Para 3.7.8 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
3.7.8 In order to facilitate audit of payments against these contracts, relevant details of
(i) sanction;
(ii) contractors;
(iii) the nature of the work or materials to be supplied;
(iv) brief particulars of rates, important conditions, etc.; and
(v) the delivery or completion schedule should be recorded in a Register (Form MSO (Audit)-l) maintained in the Central Audit Support Section (also known as Integrated Audit Unit Section in some offices) and made available to the Central Audit Parties who may refer, wherever necessary, to the copies of the contracts made available by the departments concerned. The Central Audit Party should note in the register only those payments that are audited. There may, however, be cases where all vouchers paid against contracts of the value of
Rs 5 lakhs and above may not come up for audit. In cases where no payments have been noted in the register for as long a period as one year or so or during the entire contract period, which is generally very short in respect of contracts entered into by civil departments, specific inquiries may be made from the departments concerned to ascertain if the contract has actually been operative; if so, details of the vouchers through which the payments were made and other relevant particulars may be called for.
What This Means
To facilitate audit of payments against contracts, the Central Audit Support Section (also called Integrated Audit Unit Section) maintains a Register in Form MSO (Audit)-1. This register records key details of each contract: sanction, contractor, nature of work, rates, conditions, and delivery schedule. The register is shared with Central Audit Parties who note the payments they have audited. If no payments appear in the register for a year or during the entire contract period, the department should be contacted to check if the contract was actually operative and to obtain payment details.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1A Register in Form MSO (Audit)-1 is maintained for tracking contract payments
- 2Register records sanction, contractor, work details, rates, conditions, and delivery schedule
- 3Central Audit Parties note only the payments they actually audit in the register
- 4Contracts showing no payments for one year or the entire period trigger follow-up inquiries
- 5Purpose is to ensure no contract payments escape audit scrutiny
Practical Example
The Integrated Audit Unit Section records a Rs 12 lakh contract for medical supplies in the MSO (Audit)-1 register. Over the next 14 months, the Central Audit Party examines several payment vouchers against this contract and notes them in the register. However, for another contract worth Rs 8 lakhs recorded six months ago, no payment entries have appeared. The Section writes to the department asking whether the contract was operative, and if payments were made, requests the voucher details and relevant particulars to bring them under audit coverage.
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 Form MSO (Audit)-1?▼
Why might a contract show no payments in the register?▼
Do Central Audit Parties audit all vouchers against a contract?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.