Can payment be ordered to PM's Relief Fund?
PRIME Minister's National Relief Fund is established wholly with public contributions and does not get any budgetary support. The Fund has a PAN and is audited by an independent auditor outside the Government. Thakur Vaidyanath Aiyar & Company, Chartered Accountants are the present auditors.
The Fund accepts only voluntary contributions by individuals and institutions.
Contributions flowing out of budgetary sources or from the balance sheets of the Public Sector Undertakings are not accepted.
At the cost of repetition, it has to be noticed that:
1. Contributions have to be voluntary.
2. Only individuals and institutions can contribute.
3. Government Departments supported by Union Budget cannot contribute.
4. PSUs are not allowed to contribute from funds in their balance sheets.
If the CESTAT orders a Government Department like the Revenue in the Finance Ministry which wholly depends on the Consolidated Fund of India, there is no way the Revenue Department can withdraw the money from the Consolidated Fund of India to make a contribution to the PM's National relief Fund. So, the Tribunal's direction to the Revenue Department to make a payment to the PM's Relief Fund cannot be implemented.
Even if they manage to get hold of the money somehow, the PM's Relief Fund cannot accept this money as only voluntary contributions are accepted. A payment made on the directions of a Tribunal can by no stretch of imagination be called a ‘voluntary contribution'.
A copy of the order was directed to be sent to the Finance Secretary and CBEC, for appropriate consideration . Now the appropriate consideration would be not action against those who filed the frivolous application, but it would be to sort out the knotty problem as to how money can be withdrawn for making a contribution to the PM's Relief Fund and then how to convince the Fund Managers and their tough auditors to accept the non voluntary contribution from the Government department which is neither an individual nor an institution. They have a tough time indeed. Maybe a constitutional question - but how will they solve it in two weeks?