Sri Lanka’s Budget Speech for 2027 will be presented to Parliament on November 12, 2026, the Ministry of Finance has announced, setting out the government’s third annual budget since taking office.
The Budget Speech takes the form of the second reading of the Appropriation Bill for 2027. According to the ministry’s calendar, the draft Appropriation Bill — which contains expenditure estimates for each ministry — will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval on September 14, before being published in the Government Gazette on September 18. The first reading is scheduled for October 7.
Once the Budget Speech is delivered on November 12, the debate on the second reading will run from November 13 to November 20. The Committee Stage debate, during which lawmakers scrutinise the spending allocations of individual ministries, is set to take place from November 21 through to December 14.
The timeline confirms that Parliament’s fiscal calendar will again stretch into mid-December. The 2027 budget will be closely watched for how it balances continued IMF programme commitments — including revenue and reserve targets — against public pressure for relief on the cost of living, amid an external sector that has shown renewed strain in the first half of 2026.
