Section 27(1) of the Public Finance Management Act No. 29 of 1999 (PFMA) requires that the Minister of Finance (the Minister) tables the annual budget for a financial year in the National Assembly before the start of that financial year or, in exceptional circumstances, on a date as soon as possible after the start of the financial year, as the Minister may determine. Section 26 of the PFMA requires Parliament and each provincial legislature to appropriate money for each financial year for the requirement of the State and the province, respectively. In executing this mandate, the Standing Committee on Appropriations, herein after referred to as the Committee, was established in terms of section 4(3) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, No. 9 of 2009, herein referred to as the Act. In line with section 10(1)(a) of the Act and after the adoption of the Fiscal Framework, the Standing Committee on Appropriations has a responsibility to consider the Appropriation Bill, herein after referred to as the Bill, and report thereon to the National Assembly. In terms of Sub-sections 10 (5) and 10 (6) of the Act, Parliamentary Committees may advise the Appropriations Committee on the appropriated funding. No formal submissions were received from Committees in terms of Sub-sections 10 (5) and 10 (6) of the Act. The Bill was referred to the Committee on 22 February 2012 for consideration and reporting. The budget for the 2012/13 financial year was tabled by the Minister of Finance in the National Assembly with the Appropriation Bill (the Bill) on 22 February 2012. The Bill was tabled together with the Division of Revenue Bill, Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE), Budget Review and the Budget Speech. Given the fact that Committees on Finance and Appropriations have different mandates derived from the Act, the Appropriation Bill was therefore referred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations.