Appropriation Act, 2025

This text is not a court judgment but an Act of Parliament published in the Government Gazette after presidential assent on 6 August 2025 and publication on 8 August 2025. The Act appropriates money from the National Revenue Fund for the requirements of the State for the 2025/26 financial year. It is enacted against the constitutional and statutory background of section 213(2) of the Constitution, section 26 of the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999, and section 7(1) of the Money Bills and Related Matters Act 9 of 2009. The Act defines key fiscal terms, appropriates funds to votes and main divisions, regulates specifically and exclusively appropriated amounts, empowers the Minister of Finance to impose conditions and stop spending where conditions are not met, permits controlled use of unspent funds within limits, authorises certain urgent and unavoidable expenditure, regulates spending before the commencement of the next Appropriation Act, and permits delegations and regulations for implementation.

• No judicial legal issues arise because the text is legislation, not litigation or a judgment.
• What amounts are appropriated from the National Revenue Fund for the 2025/26 financial year and for what purposes?
• Under what conditions may appropriated funds be spent, reallocated, stopped, or treated as unauthorised expenditure?
• What powers does the Minister of Finance have regarding conditions, roll-overs, urgent expenditure, delegations, and regulations under the Act?

The President assented to the Appropriation Act, 2025, and the Act was promulgated and published in Government Gazette No. 53140 on 8 August 2025. The Act appropriates money from the National Revenue Fund for the 2025/26 financial year subject to its terms, the Public Finance Management Act, and the applicable Division of Revenue Act.

Not available: there is no ratio decidendi because the text is not a judicial decision and therefore establishes no binding precedent through adjudication. Its binding force derives from its status as legislation enacted by Parliament and assented to by the President.

Not available: there is no obiter dicta because the text is not a judgment and contains no non-binding judicial observations.

The Act is important in South African public finance law because it gives lawful effect to the annual national budget by authorising withdrawals from the National Revenue Fund, as required by section 213(2) of the Constitution. It illustrates the constitutional principle that public money may be spent only pursuant to legislative appropriation and subject to statutory accountability mechanisms. It also reflects Parliament's role in budget control, the Minister of Finance's supervisory powers, and the interface between the Appropriation Act, the Public Finance Management Act, and the Division of Revenue Act.