Budgetary unit

Z Encyklopedia Administracji Publicznej

BUDGETARY UNIT – typical, traditional organisational form of the public finance sector. B.u. are appointed by means of laws or internal acts of entities forming these units. In both cases, the basis for their functioning is the statute. Creation, and also merger and liquidation of b.u. at the central level, is the responsibility of ministers, heads of central offices, voivodes and other bodies acting on the basis of separate laws (in the case of state b.u.). However, in the local government sub-sector, b.u. are created, merged and liquidated by decision-making bodies of local-government units (municipalities, counties, voivodships). B.u. do not have legal personality, they act on behalf of and for the benefit of the State Treasury or relevant local-government units. In the form of b.u. all offices (e.g., ministries, central offices, municipal offices, county starost offices, marshal offices, labour offices) are functioning, as well as many other organisational units, such as schools, social welfare centres, orphanages, penitentiaries, regional audit chambers. B.u. conduct financial management on the basis of financial plans (income and expenses plans), performing – as a rule – their activity free of charge. They are settled with the appropriate budget using the gross method. This means that all expenses of the b.u. are covered by the state budget or budgets of relevant local-government units, and any income obtained by b.u. is discharged to the proper budget. As a result, b.u. implement the principle of completeness of public finances, according to which all incomes and expenses of the state and local-government units should be included in the budget. On the other hand, the obligation to return the saved funds to the budget makes this form of organisation not economically efficient. The legal form of managing the property by b.u. is the so-called permanent management. As part of the permanent management, the b.u. are entitled to use real estate in order to carry out the tasks assigned to them, use real estate for construction purposes, as well as use the properties for letting, leasing and lending. Permanent management is established by making an administrative decision, for a definite or indefinite period [ R. Cieślak ].

Literature: Finanse publiczne i prawo finansowe [Public finances and financial law], ed. C. Kosikowski, E. Ruśkowski, Warszawa 2003 ■ Z. Ofiarski, Prawo finansowe [Financial law], Warszawa 2010 ■ Ustawa o finansach publicznych. Ustawa o odpowiedzialności za naruszenie dyscypliny finansów publicznych. Komentarz [The Public Finance Act. Act on liability for violation of public finance discipline. A commentary], ed. W. Misiąg, Warszawa 2017.

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