Audit the Audit
These are days when we are talking very loudly about judicial accountability and responsibility – even the highest levels of judiciary are being subjected to investigations and scrutiny. In such a scenario, should we have an Authority like CAG who is beyond Audit and scrutiny? It is time the Audit is also subject to an Audit. To start with maybe, the CAG himself can order an Audit on the functioning of his Audit Offices. This audit should cover the cost to the country because of frivolous and un-maintainable Audit Objections and the amount of time and money wasted for the assessees due to such audits.
It is unfortunate that Parliament should be burdened with such silly audit objections running into hundreds of pages – there must be some other mechanism whereby the Heads of organisations like CBEC and CBDT can have meetings with the CAG's officers and thrash out all these issues and the views of the Revenue Heads should be final – for they are more interested in collecting revenue than the Audit Officers.
The Rajya Sabha manual on Maintenance of Records shows that
Medical Claims Register, Telephone Register, Bill Register, Medical reimbursement to Members (individual files) are to be destroyed only after audit objections are settled!
If Newton were to be a Central Excise officer, the Audit would have found fault with him for allowing the apples to fall without his discovering the LAW!
And when the AG's Audit does not visit an Income Tax or Customs assessee, why should the Central Excise and Service Tax assessees bear with them?