GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTANFINANCE DIVISION(Regulation Wing) F. No. 4(3)R-4/2011 Islamabad, the 23rd January, 2024 OFFICE MEMORANDUM Subject:       CLARIFICATION ON CONSULTATION / APPROVAL OF FINANCE DIVISION IN MATTERS EFFECTING FEDERAL FINANCES The undersigned is directed to refer to the subject noted above and to state that Rule 3 of Rules of Business (RoB), 1973 provides that the Federal Secretariat shall comprise Ministries and Divisions and that the business of Federal Government shall be distributed among the Divisions. Further, Rule 4 states that each Division shall have Attached Departments and :he business of Government, other than the business done in the Federal Secretariat or the Attached Departments, shall be conducted through such agencies and offices as the Prime Minister may determine from time to time. Currently Divisions have following types of offices allocated to them: 2. Rule 12 of Rules of Business, 1973 states that “no Division shall, without previous consultation with the Finance Division, authorize the issue of any orders, other than orders in pursuance of any general or special delegation made by the Finance Division, which will affect directly or indirectly the finances of the Federation”. Instances have come to the notice of Finance Division where the offices referred to in para 1 above, especially Autonomous/Semi Autonomous/Corporate bodies, have contended that they enjoy financial autonomy and that their own Boards are competent to take their financial decisions. Such decisions have frequently included sanctioning of new allowances or enhancing rates of existing allowances. 3. It is clarified that offices and organizations are created by the Federal Government to facilitate the essential functions performed by the Federal Government. In some cases, operational independence is granted to such offices, mostly autonomous/Semi Autonomous Bodies, referred to in para 1 above to ensure performance of Government business, in an impartial and timely manner. However, such offices (a) either draw financial support directly from the federal government through budgetary processes or (b) have been authorized, mostly through -legislation, by the Federal Government to generate revenues which fall within tie definition of (a) Charges/fees/ cesses or (b) taxes or (c) dividends and profit. Such offices have been granted independence to incur their expenditures from such revenue as authorized by tie Federal Government/Finance Division. Amendments in relevant laws of such offices as well as Public Finance Management Act, 2019 stipulate that such offices have to deposit, after incurring their authorized expenditures, their annual surpluses in the Federal Consolidated Fund. 4. Offices referred to in para 1, in the performance of their functions, either (a) place a charge on Federal Finances or (b) consume what should be government revenue in the form of tax/fee/cess etc thereby reducing federal governments receipts to that extent. This attracts Rule 12 of Rules of Business 1973. 5. Following instructions are therefore issued in order to comply with the legal provisions as well as Rules of Business 1973: Deputy Secretary (R II)
