Wherever income and expenditure of public money are involved, the Comptroller and Auditor-General of Bangladesh (CAG) has the authority to audit to ascertain the propriety, legality and validity of it.
The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled it, saying that the provisions of the law concerned provide that the CAG has the right to audit tax receipts and/or refunds.
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, observed this in a verdict after hearing finance ministry's civil petition against a High Court order.
The apex court delivered the verdict in January 2022 while the full verdict was released recently on the Supreme Court website.
Referring to the case of 'NBR vs Singer Bangladesh and others', the SC also said, "The audit department has power to inspect the accounts of the revenue department since the auditor general has been invested with such power under article 128 of the Constitution."
"The audit department has been invested with the authority to inspect the accounts of Revenue Department. The Comptroller and Auditor General is authorised to direct any of his officers to conduct audit of tax receipts or refunds under section 163 (3)(g) of the Income Tax Ordinance."
Following a writ petition filed by Radiant Pharmaceuticals Ltd, an HC bench on 10 March 2016 in a judgment said the CAG has got no jurisdiction to check the merit or demerit of subjective opinions of the assessors with regard to allowing or disallowing a particular claim of the assessee concerned.
If the auditor is allowed to do so, the entire purpose for incorporating the provisions under section 120 and/or 121A of the ordinance will be frustrated.
Finance ministry appealed against the HC verdict.
After hearing, the SC said this view of the HC Division was erroneous inasmuch as if the audit report did not have any bearing in the subjective opinion of the assessing officer.
If no action can be taken against any irregularities detected through auditing of accounts, auditing itself becomes unnecessary, according to the apex court.
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