You pays your money...
Even without knowing which government department this was it would be plain that said department was run by accountants.
In this case they seem to have confused capital expenditure with operating expenditure and from vague memories of the numerous accountancy courses I was forced to attend that would seem to be a real schoolboy type of howler.
There is an old saying that "An accountant knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." or alternatively "Penny wise and pound foolish."
Idiots the lot of them, and to think that they are in charge of forcefully parting us from our money to give to another bunch of fools, the Government.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
