Belize
Finance and Audit (Reform) Act, No. 14 of 2005
Finance and Audit (Reform) Act No. 14 of 2005 (amending Finance and Audit Act, CAP. 15, Revised Edition 2000) [primary PFM statute — text not retrieved] + Constitution of Belize (1981, consolidated through 2011) s.109 [Auditor General / Director of Audit — text partially confirmed via constituteproject.org s.54(12)]
Drafted with AI
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page. How this site is made
Belize's national fiscal transparency framework rests on the Finance and Audit (Reform) Act, No. 14 of 2005 (Act 14 of 2005), which modernised the earlier Finance and Audit Act (CAP. 15, Revised Edition 2000). As a Westminster constitutional monarchy, Belize operates the standard Consolidated Fund model: all revenues and expenditures flow through the Consolidated Fund, no money may be withdrawn without National Assembly appropriation, and the Director of Audit (referred to interchangeably as the Auditor General) is an independent constitutional officer confirmed via Constitution s.54(12) whose annual reports are tabled in the National Assembly. Primary source access was entirely blocked: belizelaw.org is domain-hijacked by a gambling operator, and laws.gov.bz, finance.gov.bz, agbelize.bz all returned ECONNREFUSED. The PEFA 2014 (public) is the primary secondary source. Belize has undergone two sovereign debt restructurings (2007, 2017).
Transparency Requirements
Budget Publicationmax 12 pts
| Budget publication required | ✓ Yes |
|---|---|
| Budget published online | ✓ Yes |
| Budget publication timeline | — |
| Machine-readable budget format | No |
| Draft budget required before adoption | — |
Expenditure Disclosuremax 12 pts
| Expenditure disclosure required | ✓ Yes |
|---|---|
| Expenditure granularity | department |
| Public expenditure portal required | No |
| Expenditure reporting frequency | annual |
Independent Auditmax 12 pts
| Audit required | ✓ Yes |
|---|---|
| Auditor independent of entity | ✓ Yes |
| Auditor selection method | appointed independent |
| Audit frequency | annual |
| Audit reports public | ✓ Yes |
| Audit scope | financial performance |
Contract & Procurementmax 10 pts
| Public bidding required | ✓ Yes |
|---|---|
| Contract publication required | ✓ Yes |
| Bid award disclosure | ✓ Yes |
| Beneficial ownership disclosure | No |
Debt & Liability Disclosuremax 10 pts
| Debt disclosure required | ✓ Yes |
|---|---|
| Pension liability disclosure | — |
| Contingent liability disclosure | — |
| Voter approval required for new debt | No |
Fiscal Reporting Frequencymax 10 pts
| Interim reporting required | ✓ Yes |
|---|---|
| Interim reporting frequency | — |
| Year-end report deadline | — |
| Citizens budget required | No |
Enforcement & Oversightmax 10 pts
| Non-compliance penalties | — |
|---|---|
| Fiscal oversight body | ✓ Yes |
| Whistleblower protections | — |
| Legislative budget office | ✓ Yes |
Revenue & Tax Transparencymax 8 pts
| Tax expenditure reporting | — |
|---|---|
| Revenue forecasting required | ✓ Yes |
| Tax rate publication | — |
| Fee schedule publication | — |
Compensation & Payrollmax 8 pts
| Salary disclosure required | — |
|---|---|
| Salary disclosure scope | — |
| Pension benefit disclosure | — |
| Overtime reporting | — |
Capital & Asset Disclosuremax 8 pts
| Capital plan required | — |
|---|---|
| Asset inventory required | — |
| Surplus asset disposal transparency | — |