Rule 16 - Project Expenditure

Rule 16-Appraisal and Approval of Schemes or Projects. (3) The Administrator or Head of the Department referred to in sub-rule (2) may, by an order in writing, authorise a Gazetted Officer serving under him to exercise to such extent, as may be specified in that order, all or any of the powers conferred on such Administrator or Head of the Department under sub-rule (2). The Administrator or Head of the Department shall, however, continue to be responsible for the correctness, regularity and propriety of the decisions taken by the Gazetted Officer so authorised. (4) Departments of the Government of India, Administrators and Heads of the Departments shall have the power to declare any Gazetted Officer subordinate to them as the Head of the Office for the purpose of these rules:

Provided that the Head of Office shall exercise such powers as delegated by the Department, Administrator or Head of Department and as provided in the rules for the time being in force: Provided further that not more than one Gazetted Officer shall be declared as Head of Office in respect of the same office or establishment, unless such office or establishment is distinctly separate from one another. (5) Any authority empowered by or under these rules to incur revenue or capital expenditure shall exercise such powers subject to the provisions con-

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 12 tained in the General Financial Rules, subsidiary instructions and orders on the subject issued by Finance Ministry including restrictions and scales, issued from time to time by the concerned Department and General Conditions as given in the Annexure-II. (6) The power delegated under these rules can also be exercised for a validation of an action already taken or expenditure or liability already incurred even when the authority validating the action or expenditure or liability, as the case may be, had no competence to do so at the time the action was taken or expenditure or liability was incurred. Rule 13: Powers of Subordinate Authorities to write off loss- The power of Subordinate Authorities to write off losses shall be as per the conditions and limits as may be specified by the Finance Ministry from time to time. Government of India’s decision (1): Powers of Subordinate Authorities to write off loss under Delegation of Financial Power Rules, 2024 - The power of Subordinate Authorities to write off losses shall be as per the conditions and limits as may be specified by the Finance Ministry from time to time. This power may be exercised by a Subordinate Authority in accordance with the provisions of the General Financial Rules, wherever applicable and provided that:-

(a) the loss does not disclose a defect in rules or procedure, the amendment of which requires the orders of higher authority or the Finance Ministry;

(b) there has not been any serious negligence on the part of any Government servant which may call for disciplinary action by a higher authority;

(c) before the decision is taken to write-off a loss, the Administrative Ministry/ Department etc, should make a thorough and searching investigation of the cases. The lessons learnt there from should be applied to prevent the recurrence of such cases in future;

(d) a quarterly statement of write-off of losses should be submitted to the Integrated Finance Division indicating the reasons for the loss, nature of the loss and the remedial measures taken to prevent the recurrence of such type of loss.

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 13 2. Department of Revenue may further re-delegate the powers relating to write off of losses of revenue to officials in accordance with procedures/ instructions issued by that Department. 3. Ministries/Departments other than Department of Revenue may re-delegate powers of write off upto Rs.5000 in each case of loss of revenue to HoDs. 4. In case of irrecoverable loss of stores and public money, the power to write off may be delegated to HoD through a written order by the original authority having such power, subject to such delegation not exceeding 10% of the power of the Department. 5. In case of Deficiencies and depreciation in the value of stores (other than motor vehicles or motor cycle) included in the stock and other accounts, the power to write off may be delegated to HoD through a written order by the original authority having such power, subject to such delegation not exceeding 10% of the power of the Department. 6. For the purpose of deciding the value of the stores, it shall be the “book value” where priced accounts are maintained and “replacement value” in other cases. 7. Value in “each case” to be reckoned with reference to the total value of stores to be written off on one occasion. 8. The term “each case” used in this table in regard to write-off of irrecoverable losses of stores, deficiencies and depreciation in the value of stores included in stock and other accounts, should be interpreted with reference to a given point of time. If, on a particular occasion, a number of items of stores are to be written off, the powers of the sanctioning authority should be reckoned with reference to the total value of stores intended to be written off on that occasion and not with reference to individual articles constituting the lot. In this context, losses arising out of one incident should not be split up and written off separately on different dates in order to avoid sanction of the higher authority. Losses due to one specific cause like fire, theft, flood, etc., should be written off at one time only. There is, however, no objection to losses arising out of more than one cause being written off at one time. The competence of the officer writing off the loss will depend on the amount written off each time.

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 14 Nature of loss Authority Monetary limit up to which the loss may be written off in each case (1) (2) (3) Irrecoverable losses of stores or of public money. Department of the Government of India. Rs. 5,00,000 for losses of stores due to theft, fraud or negligence. Rs. 50,00,000 for other cases. Administrators of the Union Territories.

(a) Rs. 2,00,000 for losses of stores due to theft, frauds or negligence.

(b) Rs. 5,00,000 for other cases. Loss of revenue or irrecoverable loans and advances Department of Revenue.

(a) Full powers to write-off losses of irrecoverable revenue.

(b) Rs. 5,00,000 for other cases. Other Department of the Government of India Rs. 5,00,000 Administrators of the Union Territories. Rs. 2,00,000 Deficiencies and depreciation in the value of stores (other than motor vehicles or motor cycle) included in the stock and other accounts including losses on food grains, sugar, etc Department of the Government of India Rs. 5,00,000 Administrators Rs. 2,00,000 Condemnation of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Department of the Government of India Full power for mature condemnation of vehicles meeting the criteria as given below: —

(a) the lives of various types of vehicles, in terms of distance run (in kilometers) and length of use (in years) whichever is reached later, have been fixed as under — Type of Vehicles Kilometers Years (1) (2) (3)

(i) Heavy Commercial Motor Vehicles (HCVs) 4,00,000 10

(ii) Light Commercial Motor Vehicles (LCVs) 1,50,000 6 ½

(iii) Motor cycles. 1,20,000 7

(b) a vehicle should be condemned only after a certificate has been obtained from one of the following authorities to the effect that the vehicle is not fit for any further economical use —

(i) an Electrical and Mechanical Workshop of the National Airport Authority;

(ii) the Workshop of a State Road Transport Corporation;

(iii) at location where workshop mentioned at

(i) and

(ii) are not available, Transport Workshop under the Central or State Government Departments. (2) Ministry/Department will have full power to scrap the Vehicles which have reached 15 years of age through Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) only, established in accordance with guidelines issued by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 15

Note.- Condemned vehicles to be disposed of within three months from the date of placing of fresh order.— Ministries/ Departments of Government of India should ensure that condemned vehicles are disposed of as per the procedure within a period of three months from the date of placing of an order with the manufacturer for replacement of vehicles. [Ministry of Finance DoE O.M. No. 01(14)/2016-E.II(A)(Part-III), dated 01.04.2024] Rule 14: Insurance of Government property- Government property, both movable and immovable, shall not be insured and no Subordinate Authority shall undertake any liability or incur any expenditure in connection with the insurance of such property without the previous consent of the Finance Ministry, except in the cases where relaxation is provided by that Ministry from time to time. Rule 15: Waiver of recovery of overpayment made to Government servants– (1) A Department of Government of India, an Administrator and any other Subordinate Authority to the Department, to whom powers may be delegated by or under special order of the President, may waive the recovery of an amount found to have been overpaid mistakenly to a Government servant, in excess of their entitlement, subject to the following conditions, namely: -

(i) the amount disallowed has been drawn by the Government servant concerned under a reasonable belief that he was entitled to it; and

(ii) if, in the opinion of the aforesaid authority –

(a) recovery will cause undue hardship; or

(b) recovery is impossible. (2) A Department of Government of India may waive recovery of overpayment upto Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs only)in the case of each individual with the concurrence of Financial Advisers of the Department. Proposals for waiver of recovery of amount greater than Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rupees Two Lakhs only) in each case shall be referred to the Finance Ministry for concurrence. (3) For the cases of waiver of recovery, the Departments of the Government of India will examine whether over payment has been made on account of fraud, misrepresentation, collusion, favouritism, negligence or carelessness on the part of those responsible for over payments and the employees who benefitted from such actions. All proposals of waiving of recovery will be accompanied by a report in this regard duly approved by the disciplinary authority.

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 16 Government of India’s Decision (1): Waiver of recovery of excess payment made to Government employees - General instructions for Ministries/ Departments – A Department of Government of India, an Administrator and any other Subordinate Authority to the Department, to whom powers may be delegated by or under special order of the President, may waive the recovery of an amount found to have been overpaid mistakenly to Government servant, in excess of their entitlement, subject to certain conditions and financial limits as laid down under this rule. 2. The date of order for recovery of overpayment is a critical input for decision regarding waiver of such recovery. Therefore, such order for recovery of overpayment should be issued within one month from the date of detection of overpayment. 3. As per Rule 15 of DFPR 2024, a Department of Government of India may waive recovery of overpayment upto Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rupees two lakh only) in the case of each individual with the concurrence of Financial Adviser of the Department. The following guidelines may be adhered to while processing such cases:

(i) The Ministries/ Department should examine all proposal

(s) in terms of the provisions laid down in Rule 15 of DFPRs.

(ii) Ministries/ Departments should verify that in cases of waiver, no serious negligence has taken place on the part of any Government servant, which may call for disciplinary action by a higher authority.

(iii) In case a Ministry/ Department is of the view that the loss is on account of a defect in existing rules or procedures, the same shall be brought to the notice of Department/ Ministry with authority to amend such rules or procedures.

(iv) The guidelines issued by DoP&T vide its O.M. dated 02.03.2016 (Appendix- II) shall be strictly adhered to by the administrative Ministry/Department while considering waiver of excess payment made to Government servants. Each case of waiver should be recommended by the Financial Advisor and approved by the Administrative Secretary.

(v) In cases where the waiver of recovery arises from a Court direction, the Ministries/ Departments should satisfy themselves that there is appropriate justification for not challenging such Court direction.

(vi) In case a recovery which is subsequently waived is on account of

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 17 incorrect interpretation of rules or procedures, Ministries/ Departments may review all similarly placed cases to check requirement of waiver of recovery in future cases. In case of incorrect interpretation of rules or procedures, Ministries/ Departments shall take appropriate measures to ensure that such lapses are corrected. If any inquiry has been made to fix the responsibility, the final report as well as action taken by the Ministry may be kept on record.

(vii) In case an incorrect interpretation of rules or procedures (e.g., incorrect pay fixation) has remained un-detected over a long period of time, Ministry/ Department may keep on record appropriate justification why such cases were not noticed during regular review, internal audit, etc. 4. Cases involving waiver of recovery of more than Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rupees two lakh only) should be referred to this Department. Such cases may be forwarded along with a detailed note covering information on para 3 along with the filled in checklist as below. Checklist for waiver recovery 1. Name 2. Designation 3. Amount for waiver 4. Reason for overpayment 5. Date of Detection of Overpayment 6. Date of issue of order of recovery 7. Date of representation submitted by Officer/ official mentioning financial hardship 8. Date of Disposal of Representation and decision taken on the same. 9. Category of exemption as per DoP&T’s OM dated 02.03.2016 10. Relevant Rules under which pay fixation or allowance drawn resulted to overpayment

DELEGATION OF FINANCIAL POWERS RULES, 2024 MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 18 11. Whether Administrative Ministry is satisfied that loss does not disclose a defect in rules or procedures or there has not been any serious negligence on the part of any Government servant which may call for disciplinary action by a higher authority. 12. Whether verification of Servic

What This Means

This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.

Key Points

• 1Rule 16 governs expenditure approvals for government schemes and projects.
• 2It defines the financial powers delegated to different government officials.
• 3Specific financial limits are usually detailed in separate orders/circulars.
• 4The rule promotes efficient and accountable spending of public funds.
• 5It aims to balance delegation with appropriate oversight.

Practical Example

This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.

Cross References

Frequently Asked Questions

This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.