States asked to finish fresh audits of public sector enterprises

Mar 29, 2023

Synopsis
"Many SPSEs were not filling their annual accounts and the audit process was not very prompt. We have asked all the states to make the whole process electronic and file all the updates by June 30," a senior government official told ET, adding that over 30 SPSEs had not updated their annual accounts post Covid.

The Centre has asked states to complete fresh audits of all state public sector enterprises (SPSEs) and submit them electronically by the end of June, officials said.

"Many SPSEs were not filling their annual accounts and the audit process was not very prompt. We have asked all the states to make the whole process electronic and file all the updates by June 30," a senior government official told ET, adding that over 30 SPSEs had not updated their annual accounts post Covid.

An exercise undertaken by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) revealed that many SPSEs were not updating or getting their accounts audited for multiple years.

A communication in this regard was sent to states in first week of March, the official said.

The official said the latest exercise was initiated to track performance of SPSEs. In some cases, PSUs recorded poor performance or there was no updated data available.

The idea is to ensure data on performance of SPSEs is available in public domain to enable relevant authorities to assess their performance.

Estimates peg cumulative loss of SPSEs at ₹2.5 lakh crore. Non-functional PSEs are not subject to audit by the CAG.

The matter was also flagged by NITI Aayog.

[The Economic Times]