Para 7.4.5 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
7.4.5 Requisite number of copies of the Union, State and Union Territory Finance Accounts, Appropriation Accounts and Audit Reports may be supplied to the Finance Ministry/Department after these documents are formally submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General to the president/Governor/Administrator as the case may be. While doing so, it should, however, be clearly stipulated that these copies should be used for purely departmental purposes and neither published nor made available to the members of the Parliament or Legislature or to others until the documents are presented to the Parliament or the State /Union Territory Legislature. Copies of the Reports and Accounts
should be made available to other ministries, departments, etc. only after these have been presented to the Parliament/Legislature.
Notes: When a state is under president’s rule, the procedure to be followed for submission of C&AG’s Audit Report is the same as that applicable in respect of the Union Government Audit Report. It has been decided by the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance that wherever President’s Rule in a state is extended beyond one year, the C&AG’s Reports relating to the state would be placed in Parliament (vide d.o. No. F 6(9) – B(R)/94 dated 22.6.1994 of Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs).
# Action taken on the Reports by Government
What This Means
Copies of Finance Accounts, Appropriation Accounts, and Audit Reports may be given to the Finance Ministry or Department after the CAG formally submits them to the President, Governor, or Administrator. However, these copies must only be used for internal departmental work and must not be published or shared with legislators or the public until the documents are formally presented to Parliament or the State Legislature. Other ministries get copies only after Parliament/Legislature presentation.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Copies are supplied to Finance Ministry/Department after CAG's formal submission to President/Governor/Administrator
- 2Copies must be used strictly for departmental purposes until tabled in Parliament/Legislature
- 3Sharing with legislators or the public before tabling is prohibited
- 4Other ministries and departments receive copies only after the documents are presented to the Legislature
- 5During President's Rule beyond one year, state CAG reports are placed in Parliament
Practical Example
The CAG submits the Audit Report of Kerala to the Governor in December. The Accountant General then provides 50 copies to the Kerala Finance Department for internal review and preparation of action-taken notes. The Finance Department is explicitly told not to circulate these to MLAs or the press until the report is formally tabled in the Kerala Legislative Assembly in the next session. Other departments like PWD and Health receive copies only after the Assembly tabling.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Finance Ministry share Audit Reports with other ministries before Parliament tabling?▼
What happens to state Audit Reports during President's Rule?▼
Why is pre-tabling confidentiality important?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.