CHAPTER XIV

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Savings in appropriations- expenditure not provided for in the budget-re-appropriations, supplementary estimates and excess Grants.

133. The payment from and the appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of the State and the sums voted by the Legislative Assembly and the sums charged on that Fund are specified in the Schedule to the Appropriation Act which authorises the appropriation of these sums for the services and purposes expressed in that Schedule in relation to the financial year concerned. Only the total sum for each Grant of Appropriation is specified in the Schedule to the Appropriation Act and this total is worked out on the basis of detailed estimates of gross expenditure contained in the Volume ‘Detailed Estimates and Grants’ as finally passed by the Legislature.

134. Emphasis has been laid in the earlier Chapters that the detailed estimates should be framed as accurately as possible. Unavoidable and unforeseen circumstances may, however, sometimes arise in the course of the year which make it necessary to incur expenditure under one or other of the minor or sub-heads and units of appropriation in excess of the amounts originally estimated. It may also be that the expenditure under certain heads may not have to be incurred to the extent originally estimated, or a new service, scheme or item for which provision has been included in the budget may be started late or may not be taken up at all due to any administrative reason, resulting in savings. Subject to certain restrictions and limitations mentioned hereafter, the savings available under certain heads can be re-appropriated to meet requirements for additional funds under other heads within the same Grant or the Appropriation concerned. The further savings if any, are to be reported to the Finance Department for resumption. An appropriation is operative only until the close of the financial year and therefore all re-appropriations and resumption of savings must be completed before the close of the year. The rules relating to these are contained in Sections I and Section II of this Chapter.

135. Circumstances may sometimes arise on account of which the amount authorised for expenditure in a year may be found to be insufficient for the purposes of that year or a need may arise during the year for supplementary or additional expenditure upon some new service, scheme or item not contemplated in the original budget. In that case a supplementary estimate has to be presented to the Legislature under Article 205 (1) (a) of the Constitution. The rules and instructions relating to supplementary estimates are contained in Section III of this Chapter.

136. Sometimes a need may arise for incurring unforeseen expenditure of an urgent nature before it can be approved by the Legislature. In such a case, an advance may be sanctioned from the Contingency Fund, established under the U.P. Contingency Fund Act 1950, for meeting such expenditure pending its authorisation by the Legislature through an Appropriation Act. The U.P. Contingency Fund Act and the rules framed thereunder are reproduced in Appendix F.

137. If after the close of the year it is revealed, through the Appropriation Accounts, that any expenditure was incurred under any Grant or Charged Appropriation in excess of the total final appropriation for that year under that Grant or Charged Appropriation, the excess expenditure should be regularised, on the basis of the recommendation of the Committee of Public Accounts, by presenting to the Legislative Assembly demands for excess grants as required under Articles 205 (1) (b) of the Constitution. Incurring of unauthorised excess expenditure is most objectionable and must be avoided. The rules relating to presentation of demands for excess grants to the Legislature are contained in Section IV of this Chapter.

SECTION - I

SAVINGS IN APPROPRIATIONS

138. The progress of expenditure month by month and careful assessment of the commitments and liabilities for the remaining part of the year may indicate savings in the appropriations shown against the several minor or sub-heads in the detailed budget estimates and grants. The savings may be due to various reasons.

139. All savings anticipated by the controlling officers should be reported by them with full details and reasons to the administrative departments concerned of the Secretariat immediately they are foreseen, unless these are required to meet anticipated requirements for additional funds under some other heads within the total allotment under the same Grant/Appropriation placed under their control. No amount out of the savings should be held in reserve for meeting additional expenditure not definitely foreseen or already approved by the competent authority. Except as provided under paragraph 142, the administrative departments should intimate such of the saving reported by the controlling officers as may not be required by them to the Finance Department which will resume the savings. Savings so resumed will be re-allotted by the Finance Department, if necessary, when dealing with applications for re-appropriations or supplementary grants or appropriations.

140. Every controlling officer must furnish the final statement of excesses and savings in Form B.M. 4 which should reach the Finance Department, through the Administrative Department concerned, not later than 25th January. Where a Secretary to Government is the controlling officer, the statement should reach the Finance Department by 15th January. The disbursing officers or district level officers should prepare final excess saving on the basis of expenditure up to December and furnish to controlling officer latest by January 5. These statements should be prepared with utmost care, as inaccurate statements may lead to uncovered excess expenditure or unsurrendered savings both of which constitute a financial irregularity –the former a more serious irregularity. The administrative department will prepare their proposals for re-appropriations or surrenders of savings on the basis of those statements. The savings surrendered will be in addition to those surrendered earlier in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. The disbursing officer will intimate and send the copy of the details of all surrenders to the concerned Treasury Officer.

141. It must be carefully noted that no amount out of the savings reported in the final statement shall subsequently be utilised by the controlling officer without the previous approval of the Finance Department. Savings coming to notice after the dispatch of the final statement should be reported separately as soon as possible. All final savings must be surrendered to the Finance Department by 25th March. Officers making belated surrenders, when savings could reasonably have been foreseen and surrendered earlier, will be held responsible for the resultant financial irregularity if the Finance Department are not able to accept such surrenders.

142. In the Public Works, Irrigation and other Remittance Departments, anticipated saving in the budget grants should also be intimated to the Finance Department. The above-mentioned departments will keep a note of the savings, distinguishing between lapses and savings, and ask the disbursing officer concerned not to utilize these savings without prior approval. The Departments also prepare applications for re-appropriations of funds and in those cases in which sanction of the Finance Department is necessary submit proposals for re-appropriation of the savings noted by them. Any savings left after re-appropriations are surrendered to the Finance Department for resumption.

143. If the appropriation under a unit is reduced either due to resumption of savings or by re-appropriation of funds made from it to some other unit, it is the duty and responsibility of the controlling officer to see that the expenditure debitable to that unit is kept within the reduced appropriation.

144. Savings should be surrendered to the Finance Department in multiples of Rs. 1000. Lesser amounts are not required to be surrendered .

145. A copy of each order resuming savings will be furnished by the Finance Department to the Accountant General.

146. Registers shall be maintained in suitable form in the Finance Department to keep a record of the savings resumed by it. The amounts re-allotted for re-appropriation out of the savings resumed earlier will also be noted in those registers.

SECTION - II

RE-APPROPRIATIONS

147. Every controlling officer is expected to see not only that the total expenditure is kept within the total grant or appropriation placed at his disposal but also that the expenditure under each standard object is kept within the amount originally provided under that standard object. Transfer of funds from one standard object to another, however, some times becomes unavoidable.

148. As the appropriation audit is conducted by the Accountant General by minor heads or in some cases by sub-heads subordinate to a minor head, a minor head or sub-head as shown in Part II under each Grant or Charged Appropriation will constitute the smallest unit of re-appropriation, except where the standard objects, such as those relation to major works, have been declared to be specific appropriations transfer of funds between them will be treated as re-appropriation.

149. Redistribution which are not re-appropriation : Transfers as between different detailed account heads appearing in Part III and not in Part II under a Grant or Charged Appropriation which have not been declared as specific appropriations will be deemed as re-distributions and not as re-appropriations. Re-distributions can be made by the controlling authority subject to the restrictions referred to and the limitations imposed by Government from time to time which must be carefully observed.

150. Re-appropriation is permissible only when it is known or anticipated that the appropriation for the unit from which funds are diverted will not be utilised in full or that savings can definitely be effected in it. It is both objectionable and irregular to sanction a re-appropriation from a unit under which no savings are anticipated at the time of sanction in the expectation of restoring the original allotment under that unit later in the year by transferring to it savings that may then become available under other units.

151. Re-appropriation where not permissible :Re-appropriations are not permissible—

(i). from one Grant/Appropriation to another (e.g. from grant number 32—Medical to grant number 36—Public Health is not permissible);

(ii).from the Charged to the voted section or vice versa ;

(iii).to provide for new expenditure, whether voted or charged (for explanation of the expression "new expenditure" see Chapter VIII), until such expenditure has been authorised by an Appropriation Act;

(iv).to increase or provide for the expenditure on an item the provision for which was specifically reduced or disapproved by the Assembly either through a substantive or a token cut; and

(v).after the close of the financial year.

152. Recoveries not to be taken into account :As the Demands for Grants, whether original or supplementary, placed before the Legislature are for gross expenditure without taking into account deductions on account of recoveries, credits on account of recoveries of expenditure must be ignored for the purposes of sanctioning re-appropriation of funds or obtaining supplementary grants.

153. Re-appropriations should invariably be in multiples of Rs. 1000. Petty additional requirement below these limits under any particular sub-head should be collected by the controlling officer or other subordinate officer concerned by inclusion in a consolidated re-appropriation application in respect of that sub-head and the disbursing officers concerned should be informed that the requirements would be included in a consolidated re-appropriation order to be issued in due course before the close of the year.

154.Powers to sanction re-appropriation: Powers to sanction re-appropriations are regulated by the rules made by the Governor under Article 166 (2) and (3) of the Constitution. Accordingly, the following rule has been framed :

"(1) After the Legislature has passed an Appropriation Bill ;

(i) the Finance Department shall have the power to sanction any re-appropriation within a grant from one major, minor or subordinate head to another ;

(ii) the Minister in charge of a Department or Head of Administrative Department in Government shall have power to sanction any re-appropriation within a grant between the heads subordinate to a minor head which concerned with any other standard objects to salaries of Departmental employees not otherwise. Such re-appropriation applicable to units of salaries will be intimated to Finance Department. Without prior permission of Finance Department, no other re-appropriation order can be issued either by administrative department or controlling officer to disbursing officers. No re-appropriation can be made from voted to charged and vice-versa. No part of provision for a new expenditure will be utilised for any other purpose . Re-appropriation should not be made which involves the undertaking of recurring liability , that is a liability extended beyond the financial year.

155. The Finance Department can, thus, subject to the restrictions mentioned in para. 151, sanction re-appropriations within a Grant or Appropriation from one major, minor or sub head to another. Provided that the concurrence of Planning Department is there before sanctioning any re-appropriation which has the effect of increasing the ceiling for a Plan scheme allotted by that department for a particular financial year. Re-appropriation of funds with in the sector “Non-Plan” is permissible. No such power can be exercised involving re-appropriation from sector “Non-Plan” to “Plan” and vice-versa.

156. Deleted

157. Deleted

158. Instruction for preparing for re-appropriation: All proposals for re-appropriations relating to Civil as well as Public Works Departments, whether they are within the power of sanction of Administrative Departments or the Finance Department, should be submitted in the prescribed form (Forms B. M. 15 ) and should specify the standard objects of expenditure, the provisions under which have been or are likely to be exceeded, as well as the major heads, sub-major heads (if any), minor heads or sub-heads (if any) of account concerned. The reasons for the original appropriation proving insufficient, as also those for the anticipated savings which it is proposed to utilise, should in variably be explained fully and clearly in each application item by item.

159. Procedure for submitting application : All applications for re-appropriations should be numbered and dated. They should be signed by the applicants and be submitted in quadruplicate to the administrative department of Government which administers or controls the grant or the appropriation concerned. If the administrative department concerned has not the power to sanction the re-appropriation, it shall refer the proposal to the Finance Department with its recommendations. While submitting the applications, the officers will furnish a certificate similar to that mentioned in paragraph 160 below. As far as possible, all such applications requiring action in the Finance Department should reach that Department by 20th March.

160. Communication of sanction to Audit: Copies of all orders sanctioning re-appropriations issued by the Administrative Department / Finance Department should be supplied to Accountant General and should invariably be accompanied by a certificate that the re-appropriations sanctioned do not infringe any of the restrictions or the limitations specified in paragraphs 150, 151,154 and 155 . The certificate shall be recorded on the body of each re-appropriations order.

SECTION - III

SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES

161. A supplementary grant or appropriation is in addition to the total authorised grant or appropriation for a financial year and has to be obtained in the manner prescribed in Article 205 (1) (a) of the Constitution, passing through the same stages of legislative procedure as the original grant or appropriation.

162.Supplementary grants or appropriations are required in the following cases:

(i) when the amount included in a grant or appropriation (voted or charged section) authorised by the Appropriation Act is found to be insufficient for the year ; or

(ii) when need has arisen for incurring expenditure, whether voted or charged, upon some new service, scheme or item not contemplated in the Appropriation Act for the year, even though it can be met wholly or in part by re-appropriations within the amount authorised under the Grant or the Appropriation ; or

(iii) when it is desired to obtain the prior approval of the Legislature to a scheme involving large financial commitments, even though little or no expenditure on that account is anticipated in the current year.

In cases falling under clause (ii), a token sum of Rs. 1000 or the amount actually required, as the case may be, should be included in the supplementary statement of expenditure, while in cases falling under clause (iii) only a token sum of Rs. 1000 need be included.

163.If a supplementary estimate is for increased provision in respect of a sanctioned object, the authority concerned should show:

(a) that the need for the increased provision could not be foreseen at the time when the original departmental estimate was framed, and

(b) that in the absence of such provision injustice would be caused to some person not at fault, or serious inconvenience or serious loss or damage would be caused to the public service.

A supplementary estimate for increased provision while not presented unless condition (b) is fulfilled. Failure to fulfil condition (a) [whether condition (b) is fulfilled or not] is a financial irregularity and may involve a report to the Committee on Public Accounts.

164. If a supplementary estimate is required for some new expenditure not contemplated in the budget, the authority concerned must show either —

(a) that the expenditure has been newly imposed by statute, or by order of a court of law, or other competent authority ; or

(b)that urgent necessity has arisen for the proposed expenditure the postponement of which would (i) involve extra expenditure ultimately, or (ii) be administratively impossible or would be against any accepted policy.

The Finance Department must necessarily agree to the presentation of supplementary estimate in case (a), while in case (b) its presentation will depend on the urgency of the proposed expenditure.

 

165. The principles enunciated in paragraphs 163 and 164 apply also to an application for a supplementary estimate in respect of any demand to which the Assembly has previously refused its assent or the amount of which the Assembly has reduced either by a reduction of the whole grant or by the omission or reduction of any of the items of expenditure of which the grant is composed.

166. The primary responsibility in regard to proposals for supplementary grants or appropriations rests on the controlling officer who should explain clearly in each case not only why a supplementary grant or appropriation is required but also why the need could not be foreseen at the time when the original budget estimates were framed. In explaining the proposals, it should be clearly explained in detail whether specific conditions as prescribed under para. 163 or 164, as may be relevant, are strictly fulfilled. If it is under clause (b) of para. 164, the authority concerned should explain the necessity and the urgency of the proposed expenditure and also why it is not administratively possible to postpone it. Greatest care should, therefore, be taken in submitting such proposals. It must be carefully understood that if after the close of the financial year it is revealed that any supplementary grants or appropriations obtained were unnecessary or excessive, the officers at the fault will be held responsible for the financial irregularity to which the Accountant General is bound to draw attention in the Audit Report on the Appropriation Accounts which will come up before the Legislature and the Committee on Public Accounts in due course.

167. Proposals for supplementary grants or appropriations should be submitted by the various controlling authorities to Government in the administrative departments concerned, and not to the Finance Department direct as soon as their necessity has been clearly established. The administrative departments should examine the proposals very carefully and recommend to the Finance Department only such of them are considered to be fully justified. The savings available, if any, within the Grant or the Appropriation concerned should be duly taken into account and supplementary grant or appropriation should be asked only for such amount as cannot be met by sanctioning re-appropriations of funds. If the supplementary grant or appropriation is required under para. 163 and if savings resumed by the Finance Department under the Grant or the Appropriation concerned are available for re-allotment, that department will, if convinced of the necessity for the supplementary grant or appropriation, sanction it by re-appropriation from these savings. If there are no such savings, or those available are not sufficient to meet the entire additional demand, the Finance Department will take steps to present supplementary estimates to the Legislature for the amounts needed. Similarly, any savings under any Grant or Charged Appropriation reported to the Finance Department for resumption should be utilised by that Department in reducing the Supplementary Estimate under that Grant or charged Appropriation required under para 164 and only token or partly substantive provision should be made where the estimated expenditure on any new item or scheme can be met either wholly or in part by re-appropriation of savings.

168. All proposals relating to supplementary estimates submitted by the administrative departments to the Finance Department should be accompanied by self-contained memoranda and indicate clearly the major and minor or sub-heads, etc. of account under which additional grants and appropriations are required. If any proposal involves incurring of additional expenditure in the future years also, that should also be clearly mentioned and estimates given. All applications for supplementary grants or appropriations must be submitted to the Finance Department by the prescribed date after which that department may not be in a position to entertain any application.

169. On the passing of the Appropriation Act pertaining to the supplementary statement of expenditure, the Finance Department will communicate to the administrative departments concerned and also to the Accountant General the amounts included in the Act under the several Grants or Appropriations. The administrative departments should take immediate steps to communicate the additional grants and appropriations to the subordinate authorities concerned and also to issue, where necessary specific orders sanctioning the incurring of additional expenditure not exceeding those limits. The administrative departments should also issue orders for sanctioning any scheme or item constituting new expenditure for which provision has been made through the Supplementary Estimates. Copies of all such orders should be furnished to the Accountant General through the Finance Department (except where the administrative departments are competent under the delegated powers to issue such sanctions without reference to the Finance Department) after necessary funds have been provided in the budget. The administrative departments should also take steps to have the necessary re-appropriations sanctioned as early as possible in those cases in which the additional expenditure was proposed to be met wholly or in part from savings.

170. Deleted

SECTION - IV

Excess Grants and Appropriations

171. Under clauses 1 (b) and 2 of Article 205 of the Constitution, if any money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service and for that year, demand for such excess amount has to be presented to the Legislature and is to be dealt with in the same way as if it were a demand for a grant.

172. A demand for an excess grant differs from a demand for a supplementary grant in that, while the latter is essentially a demand for a grant the need for which is foreseen during the currency of a year and is presented in the year to which it relates, a demand for an excess grant is presented to regularise expenditure incurred in excess of the grant made in a past year. A demand for an excess grant can be laid before the Legislative Assembly only after all the expenditure of the year has been audited and the Appropriation Accounts of the year have been compiled by the officers of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and considered by the Committee on Public Accounts. The work of compilation of the appropriation accounts by the Accountant General and their consideration by the Committee on Public Accounts. The work of compilation of the appropriation accounts by the Accountant General and their consideration by the Committee on Public Accounts however take some time. In practice, therefore, it is not possible to present a demand for an excess grant until about two years after the expire of the financial year to which it relates and until the recommendations of the Committee on Public Accounts are received.

173. The same principles and procedure apply to an excess in the total appropriation for charged expenditure under the heads of accounts included within a grant or under the separate charges appropriations relating to "Interest on debt and other obligations" and "Reduction or avoidance of debt" : the only difference being that an excess in respect of charged expenditure does not require the vote of the Assembly.