Finance Ministry issues clarification on DoE's order on salary disbursal

The finance ministry clarified on Saturday that an office order issued by the Department of Expenditure on June 18 regarding disbursal of salary for June is applicable to only an attached office under the department and temporary in nature. The ministry cautioned the general public not to circulate the order since it is confidential in nature and may attract punitive actions under applicable legal provisions.

"It has been brought to notice that an internal Confidential Office Order pertaining to the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance is being circulated in various social media platforms," an official statement said.

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It said the Department of Expenditure's order relating to the disbursal of salary for the month of June 2019 is applicable only to an attached office under the department, namely the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) and officials working in the PFMS Project Cell and is temporary in nature to avoid exceeding the Vote on Account limit.

With a view to keep the expenditure within in the ceiling of Vote on Account approved by Parliament in the interim Budget, the expenditure department decided that June salaries of Group 'A' and 'B' officers will be released after passage of the full Budget for 2019-20, sources said on the June 18 order.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Budget for the financial year 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha on July 5. On February 1, the government had presented an Interim Budget to take Parliament nod for spending till the new government takes charge after the general elections.