Para 7.1.20 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
7.1.20 At the instance of the Financial Committees of Parliament, a procedure has been evolved to ensure that Government takes suitable action on all observations included in Audit Reports even if the Committees do not discuss them. According to this procedure, Government is required to intimate to the Committees the follow-up action on the observations, their replies being vetted by Audit. Adoption of a similar procedure could also be suggested to the Public Accounts Committees and Committees on Public Undertakings of the State Legislatures. Once this is done and based on the action taken, the related objections and audit paragraphs outstanding in the inspection reports could be treated as having been settled in so far as Audit is concerned and deleted from the objection books.
What This Means
Parliament's Financial Committees require the Government to report the follow-up action taken on all observations in Audit Reports — even those the Committees do not specifically discuss. Audit vets the Government's replies. Once satisfactory action is taken and confirmed, the related outstanding objections in inspection reports can be treated as settled and removed from the objection books.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Government must respond to ALL Audit Report observations, not just those discussed by Parliament
- 2Government replies are vetted (reviewed) by Audit before being accepted
- 3Similar procedures can be suggested to State Legislature committees (PAC and COPU)
- 4Once action is taken and confirmed, related objections and audit paragraphs can be deleted from objection books
- 5This mechanism was created at the instance of Financial Committees of Parliament
Practical Example
The CAG's Audit Report for 2025 includes 45 observations on various ministries. Even though the Public Accounts Committee discusses only 15 of them in detail, all 45 ministries must submit Action Taken Notes. The Audit Office reviews these replies, and for the 30 observations where satisfactory corrective action has been taken, the corresponding entries in inspection reports are marked as settled.
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 to audit observations that the Public Accounts Committee does not discuss?▼
Does this procedure also apply at the state level?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.