Para 3.23.15 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
3.23.15 All orders relating to grant of land, assignment of revenue or concession, grant, lease or licence of mineral or forest rights or a right of water power, or any easement or privilege in respect of any such concession or which in any way involve relinquishment of revenue come within the purview of Audit as they have important financial implications. Audit may assume that departments cannot sanction, without prior consultation with the Finance Ministry/Department, concessions of this nature other than those that may be in accord with any general delegations made by the latter. For the proper discharge of its duty by Audit in regard to these concessions, all sanctions accorded to such grants, assignments, etc. are required to be communicated to it by the Government concerned for scrutiny. The audit of these sanctions is conducted from the point of view of regularity as well as propriety.
# Certification of expenditure on Plan schemes
What This Means
All government orders that grant land, assign revenue, or provide concessions like mineral rights, forest rights, water power, or other privileges fall within audit's purview because they have significant financial implications. Departments must consult the Finance Ministry before granting such concessions (unless covered by a general delegation), and all such sanctions must be communicated to the audit office for scrutiny from both regularity and propriety perspectives.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Grants of land, revenue assignments, and resource concessions are subject to audit
- 2These have important financial implications due to revenue relinquishment
- 3Prior Finance Ministry consultation is required unless covered by general delegations
- 4All sanctions must be communicated to audit for scrutiny
- 5Audit examines both regularity (compliance with rules) and propriety (reasonableness)
Practical Example
A state government grants a 30-year mining lease for limestone to a private company at a concessional royalty rate. The audit team scrutinises whether the Finance Department was consulted, whether the concessional rate is justified, whether competitive bidding was conducted, and whether the revenue foregone is proportionate to the benefits expected — checking both procedural compliance and the reasonableness of the decision.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between regularity audit and propriety audit in this context?▼
What happens if the Finance Ministry was not consulted?▼
Does this apply to temporary licences and permits?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.