Finance Ministry asks departments to take prior nod for holding conference

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has pulled up various departments for not seeking prior permission to hold international and domestic conferences, and warned expenditure may not be approved in the absence of advance sanction.

The ministry also reiterated ban on holding meetings and conferences in five-star hotels saying the guidelines on cutting non-plan expenditure should be "strictly" followed.

In a communication to all ministries and departments, the Finance Ministry said that proposals for approval of Expenditure Secretary or Cabinet Secretary are to submitted at at least one month in advance.

The instruction has been issued after it was found that timelines for submission of cases were not adhered to and also a large number of cases were being referred to the Department of Expenditure seeking post-facto approval.

"This has been viewed very seriously and it is requested that the stipulated timeline of submission of proposals is adhered to. It may be noted that henceforth, delayed proposals will not be processed unless accompanied by a delay report..," it said.

The government has put in place measures aimed at cutting non-plan spending by 10 per cent as part of fiscal discipline roadmap.