31. Preparation and submission of annual budget estimates

(1) The budget estimates of the Corporation for each financial year beginning on the first of April and ending on the thirty-first of March next shall be prepared by the Chief Accounts Officer in such form as the Central Government may, from time to time, direct and shall be submitted with his recommendations by the Director General to the Standing Committee for approval at a meeting of the Standing Committee to be held before the 1st of February of the preceding year.

(2) A copy of the budget estimates shall be sent to each member of the Standing Committee and of Corporation at least seven clear days before the meeting of the Standing Committee or Corporation at which these estimates are to be considered.

(3) The Standing Committee shall consider and approve the budget estimates with such changes as it may consider necessary.

(4) The budget estimates as approved by the Standing Committee shall be placed before a meeting of the Corporation to be held before the twentieth of February of the preceding year.

(5) The budget estimates as passed by the Corporation shall be authenticated by affixing the common seal of the Corporation and shall be submitted to the Central Government under section 32, not later than the first of March next following.

(6) It shall be open to the Central Government to make such alterations in the budget estimates as may be considered necessary before according approval.

(7) The budget estimates as finally adopted by the Corporation and as approved by the Central Government shall be placed before the Parliament by the administrative ministry concerned in the month of March preceding the financial year to which the estimates relate and shall be published in the Official Gazette.

31A. Administrative expenses

(1) The expenditure incurred by the Corporation on the following items shall be termed as administrative expenses under section 28 of the Act, namely:

(i) payment of fees and allowances to members of the Corporation, the Standing Committee and the Medical Benefit Council, the Regional Boards, Local Committees;

(ii) payment of salaries, leave and joining time allowances, travelling and compensatory and other allowances, bonus, gratuities and compassionate allowances pension, contribution to the Provident fund or other benefit funds of officers and employees of the corporation;

(iii) defraying expenses on depreciation and maintenance of staff cars, office buildings, staff quarters, hiring of accommodation, purchase of furniture, office equipments, stationery, printing and other expenditure in respect of offices of the corporation;

(iv) defraying expenses towards membership subscription to International Organisation, and other services for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of the Act;

(v) defraying the cost (including all expenses) of the auditing accounts of the corporation and of the valuation of its assets and liabilities;

(vi) defraying the cost (including all expenses) of the Employees' State Insurance Courts set up under the Act;

(vii) payment of any sums under any contract entered into for the purposes of this Act by the corporation or the Standing Committee or by any officer duly authorised by the corporation or the Standing Committee in that behalf;

(viii) payment of sums under any decree, order or award of any court or Tribunal against the corporation or any of its officers or servants for any act done in the execution of his duty or under a compromise or settlement of any suit or other legal proceedings or claim instituted or made against the corporation;

(ix) defraying the cost and other charges of instituting or defending any civil or criminal proceedings arising out of any action taken under this Act;

(x) defraying the expenditure in connection with publicity, of the ESI Scheme, including printing of publicity materials, courses relevant to the purposes of the Act;

(xi) defraying the expenditure on conducting evaluation studies on various aspects of functioning of the ESI Scheme.

(2) The percentage of the total revenue income of the corporation which may be spent every year on its administrative expenses beginning with the year 1997-98 shall not exceed fifteen per cent.

32. Supplementary estimates

The Standing Committee may cause a supplementary estimate to be prepared and submitted to the Corporation, if in respect of any financial year further expenditure is likely to be incurred. Every such supplementary estimate shall be considered and sanctioned by the Corporation and submitted to the Central Government in the same manner as if it were an original annual estimate, not later than the fifteenth of February of the financial year to which it relates. The provisions of rule 31 shall, so far as may be, apply to such supplementary estimate.

33. Reappropriation

(1) If the Director-General finds in the course of the year that there is likely to be an excess of expenditure over the sanctioned budget estimate under any head, he shall examine the allotment under each head of the budget estimate with the object of discovering probable savings under any other head and effecting a re-appropriation. Where such re-appropriation is feasible, he may sanction the re-appropriation subject to such conditions as may be laid down by the Central Government from time to time.

(2) Funds shall not be re-appropriated to meet expenditure on a new service not contemplated in the budget estimates except with the prior approval of the Central Government.

(3) No re-appropriation shall be permitted between the grant sanctioned for administrative expenses, two-thirds of which shall be met by the Central Government, and a grant sanctioned for any other expenditure.

34. Maintenance of accounts

The Corporation shall maintain complete and accurate accounts in such form as the Standing Committee may, with the approval of the Central Government, specify from time to time. The books shall be balanced on the thirty-first of March each year.

35. Revenue accounts

The Corporation shall prepare revenue accounts for the financial year ended on the thirty first of March and balance sheet as on the thirty-first of March, by the thirty-first of May:

PROVIDED that on the application of the Corporation, the Central Government may extend the said date by a period not exceeding thirty days:

PROVIDED FURTHER that the Corporation may, and if so required by the Central Government shall, cause to be prepared the revenue accounts and the balance sheet for any other period or as on any othe date.

36. Auditing of accounts

[Omitted by GSR 76, dt. 22-1-1991, w.e.f. 1-2-1991]

37. Production of accounts before the Comptroller and Auditor General of India

The annual accounts shall be set out and produced before the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for scrutiny on or before the fifteenth of June each year following the close of the financial year to which they relate :

PROVIDED that on the application of the Corporation the Central Government may extend the said date by a period not exceeding thirty days.

38. Powers of Comptroller and Auditor General of India

The Corporation shall submit all accounts to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as required by them. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India may--

(i) by written notice, require the production before them or before any officer subordinate to them, of any document which they may consider necessary for the proper conduct of their audit;

(ii) by written notice, require any person accountable for, or having the custody or control of any such document, to appear in person before them or before any officer subordinate to them; and

(iii) require any person so appearing before them or before any officer subordinate to them to make and sign a declaration with respect to such document or to answer any question or prepare and submit any statement.

39. Report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the annual accounts shall be submitted to the Corporation on such date and in such form as the Central Government may specify in this behalf and they shall state whether in their opinion the balance sheet is a full and fair balance sheet containing all necessary particulars and properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and correct view of the state of the Corporation's affairs and in case they have called for any explanation or information from the Corporation or any of its officers, whether it has been given and whether it is satisfactory.

40. Consideration of reports

(1) The annual report on the work and activities of the Corporation (excluding the unaudited accounts for the year incorporated therein) shall be considered by the Standing Committee and shall be placed for adoption at a meeting of the Corporation to be held before the tenth of December following the close of the financial year concerned.

(2) The annual accounts relating to a financial year together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon shall be considered by the Standing Committee and shall be placed for adoption at a meeting of the Corporation to be held before the tenth December following the close of the financial year concerned:

PROVIDED that the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is received by the twentieth November following the year to which it pertains.

41. Authentication of annual accounts and reports

The annual accounts together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon and the annual report on the work and activities of the Corporation as adopted by the Corporation shall be authenticated by affixing the common seal of the Corporation and four copies thereof together with the comments of the Corporation on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General shall be submitted to the Central Government not later than the twentieth December following the close of the financial year concerned for being placed before the Parliament :

PROVIDED that if the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is not received by the twentieth November following the financial year to which it pertains, the annual accounts together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon shall be submitted to the Central Government separately from the annual report on the work and activities of the Corporation.

42. Cost of audit

The cost of audit shall be paid by the Corporation by such date as may be specified by the Central Government.

43. Publication of accounts

[Omitted by GSR 76, dt. 22-1-1991, w.e.f. 1-2-1991.]

44. Impropriety or irregularity in accounts

(1) The auditors shall submit to the Corporation and the Central Government a separate statement, if necessary, in regard to--

(i) any material impropriety or irregularity which they may observe in the expenditure, or in the recovery of moneys due to, or in the accounts of the Corporation; or

(ii) any loss or waste of money or other property owned by or vested in the Corporation which has been caused by neglect or misconduct, with the names of the persons who in their opinion are directly or indirectly responsible for such loss or waste.

(2) The Standing Committee shall forthwith remedy any defect or irregularity that may be pointed out by the auditors and shall report to the Central Government the action taken by it thereon within ninety days of the receipt of the report of the auditors :

PROVIDED that if there is a difference of opinion between the Standing Committee and the auditors, or if the Standing Committee does not remedy any defect or irregularity within a reasonable period, the Central Government may, and on a reference specifically made thereof, shall pass such orders thereon as they think fit and the Standing Committee shall thereafter, take action in accordance therewith within such time as may be specified by the Central Government.

45. Disallowance of expenditure incurred and surcharge for loss or deficiency

(1) The Standing Committee or any authority authorised by it in this behalf may, after giving the person concerned an opportunity to submit an explanation, and after considering any such explanation, disallow any item of account contrary to the provisions of the Act or of the rules or regulations made thereunder, and surcharge the same on the person making or authorising the making of payment of such account and shall charge against any person accounting, the amount of any deficiency or loss incurred by the negligence or misconduct of that person, or of any sum which ought to have been but is not brought into account by that person, and shall in every such case certify the amount due from such person :

PROVIDED that no certificate made by the authority authorised by the Standing Committee shall have effect unless it is approved by the Standing Committee.

(2) The Standing Committee shall state in writing its reasons for every disallowance, surcharge or charge made or approved by it and shall serve a certificate of the amount due and a copy of the reasons for its decision on the person against whom the certificate is made and shall also furnish copies thereof to the Central Government.

(3) Any person aggrieved by a certificate made under this rule may, within one month from the date of the service of certificate on him under sub-rule (2), file an application to the Central Government for setting aside or modifying the disallowance, surcharge or charge in respect of which the certificate was made.

(4) On receipt of application under sub-rule (3) or on its own motion, the Central Government may, after making such inquiry as may be necessary, pass such order as it thinks fit either confirming, modifying or setting aside the disallowance, surcharge or charge in respect of which the certificate was made and the Standing Committee shall thereupon take action in accordance with such order within such time as may be specified by the Central Government.

(5) The Central Government may by order direct that all further action under the certificate made under this rule shall be stayed until the disposal of the matter pending before it under sub-rule (4).

46. Recovery of amounts certified to be due

(1) Every sum certified to be due from any person by the Standing Committee or if the certificate has been modified by the Central Government, the sum shown to be due from such person in the modified certificate, shall be paid by such person to the Corporation within three months after he has been served with the certificate of the Standing Committee; or within such longer time as may be allowed by the Central Government, any such sum, if not so paid, shall be recovered as if it were an arrear of land revenue.

(2) Any sum or part of a sum so paid or recovered, the certificate in respect of which is set aside or modified, shall, as the case may require, be wholly or partly refunded to the person who paid it.