Repeal of the Budgetary Authority regulations tacitly in effect since 2001

The Executive Branch expressly repealed Executive Decree No. 14375-H of March 16, 1983, known as the “Regulation of the Law for the Creation of the Budgetary Authority,” which had been tacitly in force but inapplicable for more than twenty-four years. The decision is recorded in Executive Decree No. 45976-H, signed in San José on September 16, 2026, by President Laura Fernández Delgado and the Minister of Finance, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, and published in La Gaceta No. 209 on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in the Executive Branch Decrees section (reference D45976-IN202601137233).

A regulation without support since 2001

The decree signed by the president and the head of Finance explains that the 1983 regulation was issued to implement Law No. 6821 of October 19, 1982, the Law for the Creation of the Budgetary Authority. That law was expressly repealed by subsection c) of article 127 of Law No. 8131 of September 18, 2001, published in La Gaceta No. 198 on October 16, 2001.

With the disappearance of the law that served as its basis, the 1983 regulation was left without normative support and resulted in a tacit repeal, a situation that has meant its inapplicability for more than twenty-four years. In this regard, the Executive Branch cites Legal Opinion No. OJ-183-2020 of December 8, 2020, from the Attorney General’s Office, which described tacit repeal as the phenomenon that occurs when a subsequent norm regulates the same matter in an incompatible or substitutive manner.

The official text maintains that the absence of an express pronouncement can generate “ambiguity, confusion, and debate regarding the intent” of the norms, despite the provisions of article 8 of the Civil Code, Law No. 30 of April 19, 1885. For this reason, the Executive opted for an express repeal “in order to purge the legal system and strengthen legal certainty, eliminating any confusion on the part of the legal operator.”

The framework that does govern the public budget

The decree makes clear which regulations are applicable to the Budgetary Authority and its Technical Secretariat. The text lists the following pieces:

• Law No. 8131 of September 18, 2001, Law of Financial Administration of the Republic and Public Budgets, which in its articles 21, 22, and 23 regulates the existence, composition, and functions of the Budgetary Authority, as well as those of its executive body.
• Executive Decree No. 32988-H-MP-PLAN of January 31, 2006, “Regulations to the Law of Financial Administration of the Republic and Public Budgets,” published in La Gaceta No. 74 of April 18, 2006, and its amendments.
• Articles 10 and 13 to 21 of said regulations, which provide the regulatory development for the activities of the Budgetary Authority and its Technical Secretariat.
• Article 140, paragraphs 3) and 18), and Article 146 of the Political Constitution, together with Article 25 paragraph 1), Article 27 paragraph 1), and Article 28 paragraph 2), subparagraph b), of the General Law of Public Administration No. 6227 of May 2, 1978, as the basis for the regulatory power exercised.

The Executive emphasizes that, for more than twenty-four years, the tasks and powers of the Budgetary Authority and its Technical Secretariat have been carried out within the framework of Law No. 8131 and its regulations, as well as other current norms that expressly assign them competencies.

No new procedures and with immediate effect

The decree includes a statement on administrative impact: in accordance with article 12 of the regulations of the Law for the Protection of Citizens from Excessive Requirements and Administrative Procedures, Executive Decree No. 37045-MP-MEIC of February 22, 2012, published in La Gaceta No. 60 of March 23, 2012, it was determined that the normative proposal does not create or modify procedures, requirements, or processes that the administered party must perform before the administration.

The articles are brief. Article 1 provides for the repeal of Executive Decree No. 14375-H of March 16, 1983, originally published in La Gaceta No. 65 of April 6, 1983. Article 2 establishes that the norm governs from its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta, without a transition period.

Impact for State institutions

The repeal does not change the competencies of the Budgetary Authority, but it does close a two-decade discussion on the formal validity of its regulations and clears the normative reference for the entire public sector. With the 1983 regulations removed from the legal system, State institutions are unambiguously subject to the financial administration and public budget regime of Law No. 8131 and its regulations, Executive Decree No. 32988-H-MP-PLAN, which will continue to develop the operation of the body and its Technical Secretariat.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 209 of November 4, 2026, Executive Power Decrees section, pp. 5-6 (official reference: D45976-IN202601137233).