The government is able to disburse 300 billion baht worth of obligation budget during the months-long delay of the 3.2-trillion-baht fiscal 2020 budget.
The investment budget for fiscal 2020 is 600 billion baht, of which half is already committed to contractors and the rest is for new projects, said Fiscal Policy Office director-general Lavaron Sangsnit.
According to budget law, the government is permitted to draw down only regular and obligation budget based on the previous year's budget in the event that the legislative process of the annual budget bill is incomplete before the fiscal year starts.
The annual budget for fiscal 2020 was due to start on Oct 1, 2019 but was hampered by the lengthy government installation and legislative process.
The budget bill likely faces further delay because the validity of the bill rests on a court ruling after some lawmakers' ID cards were allegedly used during the vote in the lower chamber while the legislators themselves were absent.
Mr Lavaron said 50 billion baht worth of obligation budget was doled out during October to December of 2019.
The Finance Ministry will soon seek the Budget Bureau's nod to raise the ceiling of the regular budget that can be taken out pending the bill's postponement to 75% from the 50% that is expected to be depleted by March, he said, adding that the ceiling could be increased to 100% if necessary.