Para 3.10.35 — MSO

3.10.35 In view of the considerable expansion in the activities of the Missions and Posts and the overseas units of public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies and in the context of the increased emphasis on Value For Money Audit, comprehensive performance evaluation and reviews of the transactions and other activities of these agencies abroad may also be undertaken with the approval of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Detailed questionnaire on each selected topic could be circulated to collect and collate relevant information/data from the missions, ministries, etc. and such additional information/data as considered necessary being collected in local audit of the missions and posts in the normal course.

Annexure (Referred to in

Note

(iv) below paragraph 3.10.4) 1. In order to tackle the problem of non-receipt of effective replies to audit observations contained in the inspection reports pertaining to Indian Missions and Posts abroad, and to secure expeditious settlement of the outstanding inspection reports and audit observations, the following additional steps should be taken:

(i) All the old objections may be broadly categorised into

(a) those in respect of which replies are is to be furnished by the Heads of the Missions; and

(b) those that are required to be settled finally by the Ministry of External Affairs either by regularisation or by issue of appropriate orders of recovery.

(ii) The Ministry of External Affairs may be requested to nominate an officer of the status of Counsellor in each Mission, who will be responsible for coordinating with Audit and various Wings in the Mission for expediting their replies.

(iii) The Inspecting Officer should keep aside half a day or more before the commencement of or during the audit inspection for discussing the settlement of old outstanding audit observations and inspection reports with the Heads of Missions or the nominated officer.

(iv) Audit objections in respect of which action is pending with the Ministry of External Affairs should be brought demi-officially to the notice of the Secretary of the Ministry and the Financial Adviser so that adequate and prompt attention is bestowed on them. A copy of the list may also be endorsed to the Principal Director of Audit (External Affairs), New Delhi, to enable him to take up the matter during the meeting of Ad hoc Committees and to keep the Principal Director/Director concerned of the developments in this regard from time to time.

(v) Wherever possible, the outstanding objections of all Missions for a few years should be grouped and analysed under broad categories and processed for inclusion as draft paragraphs in the Audit Reports. Some of these categories could be instances of expenditure being incurred without proper sanction, failure to recover overpayments, excess drawal of pay and allowances, etc. The Principal Director of Audit (External Affairs), New Delhi, will coordinate and process the consolidated paragraph.

(vi) Apart from endorsing copies of the inspection reports to the Ministries of External Affairs and Finance, important audit observations should be brought to the notice of senior officers in the Ministry to elicit a quick response.

(vii) The Ad hoc Committees for settlement of outstanding audit observations should be got constituted in the Ministry of External Affairs and activated in case these already exist but are dormant.

2. The following additional instructions may be adhered to in order to strengthen the existing system of mutual exchange, between the three Audit Officers responsible for the audit of the accounts of Indian Missions/Posts abroad and the Ministry of External Affairs, of the gist of important and interesting cases noticed in the course of their local audit:

(a) Copies of all important objections included in the potential draft paragraph register pertaining to all Ministries other than the Ministry of External Affairs (e.g. Ministries of Defence, Commerce, Tourism, etc.) should be sent to the Director General/Principal Directors of Audit concerned. These Officers will include these objections in their registers of potential draft paragraphs and watch progress of the cases. In all such cases, there should be regular communication between the Director General/Principal Director of Audit and the Officers responsible for Embassy audit.

(b) Wherever necessary, the Principal Director/Directors in-charge of audit of Missions/Posts abroad will refer cases to the Director General/Principal Director concerned in India for scrutiny of the relevant files of the Ministry with a view to collecting further background or additional material for the draft paragraphs. The latter will extend all cooperation in such cases and keep the former informed, from time to time, of the developments in such cases.

(c) The audit of various foreign branches of Central public enterprise and commercial undertakings is undertaken by the Principal Director/Directors responsible for audit of Missions/Posts abroad who forward the inspection reports to the Principal Directors of Commercial Audit and Ex-officio Members, Audit Board, concerned for further follow-up action. The former are, however, are not aware of the development in such cases. The Principal Director of Commercial Audit should, therefore, provide a proper feedback to them on the response of the management to the important points raised in audit so that they can properly brief their parties in regard to further pursuance in the course of the subsequent audit of the branches concerned. The Principal Directors of Audit responsible for the audit of various Ministries as well as the Principal Directors of Commercial Audit should feel free to make references to the Principal Directors/Directors of the overseas Audit Offices for assisting them in the collection of any information or verification of any particular transaction. This will enable proper coordination of the audit activities both in India and abroad.

Chapter–11 Audit of Deposits Audit Objectives and Scope