VIJAYAWADA: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) observed that non-enabling of ‘duplicate check’ of bills during payment in the AP Comprehensive Financial Management System (APCFMS) application resulted in excess payment from the exchequer. This also depicted weak processing controls in the application, besides causing excess payments of Rs 968 crore relating to 1,41,917 bills between April 2018 and September 2021, read the report of CAG containing the results of Information Systems Audit of APCFMS.
CAG also noted that due to non-provision of ‘Limit Check’ in the application, excessive pensionary benefits were drawn in respect of 2,545 pensioners, covering 193 treasury officers/DDOs during that period, involving an amount of Rs 218.15 crore.
CAG noticed that 1,44,493 Personal Deposit (PD) accounts were created through the backend of CFMS without involvement of the Cash and Debt Management Section of Finance Department. Further, PD administrators were not involved/ aware of lapsing of funds to the tune of Rs 71,568.44 crore (carried out as part of year-end activity for the period March 2019 to March 2021) from PD accounts in 3,41,410 cases as these were affected by the CFMS backend team.
Poor assurance on design and control aspects need to be seen in the context of the significance public account holds as a percentage of total government disbursements (28, 43 and 48% respectively for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively, the CAG observed and recommended that the department may incorporate necessary controls to avoid repetitive and excess payments.
In 11,59,025 challans, totalling receipts of Rs 1,865.73 crore, the receipt notification was received from RBI only after five days or more up to 196 days, even though the settlement period is Transaction Day+1.
In 27,031 records between April 2018 and September 2021, involving a sum of Rs 3.78 crore, bank payment date is after RBI’s scroll date to CFMS, which defies logic.
The CFMS data (C-PIN and amount) and the GST data (GST C-PIN and amount) provided by the AP State Commercial Taxes Department were cross-verified and found in 73,596 transactions, C-PINS entered by the various DDOs were not correct. The DDOs in question failed to remit the amount drawn from the government, totalling Rs 264.33 crore, CAG reported.