Para 7.2.3 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
7.2.3 A class of important objections cannot be omitted from collective reports or statistics; these must, however, be excluded from the ordinary records of objections booked against disbursing officers. These are objections relating to insufficient or otherwise irregular sanctions accorded by any authority above the disbursing officer. A record of these objections should be kept in a special register in Form MSO (Audit)-7. A separate register should ordinarily be maintained for the record of objections relating to irregular sanctions of the administrative departments or ministries of Government. The Accountant General should periodically review this register. He shall, at his discretion, determine the number of registers to be maintained for similar objections relating to sanctions accorded by other authorities and prescribe the manner in which these registers should be reviewed periodically. Correspondence relating to these objections should be addressed to the sanctioning authority. The disbursing officer
(s) should, however, be informed simultaneously that the sanction has been held under objection. If it is considered necessary, at any time before the removal of the objection, to retrench the amount disbursed, the sanctioning authority should be addressed to issue the necessary retrenchment order to the disbursing officer(s).
# Registration of financial irregularities
What This Means
When the audit objection relates to a sanction issued by an authority above the disbursing officer (such as a department head or ministry), it must be tracked in a special register (Form MSO (Audit)-7) rather than the regular objection records against the disbursing officer. The AG reviews this register periodically. Correspondence goes to the sanctioning authority (the one who issued the irregular sanction), while the disbursing officer is informed that the sanction is under objection. If recovery becomes necessary, the sanctioning authority — not the disbursing officer — issues the retrenchment order.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Objections against sanctions by higher authorities are kept in a separate register (Form MSO (Audit)-7)
- 2A separate register is maintained for irregular sanctions by ministries/administrative departments
- 3The AG periodically reviews these registers and decides how many to maintain
- 4Correspondence is addressed to the sanctioning authority, not the disbursing officer
- 5The disbursing officer is informed that the sanction is held under objection
Practical Example
A Ministry sanctions a special pay of Rs 3,000 per month for a group of officers, but the Audit Office finds the sanction violates financial rules. Instead of recording this in the regular Objection Book against the DDO who disbursed the pay, the auditor enters it in the special register for irregular sanctions. The objection letter is sent to the Ministry (which issued the sanction), while the DDO is separately informed that the special pay sanction is under audit objection and further payments should be made at the officer's risk.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are these objections separated from regular ones?▼
What is a 'retrenchment order' in this context?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.