The Financial Year

The financial year of the Velocity Interoperability Network runs from 1 January to 31 December. The dates below fall on the same day each year. Where a date falls on a day on which the offices of the Department are closed, the deadline moves to the next working day.

1. 1 January

   Financial year begins

   The approved budget takes effect.

2. 15 January

   Assessment notices issued

   Each member organisation receives notice of its band and the contribution due.

3. 30 January

   Fourth-quarter statement published

   The statement of expenditure for the quarter ending 31 December, with the register of larger payments.

4. 31 March

   First instalment due

   One half of each member's contribution is payable.

5. 30 April

   Audited accounts published

   The audited accounts for the previous financial year, with the report of the Audit Office, are published on this site and the first-quarter statement of expenditure is published.

6. 30 June

   Node count taken

   The number of nodes each member has registered on this date sets its band for the following year. Members are notified of the count in July and may dispute it until 31 July.

7. 30 July

   Second-quarter statement published

   The statement of expenditure for the quarter ending 30 June.

8. 1 September

   Departmental estimates due

   Each department submits its estimates for the coming year.

9. 30 September

   Second instalment due

   The remaining half of each member's contribution is payable.

10. 1 October

    Draft budget circulated

    The draft budget is sent to all members. Comments are accepted for thirty days.

11. 30 October

    Third-quarter statement published

    The statement of expenditure for the quarter ending 30 September.

12. 15 November

    Response to comments published

    The Department publishes a summary of the comments received on the draft budget and its response to them.

13. 1 December

    Budget laid for approval

    The final budget is laid before the members.

14. 31 December

    Financial year ends

    The accounts for the year are closed and passed to audit, and the annual appropriation to the reserve fund is made.

The year for a member organisation. Most of the dates above concern the Department and the departments. The steps below set out, in order, what a member organisation does during the year.

1. 1

   Step 1: Receive the assessment notice

   By 15 January each member receives a notice stating its band, the contribution due for the year and the account to which it is to be paid. A member that disputes its band applies for review within thirty days; the contribution remains payable while the review is pending.

2. 2

   Step 2: Pay the first instalment

   One half of the contribution is paid by 31 March, or the whole contribution if the member prefers to pay in a single instalment. The Department acknowledges each payment in writing within ten days.

3. 3

   Step 3: Read the audited accounts

   The audited accounts for the previous year are published by 30 April. Any member may put questions on them to the Department within thirty days of publication, and the answers are published.

4. 4

   Step 4: Check the node count

   The Department writes to each member in July with the number of nodes it had registered on 30 June, which sets its band for the following year. A member that believes the count is wrong writes to the Department by 31 July with the registration records it relies on.

5. 5

   Step 5: Pay the second instalment

   The remaining half of the contribution is paid by 30 September. A contribution more than ninety days overdue is reported to the other members.

6. 6

   Step 6: Comment on the draft budget

   The draft budget for the following year is circulated on 1 October. Members have until 31 October to comment, and the Department publishes the comments and its response by 15 November before the final budget is laid on 1 December.

The first year. Because the departments were established on 6 September 2026, the first financial period is a short one and several dates have been adjusted. The table below sets out the dates that apply from establishment to the first audited accounts. From 1 July 2027 the ordinary dates apply without adjustment.

The Department publishes the following documents on this site during each financial year.

The procedure for preparing the budget is set out on the Budget page, the assessment and payment of contributions on the Member Contributions page, and the guidance for departments on the Estimates page. Statements of expenditure are published on the Spending page and the accounts on the Accounts page. Questions about any date may be sent to contact@treasury.gov.vin.