(1) The Corporation shall maintain complete and accurate accounts in such form as the Standing Committee thereof may, with the approval of the Central Government, specify from time to time and the books shall be balanced on the thirty-first day of March each year.

(2) The Corporation shall prepare revenue accounts for the financial year ended on the thirty-first March and a balance sheet as on the thirty-first March by the thirty-first of May:

Provided that on the application of the Corporation, the Central Government may extend the said date by a period not exceeding thirty days:

Provided further that the Corporation may, and if so required by the Central Government shall, cause to be prepared the revenue accounts and the balance sheet for any other period or as on any other date.

(3) The annual accounts shall be set out and produced before the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for scrutiny on or before the fifteenth of June of each year following the close of the financial year to which they relate:

Provided that on the application of the Corporation, the Central Government may extend the said date by a period not exceeding thirty days.

(4) The Corporation shall submit all accounts to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as required by him and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India may —

(i) by written notice, require the production before him or before any officer subordinate to him, of any document which he may consider necessary for the proper conduct of his audit;

(ii) by written notice, require any person accountable for or having the custody or control of, any such documents, to appear in person before him or before any officer subordinate to him; and

(iii) require any person so appearing before him or before any officer subordinate to him to make and sign a declaration with respect to such document or to answer any question or prepare and submit any statement desired by him or such officer.

(5) The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the annual accounts shall be submitted to the Corporation on such date and in such form as the Central Government may specify in this behalf and in the report it shall be stated whether in their opinion the balance sheet is a full and fair balance sheet containing all necessary particulars and properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true and correct view of the state of the Corporation‘s affairs and in case they have called for any explanation or information from the Corporation or any of its officers whether it has been given and whether it is satisfactory or not.

(6)

(a) The annual report on the work and activities of the Corporation (excluding the unaudited accounts for the year incorporated therein) shall be considered by the Standing Committee thereof and shall be placed for adoption at a meeting of the Corporation to be held before the tenth of December following the close of the said financial year.

(b)The annual accounts relating to a financial year duly authenticated by the Financial Commissioner of the Corporation and the Director General and approved by the Standing Committee of the Corporation shall be submitted for audit to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the audited accounts together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon shall be placed for adoption at a meeting of the Corporation to be held before the tenth of December following the close of the said financial year:

Provided that the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India shall be received by the twentieth of November, following the year to which it pertains.

(7) The annual accounts together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon and the annual report on the work and activities of the Corporation as adopted by the Corporation shall be authenticated by affixing the common seal of the Corporation and four copies thereof, together with the comments of the Corporation on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General shall be submitted to the Central Government not later than the twentieth of December following the close of the financial year concerned for being placed before the Parliament:

Provided that if the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India is not received by the twentieth of November following the financial year to which it pertains, the annual accounts together with the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon shall be submitted to the Central Government separately from the annual report on the work and activities of the Corporation.

(8) The cost of audit shall be paid by the Corporation by such date as may be specified by the Central Government.

(9)

(a)The auditors shall submit to the Corporation and the Central Government a separate statement, if necessary, in regard to —

(i) any material impropriety or irregularity which he may observe in the expenditure, or in the recovery of money due to, or in the accounts of the Corporation; or

(ii) any loss or waste of money or other property owned by or vested in the Corporation which has been caused by neglect or misconduct, with the names of the persons who in their opinion are directly or indirectly responsible for such loss or waste.

(b)The Standing Committee shall forthwith remedy any defect or irregularity that may be pointed out by the auditors and shall report to the Central Government the action taken by it thereon within a period of ninety days of the receipt of the report of the auditors:

Provided that if there is a difference of opinion between the Standing Committee and the auditors, or if the Standing Committee does not remedy any defect or irregularity within a reasonable period, the Central Government may, and on a reference specifically made therefor, shall pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit and the Standing Committee shall thereafter take action in accordance therewith within such time as may be specified by the Central Government.

(10)

(a)The Standing Committee or any authority authorised by it in this behalf may after giving the person concerned an opportunity to submit an explanation, and after considering any such explanation, disallow any item of account contrary to the provisions of the Code or of the Rules or Regulations made thereunder, and surcharge the same on the person making or authorising the making of payment of such account and shall charge against any person accounting, the amount of any deficiency or loss incurred by the negligence or misconduct of that person, or of any sum which ought to have been but is not brought into account by that person, and shall in every such case certify the amount due from such person:

Provided that no certificate made by the authority authorised by the Standing Committee shall have effect unless it is approved by the Standing Committee.

(b) The Standing Committee shall state in writing its reasons for every disallowance, surcharge or charge made or approved by it and shall serve a certificate of the amount due and a copy of the reasons for its decision on the person against whom the certificate is made and shall also furnish copies thereof to the Central Government.

(c) Any person aggrieved by a certificate made under sub-rule (10) may, within one month from the date of the service of certificate on him under clause (b) sub-rule (10), file an application to the Central Government for setting aside or modifying the disallowance, surcharge or charge in respect of which the certificate was made.

(d) On receipt of an application under clause (c) or on its own motion, the Central Government may, after making such inquiry as may be necessary, pass such order as it thinks fit either confirming, modifying or setting aside the disallowance, surcharge or charge in respect of which the certificate was made, and the Standing Committee shall thereupon take action in accordance with such order within such time as may be specified by the Central Government.

(e) The Central Government may by order direct that all further action under the certificate made under sub-rule (10) shall be stayed until the disposal of the matter pending before it under clause (d).

(11)

(a) Every sum certified to be due from any person by the Standing Committee or if the certificate has been modified by the Central Government, the sum shown to be due from such person in the modified certificate, shall be paid by such person to the Corporation within three months after he has been served with the certificate of the Standing Committee ; or within such longer period as may be allowed by the Central Government; and any such sum, if not so paid, shall be recovered as arrears of land revenue.

(b) Any sum or part of a sum so paid or recovered, the certificate in respect of which is set aside or modified, shall, as the case may require, be wholly or partly refunded to the person who paid it.

(12) The Corporation shall establish, maintain and contribute to a Provident Fund called the Employees State Insurance Corporation Provident Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Provident Fund) in respect of its employees other than those whose services are placed at the disposal of the Corporation by the Central Government or State Government.

(13) The Provident Fund shall be administered by the Standing Committee of the Corporation or by any other Committee approved by it for the purpose and subject to such conditions as it may deem fit to impose.

(14) The Corporation may make regulations under clause (1) of section 157 of the Code to provide for all other matters incidental to or necessary for the Provident Fund.

(15) Where an Insured Person is convicted under clause (o) of section 133, he shall not be entitled to any cash benefit admissible under Chapter IV of the Code for a period of three months for first conviction and six months for each subsequent conviction from the date of receipt of judgment of the court in the concerned office of the Corporation.