Audit of Sanctions of Expenditure.docx

**Q. 54. What are the guiding principles for audit of sanction of expenditure?** The guiding principles in respect of the audit of sanction of expenditure are delineated below:- i. If the sanctioning authority is vested with full powers in respect of certain class of expenditure, such sanctio...

**Q. 54. What are the guiding principles for audit of sanction of expenditure?** The guiding principles in respect of the audit of sanction of expenditure are delineated below:- i. If the sanctioning authority is vested with full powers in respect of certain class of expenditure, such sanction can be challenged by Audit only on the grounds of propriety; ii. If the authority is vested with powers to sanction the expenditure subject to fulfillment of certain criteria expressed in a general form, sanctions accorded under those powers may be examined by audit in the following manner:- a. Whether the disregard of the criteria is considered to be so serious as to make the sanction perverse, or b. Whether the facts of the case are such as to make the Audit Officer confident that one or more of the criteria have been disregarded. iii. The financial power vested with the authority is to be expressed so clearly in precise terms, that the Audit Officer is bound to ascertain that it is obeyed in proper way in every instance; iv. For the purpose of financial sanctions, a group of work which forms one project shall be considered as one work and requires the sanction of a higher authority. In such cases the necessity for obtaining the sanction of a higher authority to a project cannot be avoided on the ground that the cost of each particular work in the project does not require such sanction. v. If any one item of a scheme requires sanction of a higher authority, the vi. In the case of sanctions to new schemes of expenditure, Audit should see whether a satisfactory accounting procedure has been adopted regarding the detailed cost and time schedules, physical targets and other objects of the expenditure.