Britain's spending on its military mission in Afghanistan was lower than expected, according to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

Osborne unveiled Britain's annual budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year in the House of Commons on Wednesday. This is his third budget since the coalition government was established in May 2010.

In his announcement, Osborne said Britain's cost of operations in Afghanistan is 2.4 billion pounds (3.8 billion U.S. dollars), which is lower than planned.

"The British armed forces will cease combat operations by the end of 2014. As a consequence, I can tell the house, or the parliament, that the cost of operations are expected to be a total of 2.4 billion pounds lower than planned over the remainder of the parliament leading to 2015," said Osborne.

The chancellor said an additional 100 million pounds are to be earmarked for armed forces housing. The government will also give family welfare grants and council tax relief for members of the armed forces.

According to Osborne, 100 percent relief on council tax will be granted to armed forces overseas. The current parliament runs until the next election expected in 2015.