Surrender of Funds lying in PL/ Deposit Accounts
Government of West Bengal
Finance Department
Audit Branch
No. 5536-F(Y) Dated, 4th September, 2017
CIRCULAR
Sub: Surrender of unutilized State Funds lying in PL/ Deposit/ Bank Account.
It has been brought to the notice of the State Government that the funds transferred by the Department/subordinate offices to Personal Ledger (PL) Accounts/Deposit Accounts of any parastatal from the Consolidated Fund of the State and which are lying unutilized at the end of the Financial Year are not being surrendered by the Administrators of the PL Accounts/Operators of the Deposit Accounts. The unutilized funds are being carried over to the subsequent Financial Year(s). This rolling over of unused State Plan funds makes it difficult to assess the actual expenditure in a particular Financial Year.
In view of the above, all the Administrators/Operators of the PL/Deposit Accounts, except those governed under separate law/rule/enactment (for example, PL Accounts of Rent Controller, Special LAO, etc.) are hereby directed to surrender the amount so transferred to such Accounts out of the budgetary allocation of previous financial year(s) lying unspent as on date at once. For this purpose, the Administrator/Operator of such PL/Deposit Account shall generate an electronic advice and submit a physical copy thereof to the Treasury Officer/Pay & Accounts Officer along with a challan in T.R. Form No. 7A, showing the classification as ‘reduction of expenditure’ to the concerned Service Head of the concerned Department wherefrom the money was drawn. Hereafter, as a regular practice to promote better financial discipline, Administrators/Operators of PL/Deposit Accounts shall follow the same process to surrender funds that remain unutilized at the end of each Financial Year.
In future, before transferring fund to the Deposit Account of any parastatal for execution/implementation of any project/scheme, the Administrative Department shall necessarily assess the certainty of utilization of such fund within that Financial Year. No fund which cannot be possibly spent during a particular Financial Year should be transferred to such Accounts.
Also, funds which have been transferred to Bank Accounts of parastatals including Corporations, Societies, Boards, etc. up to 2016-17 and is still lying unutilized in such Bank Accounts as on date, shall immediately be transferred to the appropriate Service Head of the concerned Department vide T.R. Challan No. 7.
In reference to Memo No. 3368-F(Y) dated 31.05.2017 of the Finance Department, it is again reiterated that no Budgetary fund of any Department will be transferred to the Bank Accounts of its Directorate, Societies. Boards, parastatals, etc. unless approved by the Finance Department.
Sd/- H.K. Dwivedi, IAS
Principal Secretary to the
Government of West Bengal
Finance Department