Chapter IX REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE

General Fund of the Board.—The Board shall have and maintain its own fund called the General Fund of the Board to which shall be credited all amounts received by or on behalf of the Board under the provisions of this Act and all amounts received by it from the Government by way of grants, subventions, loans and advances, and the Conservator of Ports and of their approaches or as the body appointed under section 36 of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (Central Act 15 of 1908).

Application of amounts in General Fund.—(1) The amounts credited to the General Fund under section 69 shall be applied by the Board in payment of the following charges, namely:—

1. (a) the interest and instalments of principal due in respect of any loan that may have been raised or obtained by the Board or for the payment of which the Board may be liable and payments to the sinking fund established for such loan;
2. (b) the salaries, fees, remunerations, allowances, pensions, gratuities, compassionate allowances or other amounts due to officers and other employees of the Board;
3. (c) the contributions, if any, payable to the Central or State Government on account of pension and leave allowance of any officer lent to the Board by such Government;
4. (d) the cost and expenses, if any, incurred by the Board in the conduct and administration of any provident fund, welfare fund, loan or special fund established by the Board;
5. (e) the contributions, if any, duly authorized to be made, by regulations made under this Act, 'to any such fund referred to in clause (d);
6. (f) such sums as may, from time to time, be agreed upon by the Board and the Government or the Central Government or any other authority as a reasonable contribution payable by the Board towards the expenses in connection with the watch and ward functions of the Police Force or the Central Industrial Security Force or any other Force which the Government or the Central Government or any other authority, as the case may be, may establish and maintain for the protection of the port and the docks, warehouses and other property of the Board;
7. (g) the cost of repairs and maintenance of the property belonging to or vested in, the Board and all charges upon the same and all working expenses;
8. (h) the cost of the execution and provision of any new work or appliance specified in section 23 which the Board may determine to charge to revenue;
   • (i) any expenditure incurred under section 24;
9. (j) any other expenditure which may be incurred by the Board generally for the purposes of this Act;
10. (k) any other charge which may on the application of the Board or otherwise be specially sanctioned by the Government or for which the Board may be legally liable.

1. (2) All amounts standing at the credit of the Board which cannot immediately be applied in the manner or for the purpose specified in sub-section (1) shall,—
   • (a) be deposited in any Nationalised Bank or Treasury Savings Bank or financial institution controlled and managed by the Government as the Board may decide; or
   • (b) be invested in any specialised scheme in Nationalised Banks or in such public securities as may be determined by the Board and the said securities shall be held in trust by the Board for the purposes of this Act.

Power to transfer amounts from General Fund to specified account and vice-versa.—The Board may, with the previous sanction of the Government, apply any sum out of the amounts credited to the General Fund of the Board towards meeting deficits, if any, in the particular or specified accounts such as pilotage account, if so maintained or transfer the whole or part of any surplus funds in such particular accounts to the General Fund of the Board.

Establishment of Reserve Funds.—The Board may, from time to time, set apart such sums out of its surplus income as it thinks fit as a reserve fund or funds for the purpose of expanding existing facilities or creating new facilities at the ports or for the purpose of providing against any temporary decrease of revenue or increase of expenditure arising from transient causes or for purposes of replacement or for meeting expenditure arising from loss or damage from fire, cyclones, shipwrecks or other accident or for any other emergency arising in the ordinary conduct of its works under this Act: Provided that the sums set apart annually in respect of and the aggregate at any time of, any such reserve fund or funds shall not exceed such amount as may, from time to time, be fixed in that behalf by the Government.

Power to reserve Maritime Board securities for Board’s own investments.—(1) For the purpose of any investment which the Board is authorised to make under this Act, it shall be lawful for the Board to reserve and set apart any securities to be issued by it on account of any loan to which the consent of the Government has been given: Provided that the intention to so reserve and set apart such securities has been notified as a condition to the issue of the loan.

1. (2) The issue by the Board of such securities direct to and in the name of the Board shall not operate to extinguish or cancel such securities, but every security so issued shall be valid in all respects as if issued to, and in the name of, any other person.
2. (3) The purchase by the Board or the transfer, assignment or endorsement to the Board of any security issued by the Board, shall not operate to extinguish or cancel any such security but the same shall be valid and negotiable in the same manner and to the same extent as if held by or transferred or assigned or endorsed to any other person.

Prior sanction of Government to charge expenditure to capital.—(1) No expenditure shall be charged by the Board to capital without the previous sanction of the Government: Provided that the Board may without such sanction charge to capital expenditure not exceeding such limit as may be specified and subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Government.

1. (2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to require the further sanction of the Government in any case where the actual expenditure incurred as a charge to capital exceeds the expenditure sanctioned in this behalf by the Government unless the excess is more than ten per cent of the expenditure so sanctioned.

Works requiring sanction of the Board or Government.—(1) No new work or appliance, the estimated cost of which exceeds such amount as may be fixed by the Government in this behalf, shall be commenced or provided by the Board nor shall any contract be entered into by the Board in respect of any such new work or appliance until a plan of an estimate for such work or appliance has been submitted to, and approved by the Board and in case the estimated cost of any such new work or appliance exceeds such amount, as may, from time to time, be fixed by the Government in this behalf, sanction of the Government to the plan and estimate shall be obtained before such work is commenced or appliance provided.

1. (2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to require further sanction of the Government in any case where the actual expenditure incurred does not exceed by more than ten per cent of the estimated cost so sanctioned.

Power of Chief Executive Officer to direct execution of work.—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 75, the Chief Executive Officer may direct the execution of any work the cost of which does not exceed such maximum limit as may be fixed by the Government in that behalf and may enter into contracts for the execution of such works but in every case the Chief Executive Officer shall, as soon as possible, make a report to the Board of any such direction given or contract entered into by him.

Power of Board to compound or compromise claims.—The Board may compound or compromise any claim or demand or any action or suit instituted by or against it for such sum of money or other compensation as it deems sufficient: Provided that no settlement shall be made under this section without the previous sanction of the Government if such settlement involves the payment by the Board of a sum exceeding such amount as may be specified by the Government in this behalf.

Writing off loss.—(1) Subject to such conditions as may be specified by the Government, where the Board is of the opinion that any amount due or any loss, whether of money or of property, incurred by the Board is irrecoverable, the Board may, with the previous approval of the Government, sanction the writing off finally of the said amount or loss: Provided that no such approval of the Government shall be necessary where such irrecoverable amount or loss does not exceed in an individual case, twenty five thousand rupees or in the aggregate in any year, rupees five lakhs.

1. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where the Chief Executive Officer is of opinion that any amount due to or any loss, whether of money or of property, incurred by the Board is irrecoverable, the Chief Executive Officer may sanction the writing off finally of such amount or loss provided that such amount or loss does not exceed, in an individual case, five thousand rupees or in the aggregate in any one year, one lakh rupees and in every such case, the Chief Executive Officer shall make a report to the Board giving reasons for such sanction.

Power etc., of Board as Conservator.—All the powers, authorities and restrictions in respect of the work authorized under this Act, shall apply to the works which may be executed by the Board as the Conservator of the Port or as the body appointed under sub-section (1) of section 36 of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 (Central Act 15 of 1908) and also to the sanction of such works, the estimate thereof and the expenditure thereunder.

Budget estimates.—(1) The Board shall on or before the thirty first day of January in each year, hold a special meeting at which the Chief Executive Officer of the Board shall present an estimate of the income and expenditure of the Board for the next financial year, in such form as the Government may specify.

1. (2) A copy of such estimate shall be sent by post or otherwise to each member of the Board so as to reach him not less than ten clear days prior to the date appointed for the special meeting referred to in sub-section (1).
2. (3) The Board shall consider the estimate at such meeting and may provisionally approve it with or without modification.
3. (4) The Board shall, on or before the tenth day of February, cause a copy of such estimate as provisionally approved by it, to be sent to the Government.
4. (5) The Government may sanction the estimate or may return it with remarks and may call for such additional information as it may deem necessary.
5. (6) When an estimate is returned under sub-section (5), the Board shall proceed to reconsider the estimate with reference to such remarks and shall furnish such additional information as the Government may call for and shall, if necessary, modify or alter the estimate and resubmit it to the Government.
6. (7) The Government shall sanction the estimate with or without modifications.
7. (8) Where such estimate is not sanctioned by the Government before the commencement of the financial year to which it relates, the Government may authorise the Board to incur such expenditure as may be necessary in the opinion of the Government until such time as the approval of the estimate by the Government is communicated to the Board.

Preparation of supplementary estimates.—The Board may in the course of any year for which an estimate has been sanctioned by the Government cause one or more supplementary estimates for the residue of such year to be prepared and the provisions of section 80 shall, so far as may be, apply to such estimate as if it were an original annual estimate.

Reappropriation of amount in estimates.—Subject to any directions which the Government may give in this behalf, any sum of money or part thereof, of which the expenditure has been authorised in an estimate for the time being in force sanctioned, by the Government and which has not been so spent, may at any time be reappropriated by the Board to meet any excess in any other expenditure authorised in the said estimate.

Adherence to estimate except in emergency.—(1) Subject to the provision of section 81, no sum exceeding such amount as the Government may fix in this behalf shall, save in cases of emergency, be expended by, or on behalf of, the Board unless such sums are included in any estimate of the Board at the time in force which has been finally sanctioned by the Government.

1. (2) If any sum exceeding such limit as may have been fixed in this behalf under sub-section (1) is so expended by the Board on a pressing emergency, the circumstances shall be forthwith reported by the Chief Executive Officer to the Government together with an explanation of the way in which it is proposed by the Board to cover such extra expenditure.

Accounts and audits.—(1) The Board shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare the annual statement of accounts including the balance sheet in such form as may be approved by the Government.

1. (2) The accounts of the Board shall be audited once in every year and if so required by the Government concurrently with the compilation of such accounts by an auditor appointed by the Government in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and any amount payable to such Auditor by the Board in respect of such audit shall be debitable to the General Fund of the Board.
2. (3) The Auditor shall have the same rights, privileges and authority in connection with the audit of the accounts of the Board as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has in connection with the audit of the Government accounts and in particular, shall have the right to demand production of book of accounts, connected vouchers and other documents of the Board.

Publication of audit report.—(1) Within fourteen days after the audit and examination of the accounts of the Board have been completed, the Auditor shall forward copies of the audit report to the Government and to the Board.

1. (2) The Government shall cause every audit report to be laid before the Legislative Assembly as soon as may be after such report is received by the Government.

Board to remedy defects and irregularities pointed out in audit report.—The Board shall forthwith take into consideration any defects or irregularities that may be pointed out by the Auditor, in the audit report on the income and expenditure of the Board and shall take such action thereon as the Board may think fit and shall also send a report of the action taken to the Government.

Government to decide difference between Board and Auditors.—If there is difference of opinion between the Board and the Auditor on any point included in the audit report and the Board is made unable to accept and implement the recommendations, if any, made by him on such point, the matter shall forthwith be referred to the Government which shall pass final orders thereon and the Board shall be bound to give effect to such orders.