La Rioja sets the deadlines for the 2026 budget closure

The Regional Ministry of Finance, Public Governance, Digital Society and Government Spokesperson of La Rioja has established the calendar and deadlines for the closing operations of the 2026 budget year and the opening of the 2027 year. This is done through Order HGS/47/2026, of September 18, published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja number 189, of October 1, 2026, with official reference BOR-A-20261001-I–80. The regulation requires the General Administration of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja and its autonomous bodies to adjust the processing of expenses and income to a strict calendar.

The order is issued at the proposal of the General Comptroller and is signed by the regional minister Alfonso Domínguez Simón. Its general framework is Law 11/2013, of October 21, on the Public Finance of La Rioja, and the budget laws of each year, which regulate the execution and settlement of the Budget. The stated objective is to streamline and coordinate the preparation of the Annual Accounts of the General Administration and its autonomous bodies, specifying the deadlines for each action and the transfer of balances to the following year. The order entered into force the day after its publication, without prejudice to its application to all 2026 closing operations.

A staggered calendar for current expenditure

The first deadlines affect the ordinary processing of expenditure. The accounting documents for the approval of current expenditure for chapters 2, 4, 6, and 7 must enter the General Comptroller before October 15, 2026, while the documents for the approval and commitment of current expenditures have a deadline of October 30, 2026.

For future years, the deadlines are extended:

• Expenditure approval documents for future years: November 20, 2026.
• Approval and commitment documents for expenditures of future years: December 11, 2026.
• Documents recording obligations recognized in 2026, with their supporting vouchers: December 10, 2026.
• Proposals for payments to be justified (ADOJ) charged to 2026 credits: December 11, 2026.
• Payroll of active salaries for December and its accounting documents: December 15, 2026.
• Documents for petty cash advances under Decree 8/1999, of March 19: December 23, 2026.

The justifying accounts for the investment of funds received and the reimbursement of unapplied amounts must be submitted by December 15, 2026. Exceptionally, payments to be justified may be processed until December 18, 2026, if their purpose is the acquisition of assets for the fixed assets of the Autonomous Community or protocol expenses, with justification and reimbursement until December 28, 2026. The cancellation of operations will have a maximum date of December 30, 2026.

Exceptions for debt, works, and December benefits

The order opens exceptions for obligations with periodic accrual. Obligation recognition documents from chapters 2 and 6 generated by continuous benefits or services that include the month of December may be submitted until January 15, 2027, the same deadline as December work certifications. Debt portfolio management operations for December and accounting regularization files for non-budgetary operations may be submitted until January 22, 2027.

Specific accounting rules are also established:

• Audit interventions will prioritize documents with IRPF (Personal Income Tax) withholdings, which must be accounted for before January 15, 2027.
• Expenses paid on an extra-budgetary basis must be charged to the expenditure budget before December 30, 2026.
• Autonomous bodies not subject to prior audit will have a deadline of January 15, 2027.
• Subsidies for educational concerts for the December employer’s contribution and social security for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows will be charged to the budget of the following fiscal year.

Invoices, income, and credit modifications

Article 11 regulates the Invoice Registry of the Accounting Information System (SICAP). Invoices proving obligations generated up to December 31, 2026, and not charged to the budget must be recorded before January 15, 2027, with assignment to their budgetary applications, approval from the managing center, and status «OP» (Budget Office). By that date, no invoice should remain in status «RF» (Invoice Registry); non-approved invoices must be returned to the provider or canceled.

Regarding income, managing bodies will send to the General Audit Office, by January 15, 2027, the reasoned list of rights accrued in 2026 that have not yet been contracted and those that must be canceled. The same deadline applies to documentation for fund transfers from restricted collection accounts.

Credit modification files must enter the General Audit Office before October 30, 2026. Exempt from these limitations are credit generations for aid financed by EAGF or EAFRD, files from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and React-EU, and transfers driven by the Directorate General for Budgetary Control. Limitations also do not apply to aid files for Dependency and Citizenship Income.

The Comptroller General may authorize subsequent entries in justified cases, with the file submitted before December 30, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. using the Annex I form; the Minister of Finance may reject the entry if compliance with fiscal rules is affected. Exceptional budgetary modifications are requested using Annex II.

The calendar directly affects suppliers and contractors: invoices not approved by January 15, 2027, will be returned or canceled, and credits not allocated to recognized obligations will be canceled by operation of law upon closing, except for the exceptions provided for in the budgetary regulations.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 189, of October 1, 2026, section I. General Provisions, pp. 16497-16502 (official reference: BOR-A-20261001-I–80).