FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT ACT *

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

CHAPTER 174

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT ACT *

To regulate the receipt, control and disbursement of public moneys, to provide for the audit

of accounts in relation thereto, and to provide for other matters connected with or incidental

to the purposes aforesaid.

29th May, 1962

ACT I of 1962, as amended by Act VI of 1962; Lega1 Notice 47 of 1962; Act XII of 1965;

Legal Notices: 17 and 46 of 1965; Acts: XXIV of 1967, XXXI of 1968, XXXII of 1969; Legal

Notices: 48 of 1970, 24 and 93 of 1971, 48 of 1973, 50 of 1974; Act LVIII of 1974; Legal

Notices: 56 of 1975, 63 of 1976; Acts: XXII and XXXIX of 1976; Legal Notices: 48 of 1977, 4

and 42 of 1978, 33 of 1979; Acts: III and XXIX of 1979; Legal Notices: 26 of 1980, 4 of 1981,

3 of 1982; Acts: XIII of 1983, XVI of 1997, I of 2004 and XIII of 2005; Legal Notice 410 of

2007; Act IV of 2011 , XXII of 2017 , VII of 2018 .

The short title of this Act is the Financial Administration

and Audit Act.

[A RTICLE 30]

R ULES F OR T HE O PERATION O F T HE C ONTINGENCIES F UND

1. Advances from the Contingencies Fund shall be made on

the authority of a warrant under the hand of the Minister.

2. The amount for which any warrant is issued shall be

withdrawn from the Contingencies Fund and shall be paid into the

Consolidated Fund to meet the expenditure specified on the warrant

and the moneys remaining available in the fund shall be reduced

accordingly. Any amounts withdrawn and remaining unspent at the

end of the year shall accrue to the Consolidated Fund.

3. Each warrant authorising the issue of a sum from the fund

shall specify under which head or heads of the estimates the

expenditure of the sum issued shall be recorded and such

expenditure shall be accounted for in the same manner as if it had

been authorised by a supplementary Appropriation Act.

4. All withdrawals from the fund shall be included in a

supplementary estimate and an Appropriation Bill shall be

introduced in the House of Representatives as soon as possible for

the purpose of appropriating from the Consolidated Fund to the

Contingencies Fund a sum equal to the total of the sums withdrawn

and not already made good by previous appropriations from the

Consolidated Fund so that the Contingencies Fund shall be restored

to the amount appropriate under article 30.

5. No moneys shall accrue to the fund other than moneys

appropriated by an Act and any interest or other accruals which

might otherwise be received by the fund shall accrue to the

Consolidated Fund.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"accounting officer" means a person holding or acting in the

office of permanent head of a government department and includes

every person who is charged with the duty of collecting, receiving

or accounting for, or who in fact collects, receives or accounts for,

any public moneys, or who is charged with the duty of disbursing,

or who does in fact disburse, any public moneys, and every person

who is charged with the receipt, custody or disposal of, or the

accounting for, public stores, or who in fact receives, holds or

disposes of public stores

Provided that where there is in force a direction in writing

by the Minister that the duties, functions and responsibilities of an

accounting officer specified in the direction shall vest exclusively

in one or more public officers as is so specified, "accounting

officer", in respect of the said duties, functions and responsibilities

and to the extent specified in the said direction, means and includes

only the public officer or public officers specified as aforesaid;

"bank" means any bank which for the time being is entrusted

with the keeping of public moneys of the Government of Malta;

"Consolidated Fund" means the Consolidated Fund established

by article 102 of the Constitution of Malta;

"Constitution" means the Constitution of Malta;

"estimates" means the estimates, presented to the House of

Representatives in respect of any financial year, of the expenditure

for the service of that financial year and includes any

supplementary estimates of expenditure for which it may be

necessary to provide after the estimates have been presented to the

House of Representatives;

"financial year" has the meaning as it has for the purposes of the

Constitution;

"internal audit" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by

article 2 of the Internal Audit and Financial Investigations Act;

"irregularity" means an act or omission by any person in breach

of a contractual agreement with the Government or in breach of any

relevant provision of law or of any act the binding force of which

derives from any treaty or international agreement entered into by

Malta;

"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124

of the Constitution of Malta;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for finance;

"public moneys" means all revenue, loan, trust and other funds

r e c e i v e d o r m a n a g e d o r h e l d b y, f o r o r o n a c c o u n t o f t h e

Government, including moneys which the Government pays out or

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

disburses from funds received from any international or

supranational organization or body or from any of its institutions or

bodies;

"revenue" means all taxes, imposts, rates, and duties and all other

moneys collected or received for or on account of the Consolidated

Fund;

"vote" means a separate head of the estimates or a main division

of the appropriation by the House of Representatives for the service

of a financial year.

PART II

GENERAL PROVISIONS

(1)

The Minister is charged with the administration of this

Act.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations

made thereunder, accounting officers shall follow the directions

which may, from time to time, be given by the Minister concerning

public moneys and the rendering of accounts thereof.

(3) The Minister, or any officer of his Ministry authorised by

him in that behalf, shall be entitled to inspect such offices and to

have such access to official books, documents and other records as

may be necessary for the purpose of the Minister’s exercise of his

powers and his performance of his duties under this Act.

(1) The Minister may make regulations not inconsistent

with the provisions of this Act for carrying the provisions of this

Act into effect, and without prejudice to the generality of the

foregoing, such regulations may provide -

(a) for the collection, receipt, custody, issue, expenditure,

due accounting for, care and management of all public

moneys and the guidance of all persons concerned

therein;

(b) for the more effectual record, examination, inspection

and departmental check of all receipts and expenditure

and the keeping of all necessary books and accounts;

(c) for the books which are to be kept and the accounts

which are to be rendered for the purposes of this Act

and the form in which such books and accounts are to

be kept and rendered;

(d) for the purchase, safe custody, issue, sale or other

disposal or writing off of public stores and other

government property, and the proper accounting for,

and stock-taking of, such stores and property;

(e) for prescribing anything required to be prescribed

under this Act;

(f) for the co-funding of economic and social

development programmes and initiatives from public

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

moneys;

(g) for effecting adjustments, set-offs in and payments

from any account relating to public moneys as may be

required in connection with the co-financing referred

to in the previous paragraph and funding from any

international or supranational organization or body or

from any of its institutions or bodies;

(h) for the preparation, codification and publication of

such sets of accounting standards, methodologies,

policies and procedures as may from time to time be

deemed necessary or expedient for the better carrying

the provisions of this Act into effect;

(i) for any other matter incidental or supplementary to

any of the foregoing matters.

(2) All regulations made under this article shall be published in

the Government Gazette and shall be laid on the Table of the House

of Representatives within ten days of such publication

Provided that in reckoning such period no account shall be

taken of any time during which the House of Representatives is

dissolved or prorogued, or during which it is adjourned for more

than ten days.

PART III

DIRECTOR OF AUDIT

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

PART IV

ACCOUNTING OFFICERS

Every accounting officer shall be subject to the provisions

of this Act and any regulations made thereunder and shall perform

such duties, keep such books and render such accounts as may be

prescribed by or under this Act or by instructions issued by the

Minister.

(1) No accounting officer shall open any public or official

account in any bank, except as authorised by this Act or by any

regulations made thereunder, without the authority in writing of the

Minister, and the Government shall not be held liable for any

overdraft on any such account unless it be authorised by the

Minister as provided in article 21.

(2) The Minister may delegate his authority to authorise an

accounting officer to open any public or official account in any bank in

accordance with subarticle (1) to any public officer not below the rank

of Director General.

PART V

BANKING ARRANGEMENTS AND COLLECTION OF MONEYS

The Minister may from time to time make arrangements

with any bank or banks upon such terms and conditions as he thinks

fit for the receipt, custody and payment of public moneys and their

transmission from and to Malta, and for any advances which may

be made under the authority of this Act or of any other law, for the

charges in respect thereof, and for the interest payable by or to the

bank or banks upon balances or advances respectively and

generally for the conduct of the banking business of the

Government.

All public moneys shall be kept in the bank under an

account to be known as "the Public Account" to which shall be

carried and paid all moneys forming the Consolidated Fund, and all

other moneys whatsoever, except -

(a) moneys belonging to the Malta Government Savings

Bank * , which shall be kept under a separate account to

be known as "the Malta Government Savings Bank

Account"; and

(b) any other moneys which the Minister may specifically

* Vide Malta Government Savings Bank (Winding Up) Act (Cap. 307).

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

authorise to be kept in separate accounts.

All moneys paid into the bank to the credit of the accounts

mentioned in the last preceding article shall be deemed to be public

moneys, and may not be removed from the bank except as provided

by this Act.

(1) Moneys received by or on behalf of the Government

by way of deposit on account of customs duties or otherwise on

public account, moneys deposited in court under any law or

authority whatever, moneys deposited in the Malta Government

Savings Bank*, moneys received in trust, and all moneys deposited

by any person pending the completion of any work or transaction

whereby the same or any portion thereof may become payable to

the Government or repayable to the depositor or other person, shall

be deemed to be public moneys within the meaning and for the

purposes of this Act.

(2) Such moneys shall be either paid into the bank to the credit

of the proper account or otherwise dealt with and accounted for by

the person having custody thereof as the Minister, subject to this

Act and any regulations made thereunder, may from time to time

direct.

(1) Unless otherwise expressly provided, every sum so

deposited, with the exception of moneys deposited in the Malta

Government Savings Bank * , which is unclaimed for a period of

thirty years shall be transferred to a special account to be known as

"the Deposits Fund Account" and the Minister may, without further

appropriation than this Act, authorise the Accountant General to

pay the same out of the said account at any time to any claimant

who establishes his claim thereto.

(2) At the end of each financial year any balance in excess of

twenty-three thousand and three hundred euro (23,300) of the said

Deposits Fund Account may, if the Minister so decides, be passed

to the Consolidated Fund. Should at any time the said account not

be sufficient to meet such claims, these will be met out of the

Consolidated Fund without any further appropriation than this Act.

The Accountant General shall, from day to day, cause to be

paid into the bank to the credit of the proper account, all public

moneys collected or received at the Treasury, including Savings

Bank deposits

Provided that the Accountant General may retain in hand such

amount as may be deemed necessary to meet daily requirements,

which amount shall not, however, except with the written authority

of the Minister, exceed seventy thousand euro (70,000) in respect

of moneys payable to the credit of the Public Account exclusive of

any moneys temporarily held by the Accountant General pending

withdrawal from circulation and destruction, and forty-seven

thousand euro (47,000) in respect of moneys payable to the credit

of the Malta Government Savings Bank Account.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

Every accounting officer collecting or receiving public

moneys shall pay into the bank to the credit of the proper account,

the gross amount of his collections on such days and in such

manner and form as the Accountant General may direct

Provided that, where the Minister so directs, accounting officers

may deduct from the gross amount of their collections such sums as

may be required to enable them to effect payments of drawback,

repayments or refunds.

Repealed by Act XXII of 2017.

PART VI

APPROPRIATION OF PUBLIC MONEYS

Any Act appropriating moneys out of the Consolidated

Fund shall not be construed as authorising the expenditure of such

moneys in any financial year other than the financial year to which

it is expressed to relate, and any moneys so appropriated which

may remain unexpended at the close of any financial year shall

cease to be a liability on the Consolidated Fund for that year.

(1) If the Appropriation Act has not come into operation at

the commencement of any financial year, the Minister may

authorise the issue of moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the

purpose of meeting such expenditure as he may consider necessary

for carrying on the Government of Malta

Provided that moneys so authorised to be issued for any service

which is of a recurrent nature shall not exceed one-third of the

amount voted for that service in the Appropriation law for the

preceding financial year.

(2) Any moneys authorised to be issued as provided in

subarticle (1) shall not exceed the sum specified for that service in

the estimates presented for the current financial year and shall be

s e t o ff a g a i n s t t h e a m o u n t s r e s p e c t i v e l y p r o v i d e d i n t h e

Appropriation Act on its coming into operation.

(3) The powers conferred on the Minister by this article shall

not extend beyond the period of the first four months of any

financial year or beyond the day on which the Appropriation Act

for that year comes into operation, whichever is the earlier.

(1) If the exigencies of the public service render it

necessary to alter the proportions assigned to the subheads under a

head of expenditure shown in the estimates the Minister may by

minute authorise the transfer of a further sum out of any surplus

arising on any other subhead of the same head in aid of any

subhead which may be deficient.

(2) The Minister may in his discretion and subject to such

conditions as he may deem proper delegate to an officer of his

Ministry the power vested in him under subarticle (1)

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

Provided that whenever any such delegation has been made the

officer so delegated shall submit to the Minister at the end of each

quarter a statement showing particulars of all the cases where he

has exercised the powers so delegated.

If in respect of any financial year it is found that the

amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act for any purpose is

insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose

for which no amount has been appropriated by the Act, or that any

moneys have been expended for any purpose in excess of the

amount appropriated for the purpose by the Appropriation Act, or

for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by the

Act, supplementary estimates showing the sums required or spent

shall be laid before the House of Representatives and the

Appropriation Bill shall contain such expenditure under

appropriate heads

Provided that the Minister may for such purposes from time to

time authorise the issue of such sums out of the Consolidated Fund

(not exceeding ten per cent of the sum appropriated for the

financial year, or such other percentage as the House may by

resolution from time to time approve) as he may consider necessary

for the purpose without the need of any further appropriation other

than this Act, and he shall make a report thereon to the House

within one month of such appropriation, and where the House is not

sitting at the time not later than the third sitting after the House

reconvenes.

PART VII

PAYMENT OF MONEYS

No moneys shall be issued out of the Consolidated Fund,

except as provided in the Constitution, nor out of other funds or

accounts except for the purpose of such funds or accounts and

under such authority as may be applicable to their constitution.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any

regulations made thereunder, all disbursements of public moneys

shall be made by the Accountant General in such manner as may be

prescribed by the Minister by regulations made under the

provisions of this Act.

(2) The Accountant General shall not make any payments

(notwithstanding that the services to which they relate may be duly

provided for in the Appropriation Act) unless authorised so to do

by warrant under the Minister’s hand and directed to him.

(3) Such warrant shall be signed in triplicate by the Minister.

One copy of the warrant shall be filed in the Minister’s office, one

in the Accountant General’s office and one in the National Audit

Office.

(4) No warrant under this article shall continue in force except

during the financial year for which it is issued.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

Every claim for the payment of public moneys shall be set

out in a voucher in such form as the Accountant General may

direct, and shall be charged against the proper vote or account and

certified by the officers who are recognised by the Accountant

General as the proper officers for the purpose.

No accounting officer shall pay any account unless he has

ascertained that the provisions of this Act and of any regulations

made thereunder relating to the payment of accounts have been

complied with and that the payment of the account is in accordance

with proper authority.

(1) There shall be established a fund (to be known as "the

Contingencies Fund") of one million, one hundred and sixty-five

thousand euro (1,165,000) which amount shall be provided, within

a period of five years, by appropriation made from time to time out

of the Consolidated Fund to the said fund.

(2) The Minister may, if he is satisfied that there has arisen an

urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other

provision exists or for which funds cannot be provided under article

24, make advances from the Contingencies Fund to meet that need,

until a Supplementary Appropriation Bill providing for such

expenditure can be passed into law.

(3) The Contingencies Fund shall be operated in accordance

with the rules set out in the Schedule. The provisions of this

Schedule may be amended by further rules to be made by the

Minister, which shall be published in the Government Gazette and

shall be laid on the Table of the House of Representatives at the

next meeting thereafter.

(1) Whenever it becomes necessary for any accounting

officer to have at his disposal, for disbursement on the public

service, moneys for which vouchers cannot be presented direct to

the Accountant General for payment, an imprest may be issued to

him for such amount as the Minister may authorise.

(2) The Secretary for Gozo Affairs may receive a floating

imprest for such amount as the Minister may authorise to enable

him to carry out the service of all the departments in Gozo in

accordance with this Act and with any regulations made thereunder.

(3) The authority mentioned in the two last preceding

subarticles shall be conveyed to the Accountant General by an

imprest warrant under the Minister’s hand.

There shall be established a fund to be known as "the

Treasury Clearance Fund" to provide for the receipt and repayment

of court and other deposits and of moneys raised by the issue of

Treasury Bills, and for payments of money orders and other postal

transactions, for payments on behalf of other administrations, for

payments on account of pensions awaiting sanction, for purchase of

wheat and unallocated stores, and for the purpose of meeting any

other expense temporarily defrayable out of public funds and

repayable gradually or otherwise into this fund out of the

Consolidated Fund or from other sources.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

(1) If, at any time during the period of six months from the

lst August, 1967, circumstances exist which in the opinion of the

Minister are deemed to be of sufficient gravity as to warrant in the

national interest the making of advances or loans in respect of the

Dockyard, the Minister may, during the period aforesaid, make

such advances or loans under such terms of repayment and

servicing as he may deem appropriate and may, for such purpose

and in the manner specified in this Act, utilise moneys raised by

Treasury Bills up to an amount at any one time outstanding not

exceeding in the aggregate the sum of one million, one hundred and

sixty-five thousand euro (1,165,000).

(2) In this article "Dockyard" has the same meaning as it has in

the Malta Dockyard (Temporary Provision) Act.

The Minister may during the period of two years to be

reckoned from the 27th November, 1968, make such advances,

loans or deposits in aid of exports made during the said period

under such terms as he may deem appropriate and may, for such

purpose and in the manner specified in this Act, utilise moneys

r a i s e d b y Tr e a s u r y B i l l s u p t o a n a m o u n t a t a n y o n e t i m e

outstanding not exceeding in the aggregate two million, three

hundred and twenty-nine thousand and three hundred and seventy-

three euro and forty cents (2,329,373.40).

(1) The debit and credit balances existing on the lst April,

1962, of those accounts the receipts and payments whereof would

have been accounted for in the Treasury Clearance Fund had that

fund been established on that date shall be deemed as from that date

to have been transferred to that fund, which shall be deemed to

have been established on that date as a fund of the Government of

Malta for the specific purpose referred to in article 32.

(2) All receipts and payments of the accounts referred to in

subarticle (1) which, as from the 1st April, 1962, would have been

accounted for in the Treasury Clearance Fund had that fund been

established on that date shall be deemed as from that date to have

been so accounted for.

Subject to the provisions of this article, interest and other

income accruing to the Treasury Clearance Fund shall be credited

to the Consolidated Fund and any appreciation or depreciation in

the value of any investments of the Treasury Clearance Fund shall,

together with any profits or losses arising from the sale or

redemption of securities, be credited or debited as the case may be

to the Consolidated Fund

Provided that in the case of deposits on account of foundations

or trusts, the Il-Monti and the Custodian of Enemy Property such

interest and other income, appreciation or depreciation in the value

of investments and the profits or losses on the sale or redemption of

securities shall be credited or debited as the case may be to the

proper account.

The Minister may without further appropriation than this

Act cause the Accountant General to effect disbursements from the

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

Treasury Clearance Fund by warrant under the Minister’s hand,

which in the case of all payment of moneys repayable into the fund

shall specify the manner and terms of such repayment.

The Accountant General may from time to time transfer

any balances of the public account, or any part thereof, from one

fund or account to another fund or account, within the public

account for such periods and on such terms as the Minister may

authorise.

PART VIII

INVESTMENTS

The Minister may, from time to time, cause any of the

balances of the public account or any other account, or any part

thereof, to be invested, on behalf of the proper fund or account, for

such periods and on such terms as he thinks fit, in the purchase of

such securities as he may from time to time declare to be securities

in which public moneys may be invested.

The interest received on securities purchased under this

Part of this Act shall unless otherwise provided in this or any other

law be paid to the public account or any other account to the credit

of the proper fund or account to which the securities belong.

Whensoever it shall seem to the Minister to be expedient in

the interest of the public service, he may from time to time cause

such securities, or any part thereof, to be sold and converted into

money and the proceeds either paid to the credit of the proper fund

or account to which they belong or re-invested, on behalf of the

proper fund or account in the purchase of any other securities

authorised by this Part.

(1) The investments in securities shall, in the case of

securities held in Malta, be made in the name of three or more

persons jointly, who shall be appointed from time to time by the

Minister, and, in the case of securities held abroad, in the name of

such person or persons as may be appointed from time to time by

the Minister.

(2) Such persons shall only have the custody of such securities

on behalf of the Government of Malta and it shall not be lawful for

them severally or jointly to take any measures in respect of such

securities save as provided by this Act.

In order to ensure the safe custody of all securities, the

following provisions shall apply

(a) all securities in Malta shall be held under two or more

keys by the persons vested with their custody, or

deposited by them in the bank, and such of the

securities as are kept abroad shall be held in the

custody of such person or persons as may be appointed

from time to time by the Minister;

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

(b) securities held in respect of each fund or account shall

be kept separate and apart from those of any other fund

or account;

(c) securities held in respect of each fund or account shall

be kept and used solely for the purposes of that fund or

account.

In order to facilitate the sale, conversion, exchange or

other disposition of such securities, as occasion requires, the

persons vested with the custody thereof shall, at the written request

of the Minister or of any other officer duly authorised by him in

writing in that behalf, part with the possession of the securities and

sign without delay such documents as may be necessary for the

sale, conversion, exchange or other disposition thereof. The request

shall specify the purpose for which the securities named therein are

required.

At least once in every year in respect of securities held

abroad on behalf of the Government of Malta, the Accountant

General shall obtain from the persons vested with their custody a

certified statement of all such securities, showing separately the

fund or account for which they are respectively held.

An annual return of all securities held in Malta and abroad

under the provisions of this Part of this Act shall be prepared by the

Accountant General and forwarded to the Auditor General as

provided in article 67.

PART IX

MONEYS OUTSIDE MALTA

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Minister may

make arrangements on such terms and conditions as he considers

necessary for the collection, receipt, custody, deposit in banks,

issue, expenditure, advances, due accounting for, care and

management outside Malta of any public moneys and for the

keeping of accounts, and furnishing of statements, returns and

vouchers relating to such collection, receipt, custody, deposit,

issue, expenditure, advances and for the examination of such

accounts, statements, returns and vouchers.

PART X

AUDIT AND INSPECTION

The bank into which public moneys are paid, shall, at such

times as the Accountant General may fix, transmit to him a

statement showing, in order of date, every sum received and paid

under each account kept at the bank, and shall furnish him with a

monthly certificate, in duplicate, of the public moneys in the hands

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

of the bank at the end of each month and at such other dates as may

be fixed by him. One copy of the certificate shall, after the balance

therein shown has been found to agree with that shown in the

Treasury books, be forwarded by the Accountant General to the

Auditor General.

(1) Where, on the detection of any irregularity or fraud

against public moneys, a report made in terms of the provisions of

the Auditor General and National Audit Office Act or the Internal

Audit and Financial Investigations Act is sent or referred to a Head

of Department he shall thereupon take all necessary measures for

the protection of such public moneys, including the levying of

administrative penalties in accordance with regulations made under

article 52 and legal action for the recovery of the amount of any

deficiency, loss, improper payment caused or made as a result or in

the course of any such irregularity or fraud and the provisions of

article 466 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure shall

apply to any amount recoverable as aforesaid.

(2) Notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary any bond,

bank guarantee or other security given for the proper performance

of any contract payable out of public moneys shall also extend to

guarantee the recovery of any moneys or administrative penalties in

connection with the contract and for which the person supplying

the bond, bank guarantee or other security may be liable.

(3) Where the deficiency, loss, or improper payment as a result

of the irregularity or fraud involves funds received by the

Government from any international or supranational organization

or body or from any of its institutions or bodies or under the terms

of any treaty or other agreement between States any proceedings

under this article shall take place in consultation with the person in

Malta, if any, specifically charged with authorising the payment or

release of such funds by the Head of Department

Provided that the lack of such consultation shall not in any

way whatsoever affect the validity of any proceedings taken under

this article.

(4) Where two or more persons are responsible for the

irregularity or fraud which resulted in the deficiency, loss, or

improper payment those persons shall be held jointly and severally

liable therefor together with any other person who, although in duty

bound to do so, failed to take reasonable precautions and to

exercise due diligence to prevent the irregularity or fraud.

(5) Nothing in this article or in this Part shall be construed as

precluding any other person interested from taking action, whether

jointly with the Head of Department or otherwise, for the recovery

of any sum recoverable under the provisions of this article.

(6) For the purposes of this article and the other articles under

this Part, "Head of Department" includes any director, manager,

secretary or other principal officer of a body, whether vested with

legal personality or not, which is responsible for administering,

holding or using public moneys or which is a recipient or

beneficiary of public moneys, or who is a person having a power of

representation of such a body or having an authority to take

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

decisions on behalf of that body or having authority to exercise

control within that body.

On any amount recoverable under article 49 there shall be

charged interest equivalent to the average weighted rate applicable

on the due date on the local money market for short-term public

finance operations for the period during which the amount remains

unpaid from the date on which it becomes payable.

For the purpose of recovering any moneys that may be

recoverable under the provisions of article 49 any Head of

Department who receives or to whom is referred a report as

provided in that article may, without prejudice to the constraints

imposed by professional secrecy according to law, require any

person managing public moneys to provide any information in his

possession relevant for the said purpose.

The Minister may by regulations provide for administrative

penalties which may be imposed for any irregularity, for the

procedure to be followed for the imposition of such penalties and

for any other matter incidental or supplementary to any of the

foregoing matters

Provided that an administrative penalty may not be greater

than one hundred and sixteen thousand and four hundred and sixty-

eight euroeuro and sixty-seven cents (116,468.67).

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

PART XI

ACCOUNTS AND STATEMENTS

The Accountant General shall cause to be kept at the

Treasury the following books of account: a cash book, a journal, a

ledger and a monthly abstract, together with such subsidiary and

other books as he may consider necessary.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations made under

this Act, every accounting officer collecting, receiving or paying

public moneys shall keep such books and accounts in such manner

and form as the Accountant General may, from time to time, by

circular or minute, direct.

The Accountant General shall, as soon as conveniently

possible after the end of each quarter, submit to the Minister for

publication in the Government Gazette, a statement of the

Consolidated Fund Account as compared with the corresponding

quarter of the immediately preceding financial year.

(1) As soon as possible after the close of each financial

year, and in every case not later than three months after the close of

such year, the Accountant General shall prepare and forward to the

Auditor General the following returns

(a) a statement of the Consolidated Fund Account as

compared with that of the last preceding financial

year;

(b) a statement of the receipts and expenditure of any fund

or account created by this or any other law.

(2) As soon as the Auditor General returns such statements to

the Accountant General, the Minister shall cause such statements to

be published in the Government Gazette, and shall lay them on the

Table of the House of Representatives within ten days of such

publication

Provided that in reckoning such period, no account shall be

taken of any time during which the House of Representatives is

dissolved or prorogued, or during which it is adjourned for more

than ten days.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

The Accountant General shall, as soon as possible after the

close of the accounts of every financial year, and in any case not

later than six months after the close of such year, prepare and send

to the Auditor General the following statements and accounts

(a) an abstract of the receipts and payments of the Public

Account as compared with the receipts and payments

of the last preceding financial year;

(b) an abstract of the Consolidated Fund Account as

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

compared with that of the last preceding financial

year;

(c) a detailed statement of revenue, as compared with the

estimates, showing variations in respect of each item;

(d) a detailed statement of expenditure showing the

several sums appropriated under each head distributed

according to subheads as detailed in the estimates, the

expenditure made during the financial year, and the

amount over-expended or under-expended thereon;

(e) a statement of the receipts and payments in respect of

loans made by the Government;

(f) a statement of the public debt and the annual charge

thereon showing also the amount repaid during the

financial year;

(g) a statement of the receipts and expenditure of trust

funds and of any other fund or account of the

Government;

(h) a statement of all investments held by the Government

at the end of the financial year on behalf of each fund

or account as required by article 46 hereof, showing

the cost price and the current market value in London

on that date;

(i) a statement of the revenue and expenditure of the

Malta Government Savings Bank * and of deposits

received and repaid and interest credited to depositors

together with a statement of assets and liabilities;

(j) a statement of assets and liabilities of the Government

at the end of the financial year;

(k) a statement of balances (excluding special funds) at

the end of the financial year;

(l) a statement of special funds deposited in the Treasury;

(m) a detailed statement of advances made out of the

Treasury Clearance Fund;

(n) a tabular summary of unallocated stores financed out

of the Treasury Clearance Fund; and

(o) a statement of claims abandoned, of losses of cash and

of stores written off.

The Accountant General shall, as soon as possible after the

closing of the accounts of every financial year and in any case not

later than six months after the close of such year submit to the

Minister for publication a report on the accounts and finances of

the Government.

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

*Vide Malta Government Savings Bank (Winding Up) Act (Cap.307).

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT

Repealed by: XVI.1997.7.

PART XII

MISCELLANEOUS

(1) On the loss of any receipt or document, entitling the

holder thereof or the person named therein to withdraw from any

government department any sum of money or any article deposited

therein, the Accountant General may, on receiving proof of such

loss through the permanent head of the department concerned,

authorise the issue of a duplicated receipt or document so lost,

provided a written indemnity is given to his satisfaction against all

claims that may be made against him by reason of the issue of such

duplicate receipt or document.

(2) The Accountant General may in his discretion and on his

own responsibility delegate in writing, on such conditions as he

may deem proper, any of his powers under this article to any public

officer not below the administrative officer class suitable in his

opinion for the purpose.

(3) The Minister may prescribe for the levying of a fee on the

issue of such duplicate receipts or documents.

(1) The Minister responsible for finance, or any person,

body or unit delegated on his behalf, may, notwithstanding any

other law, issue directives as provided in subarticle (2) to any

authority, board, foundation, corporation, institute, agency,

commission, company or any other entity 51 per cent or more of

which is held in ownership by the Government or over which the

Government has effective control, or where 51 per cent of its

income comes from public monies or from monies it receives by

virtue of any law.

(2)

The directives referred to in subarticle (1) may regulate

(a) the recruitment of employees and, or their

remuneration;

(b) the procurement of fixed assets, services,

consultancies, contracts of whatever type or nature

relating to operational and, or administrative expenses,

and, where such directives are issued, the Board of

Directors or other Board responsible for the affairs of

the entity shall ensure that the decisions taken at Board

and at management level respect such directives.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT