Reappropriation and a year-end bill
You are the DDO in the Rural Development Department, district Udhampur, for 2024-25. The office expenses head has only ₹2,40,000 left, but a pending bill of ₹3,10,000 for printing and stationery, already received in February, must be paid before 31 March to avoid lapse. The training head has ₹1,20,000 unspent and advertising has ₹90,000 unspent. The DDO proposes to reappropriate ₹1,50,000 from training and ₹1,00,000 from advertising into office expenses and pay the bill. A supplier also offers to accept payment in April and issue a bill dated 28 March so that the expenditure can be booked in the next year. The treasury officer has asked for your advice on the proposal and on the pending bill. The DDO has not yet obtained any reappropriation sanction.
1. Can the proposed reappropriation be made by the DDO alone? What checks and limits apply before approving it?
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Reappropriation is not a DDO-level power. The DDO may initiate a proposal, but sanction must come from the competent authority under the delegation of financial powers.
Before sanction, check:
- whether the savings are real and not already committed;
- whether the transfer is within the same grant and not from a prohibited head such as salaries;
- that no new sub-head is created;
- that delegated percentage and amount limits are respected;
- that finance or treasury concurrence is obtained where required.
The proposal itself is defective: training has only ₹1,20,000 available, so ₹1,50,000 cannot be taken from that head. The maximum available is ₹1,20,000, and the advertising savings must also be verified before being used.
2. How should the pending bill of ₹3,10,000 be handled if reappropriation is not sanctioned in time?
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The bill must not be held back by manipulating records. The DDO should:
- Refer the case immediately to the controlling officer for additional allotment or reappropriation.
- Ascertain whether the liability was incurred in 2024-25 and whether goods or services were actually received.
- If no provision exists, record the bill as a pending liability and seek clearance; do not pay from contingency or an unrelated head without authority.
- Surrender only genuine unspent balances, not amounts needed for committed liabilities.
- Inform the supplier of the factual position.
Payment in April against a March-dated bill is not a lawful substitute for budget provision.
3. Evaluate the supplier's suggestion to date the bill 28 March and pay in April.
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Reject it. Having the supplier issue a bill dated 28 March while payment is made in April is back-dating a document to shift expenditure between years. It misstates the accounts, defeats budget control, and is an audit irregularity.
If the goods were received in March, the liability belongs to 2024-25 and should be processed in that year if funds are available. If the goods are received in April, the liability belongs to 2025-26. The bill date must reflect the actual transaction, not the convenience of the budget.