Bill allotting 122bn baht to digital wallet will be enacted by August
Revised mid-year budget bill should be ready for final Cabinet okay on July 2 and eventual royal endorsement by August 13, reckons Budget Bureau
A bill allocating an additional 122 billion baht to the fiscal 2024 budget for financing the digital wallet scheme will be ready for implementation by August 13, a Government House source said.
The source said that the Budget Bureau had provided more details of the mid-year budget bill to the Cabinet on Tuesday. The Cabinet had approved the bill in principle on May 21.
The Budget Bureau has also told the Cabinet that it will start drafting the revised bill on Wednesday, the source said.
The finished bill will be sent to the Cabinet for a final okay on July 2, after which it will be tabled at the House of Representatives.
The Cabinet has been assured that the mid-year budget bill will clear the Parliament and be ready for royal endorsement no later than August 13, the source said.
The 500-billion-baht digital wallet scheme will be financed by the 122 billion baht taken from the fiscal 2024 budget and the rest from the fiscal 2025 budget and profits from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
Separately, Deputy Finance Minister Paophum Rojanasakul said the national digital wallet policy committee has not yet provided details on the criteria for shops to register to sell goods and services under the digital wallet scheme.
He said the committee was still pondering the criteria and regulations to best suit people and small shops, so vendors in fresh markets can also benefit from the scheme.
The minister explained that the scheme aims to distribute income among small vendors, instead of allowing large retailers to reap profits alone. He said the committee overseeing the digital wallet scheme will meet every week to set regulations and study measures to allow commercial banks and other wallet apps to link up to the scheme.
