Short essay on the Duties and Powers of the Comptroller and Auditor-General

Article 149 and 150 deal with the powers and duties of the Comptroller and Auditor-General. According to Article 149, Parliament is empowered to prescribe the powers and duties of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in relation to the accounts of the union and the States and any other authority or body established either by the Union or the State.

Accordingly Parliament passed an Act in 1972 dealing with these matters. It upholds the independence of the Comptroller and Auditor- General of India and enables him to work effectively and efficiently.

According to Article 150, the Comptroller and Auditor-General have the power to prescribe the form and manner in which the accounts of the Union and the States shall be kept, subject to the approval of the President.

The department of the Comptroller and Auditor-General is expected to discharge three main functions:

(1) To audit the Government’s expenditure;

(2) To see that the financial rules and orders which have a bearing on governmental expenditure are obeyed; and

(3) To satisfy itself that those who sanction expenditure have the power to do so.

However, a very important function of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, though it is not one which forms part of these statutory obligations, is to examine the accounts from the stand-point of economy and to draw the attention of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to cases of apparent waste and extravagance.

Wherever a parliamentary system of government prevails this is considered to be the most important function of this office.