Rule 29 - Financial Sanctions
Original Rule Text
Rule 29 (2) All proposals for sanction to expenditure, shall indicate whether such expenditure can be met by valid appropriation or re- appropriation. (3) In cases where it becomes necessary to issue a sanction to expenditure before funds are communicated, the sanction should specify that such expenditure is subjected to funds being communicated in the budget of the year. Responsibility of Controlling Officer in respect of Budget allocation. The duties and responsibilities of a controlling officer in respect of funds placed at his disposal are to ensure:
(i) that the expenditure does not exceed the budget allocation.
(ii) that the expenditure is incurred for the purpose for which funds have been provided.
(iii) that the expenditure is incurred in public interest.
(iv) that adequate control mechanism is functioning in his Department for prevention, detection of errors and irregularities in the financial proceedings of his subordinate offices and to guard against waste and loss of public money, (1) Date of effect of sanction. Subject to fulfillment of the provisions as contained in the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, all rules, sanctions or orders shall come into force from the date of issue unless any other date from which they shall come into force is specified therein. (2) Date of creation to be indicated in sanctions for temporary posts. Orders sanctioning the creation of a temporary post should, in addition to the sanctioned duration, invariably specify the date from which it is to be created Powers in regard to certain special matters. Except in pursuance of the general delegation made by, or with the approval of the President, a subordinate authority shall not, without the previous consent of the Finance Ministry, issue an order which-
(i) involves any grant of land, or assignment of revenue, or concession, grant, lease or licence of mineral or forest rights, or rights to water, power or any easement or privilege of such concessions, or
(ii) involves relinquishment of revenue in any way Procedure for communication of sanctions. All financial sanctions and orders issued by a competent authority shall be communicated to the Audit Officer and the Accounts Officer. The procedure to be followed for communication of financial sanctions and orders will be as under:-
(i) All financial sanctions issued by a Department of the Central Government which relate to a matter concerning the Department proper and on the basis of which payment is to be made or authorized by the Accounts Officer, should be addressed to him.
(ii) All other sanctions should be accorded in the form of an Order, which need not be addressed to any authority, but a copy thereof should be endorsed to the Accounts Officer concerned.
(iii) In the case of non-recurring expenditure, the sanctioning authority may, where required, accord sanction by signing or countersigning the bill or voucher, whether before or after the money is drawn, instead of by a separate sanction.1
(iv) All financial sanctions and orders issued by a Department of the Central Government with the concurrence of the Internal Finance Wing or Finance Ministry, as applicable, should be communicated to the Accounts Officer in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, and orders issued thereunder from time to time.
(v) All financial sanctions and orders issued by a Department with the concurrence of the Ministry of Home Affairs or Comptroller and Auditor General of India or Department of Personnel should specify that the sanction or orders are issued with the concurrence of that Department along with the number and date of relevant communication of that Department wherein the concurrence was conveyed.
(vi) All orders conveying sanctions to expenditure of a definite amount or upto a specific limit should express both in words and figures the amount of expenditure sanctioned.
(vii) Sanctions accorded by a Head of Department may be communicated to the Accounts Officer by an authorized Gazetted Officer of his Office duly signed by him for the Head of Department or conveyed in the name of the Head of the Department.
(viii) All orders conveying sanctions to the grant of additions to pay such as Special Allowance, Personal Pay, etc., should contain a brief summary of the reasons for the grant of such additions to pay so as to enable the Accounts Officer to see that it is correctly termed as Special Allowance, Personal Pay, etc., as the case may be.
(ix) Orders issued by a Department of a Union Territory Government where Audit and Accounts
(a) have not been separated shall be communicated direct to the Audit authority;
(b) have been separated, copies shall be endorsed to the Audit authorities. In case of sanctions in respect of matters, where reference was made to the Central Government under the Rules of Business framed under Section 46 of the Government of Union Territory Act, 1963, the following clause shall be added in the sanction endorsed to Audit:- “A reference had been made in this case to the Central Government and the above order/letter conforms to the decision of the Central Government vide Government of India, Ministry/Department of Letter No…………dated… ”.
(x) Copies of all General Financial Orders issued by a Department of the Central Government with the concurrence of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India shall be supplied to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
(xi) Copies of all sanctions or orders other than the following types should be endorsed to the Audit Officers:-
(a) Sanctions relating to grant to advances to Central Government employees.
(b) Sanctions relating to appointment or promotion or transfer of Gazetted and non- Gazetted Officers.
(c) All sanctions relating to creation or continuation or abolition of posts.
(d) Sanctions for handing over charge and taking over charge, etc.
(e) Sanctions relating to payment or withdrawal of General Provident Fund advances to Government servants.
(f) Sanctions of contingent expenditure incurred under the powers of Head of Offices.
(g) Other sanctions of routine nature issued by Heads of Subordinate Officers (other than those issued by Ministries or Departments proper and under powers of a Head of Department).
(xii) Sanctions accorded by competent authority to grants of land and alienation of land revenue, other than those in which assignments of land revenue are treated as cash payment, shall be communicated to the Audit and/ or the Accounts Officer, as the case may be, in a consolidated monthly return giving the necessary details. Lapse of Sanctions. A sanction for any
What This Means
Rule 29 of the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017 outlines the proper procedure for issuing and communicating financial sanctions. Think of it as the official instruction manual for how government departments should approve and announce spending. It ensures transparency and accountability by specifying how sanctions should be documented, communicated to relevant parties (like the Accounts Officer and Audit authorities), and what information they must contain. This rule applies to all departments and officers involved in financial approvals and expenditure within the government.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Sanction orders must clearly state the sanctioned amount in both words and figures.
- 2Heads of Departments can authorize Gazetted Officers to communicate sanctions to the Accounts Officer.
- 3Sanction orders for additions to pay (like Special Allowance) must include a brief justification.
- 4Union Territory Government departments must communicate orders to Audit authorities, following specific procedures based on whether Audit and Accounts are separated.
- 5Copies of General Financial Orders issued with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's concurrence must be supplied to them.
Practical Example
The Ministry of Rural Development needs to sanction ₹5,00,000 (Five Lakh Rupees) for a new sanitation project in Village X. The sanction order, drafted by Mr. Sharma, a Section Officer, must clearly state 'Five Lakh Rupees (₹5,00,000)' as the sanctioned amount. Since this project involves a Special Allowance for field workers, the order must briefly explain that the allowance is to compensate for travel and hardship. The order, approved by the Head of Department, is then communicated to the Accounts Officer by Ms. Verma, a Gazetted Officer authorized by the Head of Department. A copy is also sent to the relevant Audit authority to ensure proper oversight.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the amount in words and figures doesn't match in the sanction order?▼
Who is responsible for ensuring that the sanction order contains all the required information?▼
Does this rule apply to all types of financial sanctions?▼
What is the purpose of sending copies of sanctions to the Audit authorities?▼
If a sanction involves a reference to the Central Government, what additional information is needed?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Test Your Knowledge
Question 1 of 3
According to Rule 29 of GFR 2017, how should the sanctioned amount be expressed in orders conveying sanctions to expenditure?