to the establishment of the public body.

In addition, it will review with the aforementioned objective, the memories established for the foundations of the state public sector referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 45 of Law 50/2002, of December 26, of Foundations, and the planned for the state mercantile companies in the additional provision of this law.

Article 173. Audit of the account of state taxes.

The audit of the account of state taxes and resources of other administrations and public entities managed by the State Tax Administration Agency will be carried out annually, according to the procedure that The General Intervention of the State Administration is established for this purpose.

Article 174. Audit of the social security partners.

The public audit of the collaborating companies will be carried out through the General Intervention of Social Security with respect to the management of the protective action referred to in Article 77 of the General Law of the Social Security.

Article 175. Audit of privatisations.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will carry out the audit of each operation to dispose of securities representative of the capital of state commercial companies that it carries out for the public sector loss of political control of those.

This audit shall be carried out on the account of the economic and accounting result, as well as the explanatory memorandum of the aspects of the transaction, to be issued in each disposal operation referred to above.

TITLE VII

From Responsibilities

Article 176. General principle.

The authorities and other personnel serving the entities referred to in Article 2 of this law who, by intent or serious fault, adopt resolutions or carry out acts in violation of the provisions of this law, shall be have to compensate the State Public Finance or, where appropriate, the respective entity for the damages resulting from those, regardless of the criminal or disciplinary responsibility that may correspond to them.

Article 177. Facts that can generate patrimonial responsibility.

1. They constitute infringements for the purposes of the preceding Article:

a) Haber engaged in scope or embezzlement in the administration of public funds.

b) Manage the resources and other rights of the State Public Finance without being subject to the provisions governing its liquidation, collection or entry into the Treasury.

c) Commit expenses, settle obligations and order payments without sufficient credit to perform them or in violation of the provisions of this law or of the Budget that is applicable.

d) Give rise to reintegrable payments, in accordance with the provisions of Article 77 of this Law.

e) Not to justify the investment of the funds referred to in Articles 78 and 79 of this Law and the General Grant Law.

f) Any other act or resolution with violation of this law, when the assumptions set forth in Article 176 of this law are met.

2. The offences listed in the preceding number shall, where appropriate, give rise to the obligation to compensate as set out in the previous Article.

Article 178. Types of liability.

1. When the act or the resolution is dictated by mediation, the responsibility will reach all the damages that are known to derive from the resolution adopted with violation of this law.

2. In the case of a serious fault, the authorities and other staff of the state public sector entities shall only be liable for damages which are a necessary consequence of the unlawful act or resolution.

For these purposes, the Administration will have to proceed in advance against the individuals for the reimbursement of the amounts unduly paid.

3. The responsibility of those who have participated in the resolution or in the act shall be joint, except in cases of dolo, which shall be in solidarity.

Article 179. Responsibility of the financial controllers and authorising officers for payments.

Under the conditions set out in the foregoing articles, they are subject to the obligation to indemnify the State Public Finance or, where appropriate, the respective entity, in addition to those who adopt the resolution or carry out the act. determining the financial controller, the financial controller in the financial year, in respect of the extremes to which it extends, and the authorising officers who have not saved their action in the respective file, by way of observation written about the impropriety or illegality of the act or resolution.

Article 180. Competent body and procedure.

1. In the case of Article 177 (1) (a) of this Law, liability shall be required by the Court of Auditors by the appropriate recovery procedure in accordance with the provisions laid down in its legislation. specifies.

2. In the cases described in paragraphs (b) to (f) of Article 177 (1) of this Law, and without prejudice to the fact that the Court of Auditors has been informed of the facts of the case, the effects of the Law on Organic Law 2/1982, Article 41 (1), the liability shall be required on the administrative file instructed to the data subject.

The opening agreement, the appointment of an instructor and the resolution of the file shall correspond to the Government in the case of persons who, in accordance with the law in force, have the status of authority, and in the other cases to the Minister of Finance.

The competencies attributed to the Minister of Finance, will correspond to that of Labor and Social Affairs, in the responsibilities regarding the entities that integrate the Social Security system.

The resolution which, after informing the legal service of the State, or, where appropriate, of the Social Security, will terminate the case dealt with with a hearing of the persons concerned, shall decide on the damages caused to the property and rights of the State Public Finance or, where appropriate, of the entity, imposing on those responsible the obligation to indemnify the amount and within the time limit to be determined.

Such a decision shall be brought before the Court of Justice of the Court of Auditors within two months from the day following that of its notification.

Article 181. Legal status of the amount of the damage irrogated.

1. The damages declared in the cases of liability shall be considered by the State Public Finance or the respective entity.

Such rights shall enjoy the regime referred to in Article 10 (1) of this law and shall be charged, where appropriate, by the award path.

2. The State Public Finance or, as the case may be, the corresponding entity are entitled to the interest provided for in Article 17 of this Law, on the amount of the scope, misappropriation, damages and damages to their property and rights, from the day that damages.

When the direct debtor's insolvency derives the action from the subsidiary, the interest shall be calculated on the day on which the payment is required.

Article 182. Previous proceedings.

As soon as it is known that there has been a constitutive fact of the infractions referred to in Article 177.1 or have elapsed the deadlines indicated in the corresponding articles of this law without having been (a) the payment orders or the funds to which he himself refers, the heads of the alleged responsible persons and the authorising officers of payment, respectively, shall instruct the preliminary proceedings and shall, in the same manner, take the necessary measures to to ensure the rights of the State Public Finance or those of the respective entity, giving immediate knowledge of the Court of Auditors or the Minister of Finance, in each case, to proceed according to their powers and in accordance with the procedures laid down.

Additional disposition first. Collaboration between the General Intervention of the State Administration and the Autonomous Communities and local entities.

The General Intervention of the State Administration will promote the conclusion of agreements and other mechanisms of coordination and collaboration with the equivalent autonomous control bodies and those of the entities that make up the local administration in the exercise of accounting and control functions.

Additional provision second. Collaboration in the implementation of the Annual Audit Plan.

For the execution of the Annual Audit Plan referred to in Article 165 of this Law, the General Intervention of the State Administration may, in the event of insufficient available means, seek the collaboration of Private audit firms, which must comply with the rules and instructions to be determined by the audit firm, by hiring the Ministry of Finance with the latter carrying out the audit work of accounts which is pointed out in each case.

Any recruitment of private audit firms, in the field indicated above, must be preceded by the publication, on an annual basis, of an order by the Ministry of Finance, specifying the failure of the services of the General Intervention of the State Administration to justify such procurement.

The auditors shall be engaged for a maximum period of two years, which may be extended for a further two years, and the eight years of carrying out work on the same entity shall not be exceeded by means of successive contracts, including corresponding extensions, nor can they be contracted for the carrying out of work on the same entity until two years after the end of the eight-year period referred to above.

Audit companies or auditors of concurrent individual accounts in relation to each work to be awarded may not be hired when, in the year preceding that in which they are to carry out their work or in the same year, have carried out or carry out other work for the institution, on areas or areas for which the auditor is required to give an opinion in his report.

Additional provision third. Access to information for audits carried out by private auditors.

In the exercise of its control functions, the General Intervention of the State Administration will be able to access the working papers that have served as a basis for the state public sector audit reports carried out by private auditors, as referred to in Article 163 of this Law.

Additional provision fourth. Delegates delegates.

The delegated controllers shall be appointed among the officials of the following Bodies:

(a) In the civil sphere of the State, its public bodies and state entities governed by public law, among those of the Superior Body of Interventors and Auditors of the State.

b) In the military, among those of the Military Defense Intervention Corps.

c) In the entities that integrate the Social Security system, among those of the Higher Intervention and Accounting Corps of Social Security Administration.

Additional provision fifth. Management of expenses and payments abroad.

1. External services, in order to limit the movement of foreign exchange and transnational payments to the essential minimum, must allocate the funds available to them for the payment of obligations which, within the framework of the budgetary appropriations, assign them, they must satisfy.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be carried out in accordance with the principle of gross budget in accordance with Article 14 of this Law, for which the said services shall periodically account for its management, which shall include the expression of the funds received from the General Budget of the State, the income earned, expenditure incurred by both and the balance which, if any, results.

On the basis of these accounts, the corresponding accounting offices shall carry out the budgetary applications that they carry out in each case.

2. For the proper functioning of the representations accredited to third countries and international organizations, of the Consulates, Spanish offices of trade abroad and other services abroad, as well as of the agencies (a) the self-employed persons who have units abroad, in order to be able to face payment obligations in the first months of each year, advances of funds may be granted on account of the general budget of the State for the financial year following the obligation to be cancelled in that budget.

3. For the purchase of military equipment and complementary services of the Ministry of Defence abroad, a fixed cash advance shall be granted, the overall amount of which shall not exceed 2,5% of the total of the actual investment appropriations. of the Expenditure Budget of that ministry.

A joint proposal from the Ministries of Finance and Defense will be issued to the regulatory norms governing the use and justification of the funds distributed through the system established.

Additional provision sixth. Management of expenses for electoral processes.

1. The management of the operating expenses to be assumed by the State as a result of the holding of electoral processes, in the field of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, will be carried out through a specific procedure that, at last In order to ensure their agility and the individual control of each electoral process by the Court of Auditors, the following principles shall be established:

(a) The imputation of such expenditure shall be carried out on a specific budgetary basis existing in the Ministry of the Interior, which shall contain both those incurred by this department and other self-employed ministries or bodies.

(b) The Ministry of the Interior shall distribute by specific provisions the amounts corresponding to the various State authorities, which may be made available through bookkeeping with definitive application the indicated budget allocation.

(c) The managing bodies shall be accountable for their management which shall include the expression of the expenditure incurred by the funds received. The account to be presented by each managing body shall be unique for each electoral process and shall be referred to the Court of Auditors through the Ministry of the Interior.

(d) In substitution of the intervention function, the management of these expenses shall be subject to the permanent financial control carried out by the delegated financial controller.

As a result of this control, the financial controller shall submit a report to the supporting account, which shall be referred to the Court of Auditors.

2. The Government is authorised to issue any provisions necessary for the development and implementation of this procedure.

Additional provision seventh. Current expenditure of non-university public teaching centres.

The management of the operating expenses of non-university public teaching institutions will be carried out with the specialties incorporated in Law 12/1987, of July 2, by Law 37/1988 of General Budgets. of the State for 1989.

Additional disposition octave. Payments to be justified in favour of the Hydrographic Confederations.

1. The Ministry of the Environment, through the Directorate General of Water and Water Quality, will be able to propose the release of funds to justify in favor of the hydrographic confederations, to carry out the declared works of emergency and by administration, as well as to deal with the payments resulting from the expropriations necessary to carry out both these works, and in general, those entrusted to them by the said ministerial department in application of the paragraphs (d) and (g) of Article 24 of the recast text of the Water Act, approved by Royal Decree Legislative 1/2001 of 20 July.

2. In the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, it shall be for the presidents of the respective hydrographic confederations to order the cashiers to carry out the corresponding material payments under the responsibility of the the funds freed to justify.

3. The supporting accounts derived from these bookings must be approved by the authority which issued the corresponding funds to justify. Those supporting accounts of the funds released shall be subject to the same control regime as that of the hydrographic confederations.

Additional provision ninth. Commercial companies and other entities controlled by the public sector.

The State will promote the conclusion of agreements with the autonomous communities or local authorities, in order to coordinate the budgetary, financial, accounting and control regime of the commercial companies in which participate, in a minority manner, in the entities that make up the State public sector, the Administration of the Autonomous Communities or local entities, or the entities to which they are linked or dependent, where the participation of the latter jointly considered to be majority or shall entail its political control.

The above shall apply to the consortia which, not in compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 2 (1) (h) of this Law in respect of any of the Administrations which they participate in, are financed mainly by resources from the State, the autonomous communities or local authorities, the previous administrations have contributed mostly to the same money, goods or industry, or have committed themselves, in the time of its constitution, to finance the majority of the said entity and always acts are directly or indirectly subject to the joint decision-making power of those administrations.

Additional provision 10th. Memory for the constitution of commercial companies.

In the case of the authorization of the formation of state-owned commercial companies or of the acquisition of the status of a company from a pre-existing company, a relative memory of the company must be submitted. compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 3 of this Law in order to be considered to be members of the business public sector, which shall be informed by the Ministry of Finance.

Additional provision eleventh. Provisional financial control systems.

When exceptional circumstances advise, the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Finance at the initiative of the General Intervention of the State Administration and upon request to the Minister of Finance General intervention of the Defence or Social Security, in the case of entities subject to its scope, may be agreed for certain entities in the public sector, the substitution for a given period of time control system which is subject to another or other of the procedures laid down in Title VI of this law.

The agreement shall be individualized for each entity and shall not be in force for more than one year, without prejudice to subsequent agreements that maintain such a situation.

Additional disposition twelfth. Control functions.

The provisions of Title VI shall apply without prejudice to the control which the ministerial departments, public bodies and other entities of the public sector develop in the field of their competence, in accordance with the provisions of the provisions of this Directive. in Articles 15.1.c), 51, and 59 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State, and the other rules governing such actions.

Additional disposition thirteenth. Arrangements for the entities referred to in Article 2 (1) (g) and (h), pre-existing to the entry into force of this law.

Without prejudice to Article 3 of this Law, the entities referred to in Article 2 (1) (g) and (h), which are pre-existing to the entry into force of this law, shall retain the budgetary regime, economic-financial, accounting and control, established by its regulatory laws prior to such entry into force.

They shall also maintain the budgetary, economic-financial, accounting and control arrangements, established by regulatory standard or by agreement of the Council of Ministers until such rule or agreement is modified.

Where such a scheme is established by reference to the recast text of the General Budget Law, approved by Royal Decree No 1091/1988 of 23 September 1988, that reference shall be understood as a reference to the the provisions of this law which are applicable in Chapter V of Title II, Chapters III and IV of Title V and Chapter IV of Title VI as they govern the same budgetary, accounting and control arrangements.

Additional disposition fourteenth. System of Funds for Development Assistance (FAD), for Investment in Foreign Affairs (FIEX) and for Investment Operations in the External Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (FONSMEs).

The budgetary, economic-financial, accounting and control regime of the Development Assistance Funds (FAD), for Investment in the Exterior (FIEX) and for Investment Operations in the Foreign of Small and Medium Enterprises (FONSME) shall be governed by its specific legislation and shall supplement this law in those provisions which apply to them.

In any case, the application of this law in respect of the production of the capital and exploitation budgets referred to in Article 64 and the formulation of a multiannual action programme provided for in Article 65 subject to the criteria for the administration and implementation of each of the Funds. In any event, the Funds shall keep their accounts independent of that of the State and shall form their duly audited accounts in the first half of the subsequent financial year, subject to the approval of the specific bodies set up for administration, management and control.

The dividends and other remuneration resulting from the application of each Fund may in any event be intended for their specific purposes, without prejudice to the possibility that in order to optimize the management they can maintain deposit or investment in financial institutions other than the Banco de España, subject to the authorisation of the Directorate-General of the Treasury and Financial Policy, in accordance with Article 110 of this Law.

Additional provision 15th. Regime applicable to the Banco de España.

The Bank of Spain shall be governed by the law in force in the matter in force prior to its entry into force.

Additional provision sixteenth. Use of information and communications technologies.

In relation to the matters covered by this law and the other rules governing the procedures for the elaboration, implementation and control of the General Budget of the State, the Minister of Finance will establish the assumptions, conditions and requirements for the use of electronic, computer and telematic means for:

a) Streamline procedures and facilitate data exchange, replacing paper-based media or any other physical medium with information and communications technology's own media, both in the internal proceedings of the General Administration of the State or its autonomous bodies as in relations with third parties, within the general framework laid down in Article 45 of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the legal framework of the Public administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure.

b) Replace the systems of authorization and control formalized by means of measures, handwritten signatures, stamps or other manual means by authorizations and controls established in the systems of information enabled or that is enable them to deal with the aspects covered by this law, provided that the exercise of the competence by the body responsible for it is ensured in such a way.

Additional 17th disposition. Organs of the State without legal personality.

The application of the precepts of this law will be carried out with respect to the special budgetary regimes established at the entry into force of the law in the second provision of the Organic Law 2/1979, of 3 of In October, the Constitutional Court, in Article 26 of the Organic Law 3/1980, of 22 April, of the Council of State, in Articles 6 of the Organic Law 2/1982, of 12 May, of the Court of Auditors and 3 of Law 7/1988, of 5 April, of operation of the Court of Auditors, as well as in Articles 107 and 127 of the Organic Law 6/1985 of 1 July 1985 Judicial, and in Article 10 of Law 21/1991, of 17 June, of Creation of the Economic and Social Council.

First transient disposition. Scheme of the bodies referred to in Articles 60 and 61 of Law 50/1998 of 30 December 1998 on tax, administrative and social measures.

1. Within one year of the date of entry into force of this law, the regulatory provisions of the autonomous bodies referred to in Article 60 (1) of Law 50/1998 of 30 December 1998 on measures to be applied shall be adapted. The Court of First Instance held that the Court of First Instance held that the Court of First Instance held that the Court of First Instance held that the Court of First Instance held that the Court of First Instance held that activity carried out by those bodies.

2. As long as the adaptation provided for in paragraph 1 of this provision does not apply, the public bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall comply with their budgetary arrangements for the autonomous bodies in this law, without prejudice to the provisions of this law. which are derived from transactions of a commercial, industrial, financial and similar nature covered by Chapter II of Title II of the recast text of the General Budget Law.

In their economic and financial arrangements, accounting, intervention and financial control, they shall be governed by the provisions of Articles 60 (5) and 61 (1) of Law 50/1998 of 30 December 1998 on fiscal measures, administrative and social order.

Second transient disposition. Budgetary changes.

For the purposes of processing the budgetary changes which, if appropriate, have to be carried out in the budgets approved for the financial year 2004, the levels of linkage of appropriations established in the budget shall apply. Article 59 of the recast text of the General Budget Law, approved by Royal Decree No 1091/1988 of 23 September 1988, taking into account the provisions of the following paragraph.

Until the end of its term, paragraph 3 (b) of Article 59 (3) is amended as set out in the preceding paragraph, which shall be worded as follows:

"(b) In current expenditure on goods and services, those intended for" protocolary and representative attention "and" reserved expenses "."

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

1. The following provisions are repealed:

(a) Royal Decree No 1091/1988 of 23 September 1988 approving the recast of the General Budget Law with effect from 1 January 2005, with the following exceptions:

Article 15, which is repealed with effect from 1 January 2004.

Articles 147 and 148, which are repealed with effect from 1 January 2004, for the purposes of the preparation of the General Budget of the State for 2005.

Articles 149, 150.2 and 150.3, which are repealed with effect from 1 January 2004.

The first and second sections of Chapter I of Title II of Chapter I, which are repealed from 1 January 2004, except for Articles 49, 59, 62 and 63 which shall continue to apply during 2004, and without prejudice to the provisions of the the second transitional provision of this law.

Chapter II of Title II thereof, which shall continue in force for the autonomous bodies referred to in Articles 60 and 61 of Law 50/1998 of 30 December 1998 on fiscal, administrative and social measures, the forecasts contained in the first transitional provision of this law are met.

(b) Article 21 and the first provision of Royal Decree 2188/1995 of 28 December 1995 for the development of the internal control system exercised by the General Intervention of the State Administration.

(c) Article 21 and the second provision of Royal Decree 706/1997, of 16 May 1997, for the development of the internal control system exercised by the General Intervention of Social Security.

2. Similarly, any provisions of equal or lower rank shall be contrary to the provisions of this law.

Final disposition first. Amendment of Article 57 of Law 21/2001 of 27 December 2001 regulating the fiscal and administrative measures of the new system of financing for autonomous communities and cities with autonomy status.

New wording is given to Article 57 (2) of Law 21/2001 of 27 December 2001 regulating the fiscal and administrative measures of the new system of financing for autonomous communities and cities with autonomy status, in the following terms:

" 2. The Treasury may make advances to the autonomous communities on account of the resources to be received by the State's General Budget for the financial coverage of the services transferred, in order to can deal with transitional cash flows as a result of the differences in the maturity of the payments and revenues resulting from the execution of their budgets.

These advances must be repaid before the end of the financial year in which they are satisfied, unless they were granted on account of the final liquidation of the share of the State's revenue, in which case it is shall simultaneously reimburse the practice of such liquidation. '

The rest of the article remains with its current wording.

Final disposition second. Amendment of Article 45 of Law 50/2002, of December 26, of Foundations.

New wording is given to Article 45 (1) of Law 50/2002, of December 26, of Foundations, in the following terms:

" 1. The constitution, transformation, merger and extinction, and the acts or businesses that involve the loss of its character as a foundation of the state public sector or the acquisition of the character of the foundation of the state public sector of a foundation They will require prior authorisation from the Council of Ministers.

In the constitution and in the acquisition of the character of the foundation of the state public sector of a pre-existing foundation, it will be ensured, in any case, the designation by the state public sector entities of the majority of the members of the board. "

The rest of the article remains with its current wording.

Final disposition third. Financial control.

The terms of reference made by the rules prior to this law to the financial control of the General Intervention of the State Administration shall be construed as being made to the permanent financial control and to the public audit defined in Articles 157 and 162 of this Law.

Final disposition fourth. Regulatory development.

The Government is empowered to dictate how many provisions are necessary for the development and enforcement of this law.

Final disposition fifth. Entry into force.

This law shall enter into force on 1 January 2005.

However, the paragraphs and articles of this law that are listed below will enter into force on 1 January 2004:

From Title I of the Law:

Articles 2 and 3 of Chapter I, for the purpose of drawing up the General Budget of the State for 2005.

From Title II of the Law:

Chapter I.

Chapter II, for the purpose of drawing up the General Budget of the State for 2005.

Chapter III, with the exception of Article 34, for the purpose of drawing up the General Budget of the State for 2005.

Section 1 of Chapter IV "General provisions", with the exception of Article 49 and with regard to Articles 43 and 44, for the purpose of drawing up the General Budget of the State for 2005.

Section 2. of Chapter IV "Of the modifications of the credits".

Section 3 of Chapter IV "Of the competencies in the field of credit modifications".

Chapter V.

From Title III of the Law:

Article 86.2.Sixth of Chapter II.

From Title IV of the Law:

Chapter I.

Chapter II.

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this law.

Madrid, November 26, 2003.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR LÓPEZ