Federal Law No. (1) of 2025 Regarding the Linkage of the Union General Budget and the Budgets of Independent Federal Entities for Fiscal Year 2025

Purpose and legislative background

This Law is the principal annual federal budget instrument for fiscal year 2025. It authorises the original revenue and expenditure estimates of the Union general budget and approves the budgets of independent federal entities through the schedules attached to the Law.

The original balanced estimate was AED 71.5 billion in revenue and AED 71.5 billion in expenditure. A later Federal Decree by Law No. 9 of 2025 enacted a supplementary budget for the same fiscal year, so historical analysis should not treat the original figures as the only 2025 appropriation measure.

Scope and who it applies to

The Law concerns federal public finance: the Union general budget, independent federal entities included in the schedules, and the Ministry of Finance’s implementation powers. It is not a tax or private-sector spending law.

Key definitions

The practical concepts are the Union general budget, budgets of independent federal entities, own financial resources, attached schedules, financial transfers, accounting settlements and adjustments during implementation. The exact entity-level amounts are in the schedules.

Main rights and obligations

• Federal spending and revenue administration for 2025 must follow the approved budget and public-finance framework.
• Independent federal entity budgets are approved with the own-resource estimates shown in the schedules.
• The Ministry of Finance may make the specified financial/accounting transfers, settlements and adjustments during implementation for the purposes listed in Article 3.

Procedures and compliance

Budget implementation should be traced to the statutory schedules, Ministry of Finance accounting instructions, Cabinet decisions and any supplementary appropriation. Article 3 is important because it provides legal authority for specified adjustments during execution rather than requiring every implementation movement to appear as an amendment to the four-article Law.

Deadlines and time limits

The Law applies to fiscal year 2025, from 1 January through 31 December 2025. It was issued on 17 February 2025. The application period is expressly stated in Article 4.

Enforcement, violations and penalties

The Law is an appropriation instrument and does not create a standalone criminal penalty schedule. Financial control, audit, accountability and public-finance consequences arise under the wider federal public-finance legal framework.

Practical scenarios

• A federal entity checks whether a 2025 programme was funded in the attached schedule or through a later approved adjustment.
• A researcher compares original 2025 appropriations with the supplementary budget enacted later in the year.
• A finance team reconciles a restructuring-related transfer to the authority in Article 3 and the relevant Cabinet decision.

Amendments and related legislation

Federal Decree by Law No. 9 of 2025 approved a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2025, increasing estimated revenues and expenditures for the year. It should be read with Federal Law No. 1 of 2025 for a complete legislative picture of 2025 appropriations. Federal public-finance legislation supplies the broader execution and accounting framework.

What businesses and individuals should check

• Use the official schedules for entity-level or programme-level figures.
• Distinguish original budget estimates from later supplementary appropriations and actual final-account results.
• Check Ministry of Finance and Cabinet implementation decisions for in-year adjustments.

When professional interpretation may be useful

Specialist interpretation may be useful for public-sector appropriation authority, treatment of supplementary appropriations, federal restructuring effects, budget transfers or legal analysis of the relationship between the budget law and final accounts.