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Audit Reports
Compliance
Performance
Bihar
Report No. 1 of 2019 - State Finances, Government of Bihar
Date on which Report Tabled:
Mon 16 Mar, 2020
Date of sending the report to Government:
Thu 19 Dec, 2019
Government Type:
State
Sector
Finance
Overview
This Report intends to assess the financial performance of the State during 2017-18 and to provide the State Legislature with inputs based on audit analysis of financial data. The report is structured in three chapters.
Chapter-I is based on audit of finance accounts and makes an assessment of the Bihar Government’s fiscal position as on 31 March 2018. Chapter-II is based on audit of Appropriation accounts and gives grant wise description of Appropriation and the manner in which the allocated resources were managed by the service delivery departments. Chapter-III is an inventory of the Bihar Government’s compliance with various reporting requirements and financial rules.
Audit findings:
Revenue receipts, revenue expenditure and capital expenditure have increased in 2017-18 compared to 2016-17 but lower than budget estimate. After accounting for inflation (at constant price), their rate of growth reduced in 2017-18 except revenue receipts. The rate of growth of capital formation, in particular, was significantly lower than previous year.
The State has achieved the target of revenue surplus but not of ratio of total outstanding debt to GSDP. The target of fiscal deficit as envisaged in XIV FC and BFRBM Act was achieved but not as envisaged in budget estimates.
The primary deficit of the State has increased from Rs. 2,892 crore in 2013-14 to Rs. 5,251 crore in 2017-18 indicating that non-debt receipts were insufficient to meet the primary expenditure of the State as well as to meet Interest Payment.
The own tax revenues of the State decreased by 2.55 per cent from Rs. 23,742 crore in 2016-17 to Rs. 23,137 crore during 2017-18.
During 2013-18, the State Government incurred a notional loss of Rs. 3,479.32 crore on account of difference between the Government’s borrowing cost and the return on investment in various entities.
Out of total grants/appropriations (Rs. 1,87,343.96 crore) in 2017-18, Rs. 46,396.66 crore (25 per cent) was saved. Out of total savings only Rs. 34,570.64 crore was Surrendered and Rs. 11,826.02 crore (25 percent of total savings) lapse during the year. Significant variations (20 per cent and above in each case) between the total grant or appropriation and expenditure incurred, leading to a savings of Rs. 11,046.78 crore under nine grants/appropriations. In 27 cases involving 25 grants/appropriations there were persistent savings of Rs. 24,318.74 crore and above during the last five years (ranging between Rs. 100.34 crore and Rs. 8,534.72 crore). In 42 cases, involving 38 grants/appropriations, supplementary provisions of Rs. 16,290.56 crore (Rs. 10 lakh and more in each case) proved unnecessary as expenditure was not even up to level of original provision.
The corpus of the State’s Contingency Fund (Rs. 350 crore) has been regularly enhanced, on temporary basis, year after year. In 2017-18, corpus of the Contingency Fund increased from Rs. 350 crore to Rs. 6,403.42 crore and the State Government made 126 withdrawals amounting to Rs. 4,949.21 crore from the Contingency Fund. Out of these, 35 withdrawals amounting to Rs. 314.49 crore (6.35 per cent) were made for meeting expenditure which were clearly non-contingent in nature, violating Constitutional provisions.
HoDs did not reconcile receipts of Rs. 18,909.57 crore and expenditure of Rs. 1,19,427.35 crore under 48 receipts and 102 expenditure major heads respectively with the books of the AG (A&E), Bihar during 2017-18.
Utilisation certificates (UCs) of Rs. 36,593.50 crore (2,455 UCs) were outstanding as on March 2018 against the Grants-in-aid bills drawn by 35 departments.
Rs. 6,162.68 crore drawn on 15214 Abstract Contingent (AC) bills remained outstanding as of March 2018 due to delays in submission of Detailed Contingent (DC) bills.