Para 18.3.10 — CAM
Original Rule Text
18.3.10 Expenditure and Cash Management
18.3.10.1 Distribution of Grants – After the Budget is passed, the Finance Ministry communicates to the various Ministries/Departments figures of Revised Grants for the current year as also the Budget Grants for the next financial year, which in turn, will be communicated to the various offices/units.
18.3.10.2 Expenditure on new service – No expenditure shall be incurred during a financial year on a 'New Service' not included in the Annual Budget without obtaining a supplementary grant. Details of cases treated as New Service are given in Annexure-1 to APPENDIX-3 of GFR,2017 and Rule 10 of Delegation of Financial Powers Rules.
18.3.10.3 Excess over sanctioned grant not permissible – No expenditure should be incurred in excess of the total grant sanctioned by Parliament. If any excess is found necessary, supplementary grant or appropriation or an advance from the Contingency Fund should be obtained.
18.3.10.4 Budget grant to be utilized only during the year – Any grant or appropriation sanctioned for a financial year should be utilized only during the year including clearing off of liabilities for the previous years. Any unspent balance will not be available for utilization in the next year and thus lapses at the end of the year.
18.3.10.5 Acceptance of Revised Estimates: The figures as accepted by the Ministry of Finance against RE are communicated to the offices by the HoDs sometime in January-February. The expenditure for the remaining part of the year should be so adjusted as to be within the accepted provisions. If in any case it is found that the accepted provision is not sufficient to meet the essential items of expenditure the matter should be taken up with the HoD immediately for possible re-appropriation within their powers.
18.3.10.6 Final Estimates: The offices will be required to submit the Final Estimates along with the Monthly Statement of expenditure of February to be submitted in March. The excesses or savings over the accepted RE will be indicated in this statement with full justification. While no additional provision could be granted by the Finance Ministry, the HoD may provide additional funds needed by any office by re-appropriation of savings from other units to the extent available. The final expenditure to be incurred by the units during March will be only after the additional funds are provided by re-appropriation. It should be ensured that there are absolutely no variations between the accepted RE (plus additional provision by re-appropriation, or minus provision shows as surrendered in the Final Estimates) and the actual final expenditure up to the end of March. Hence the Final Estimates included in the statement for February should be carefully assessed and accurately prepared. There could normally be no excesses, as the PAO will not entertain any claim in excess of the provision. Non-utilization of the available provisions by any office is also seriously viewed, as this would have deprived of some other needy unit from utilizing the same.
What This Means
After Parliament passes the Budget, grants are distributed to Ministries who communicate them to their offices. No expenditure on new services can be incurred without a supplementary grant. Expenditure must not exceed the sanctioned grant — if needed, supplementary grants or Contingency Fund advances must be obtained. Grants lapse at year-end and cannot be carried forward. Ministries must provide Monthly and Quarterly Expenditure Plans (MEP/QEP) in their DDGs for cash management, and the Head of Accounting Organization must help project accurate plans and flag abnormal variations to the Secretary.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Budget grants lapse at year-end — unspent balance cannot be carried to the next year
- 2No expenditure on 'New Service' without supplementary grant from Parliament
- 3Expenditure must not exceed sanctioned grant; excess requires supplementary or Contingency Fund advance
- 4Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plans (MEP/QEP) are mandatory for cash management in DDGs
- 5SNA/CNA guidelines must be followed diligently for CSS/CS scheme fund management
Practical Example
A Ministry is allocated Rs 500 crore for a new highway project in the Budget. By December, Rs 350 crore has been spent, but land acquisition costs unexpectedly increase by Rs 80 crore. The Head of Accounting Organization reviews the situation: the remaining Rs 150 crore budget is insufficient. She advises the Secretary to seek a supplementary grant for Rs 80 crore in the next Parliament session and, in the interim, explores re-appropriation from a scheme with Rs 60 crore in anticipated savings. Meanwhile, the MEP is revised to reflect the changed expenditure pattern.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can unspent budget be carried forward to the next year?▼
What happens if actual expenditure deviates from MEP/QEP?▼
What are Final Estimates?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.