Assam: Comptroller And Auditor General Of India Tables Report For The Period Ended March 2024; Large Scale Financial Irregularities Unearthed.

New Delhi/Guwahati; May 2026: The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) Audit Report on State Finances for 2024-25, was tabled before the state legislature this month. The 235 pages report analysed by Maverick News 30 unveils major financial irregularities in each and every sphere.

Assam has invested over Rs 10,903 Crores into 31 State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSE), but the return on that vast investment amounts to a fraction of just 011%, a major finding buried in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) Audit Report.

Of the 31 SPSEs, comprising 27 government companies and 04 statutory corporations, only 01, the Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited, returned any profit at all. It generated Rs 15 crore in 2024-25, amounting to just 0.11% of the total invested capital. Meanwhile, the state government was borrowing funds at an average interest rate of 6.76%, meaning Assam is paying far more to service its debt than its own enterprises are earning.

The losses run deep. 17 of the 27 government companies were loss-making, with accumulated losses of Rs 592.30 crore. 03 of the 04 statutory corporations were also bleeding, together accumulating losses of Rs 112.90 crore.

The findings broadly contradict the much hyped expanding economy. Assam’s GSDP grew at an average of 18% per year between 2020-21 and 2024-25, reaching Rs 6,43,667 crore. Capital expenditure too surged impressively; from Rs 12,399 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 26,404 crore in 2024-25.

But the CAG’s arithmetic tells a harder story, a state borrowing aggressively to invest, while the enterprises receiving that investment return almost nothing. With pension expenditure climbing from 15.91% to 19.37% of revenue receipts and interest payments rising from 8.01% to 9.77% over 05 years, the fiscal space available to absorb these losses is narrowing steadily.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has flagged serious lapses in financial discipline by the Assam government in its Audit Report for 2024-25, revealing that Rs 509.59 crore was spent in 13 cases without any budget provision or re-appropriation order, which is a direct violation of Article 204 of the Constitution.

In simple terms, the government is required by law to get legislative approval before spending public money. In 13 cases, it did not. The Rs 509.59 crore was spent under the head of Public Debt and Servicing of Debt without any provision in the original budget, without seeking supplementary approval, and without issuing any re-appropriation order.

The CAG said this is not just a paperwork problem; it is a violation of Article 204 of the Constitution, and a sign that financial discipline in government departments needs urgent attention. “Expenditure without budget is violative of financial regulations as well as the will of the Legislature. This is also indicative of the need for greater financial discipline in Government Departments”, the report read.

The accountability gaps run deeper. As on March 31, 2025, a total of 6,929 Utilisation Certificates worth Rs 23,240.56 crore were pending submission to the Accountant General. Without these certificates, the CAG observed, it is impossible to determine whether the grants were used for the purposes for which they were sanctioned.

Moreover, the Finance Department alone accounted for outstanding certificates worth Rs 4,067.06 crore, the highest among the five major departments flagged in the report. In a further reflection of weak financial controls, 1,222 Abstract Contingent bills worth Rs 753.61 crore were pending conversion into Detailed Countersigned Contingent bills as on the same date – amounts drawn from the public exchequer without the voucher-backed documentation required by law.

The report further noted that excess expenditure of Rs 604.40 crore under one grant in 2024-25 requires regularisation by the State Legislature under Article 205 of the Constitution. More strikingly, excess disbursements of Rs 11,995.69 crore spanning the period from 2006-07 to 2023-24 remain unregularised, a backlog stretching nearly two decades.

• Total Receipts of the State for the year 2023-24 were Rs. 91,534.49 crore against Rs. 89,742.30 crore in the previous year. Of this, 37% was raised by the State Government through Tax Revenue (Rs. 28,178.12 crore) and Non-Tax Revenue (Rs. 5,902.90 crore). The balance of total revenue was received from the Government of India in the form of State’s share of net proceeds of divisible Union taxes and Grants-in-Aid.

• At the end of June 2024, 6,531 audit observations pertaining to 1,417 Inspection Reports involving Rs. 2,829.50 crore could not be settled due to non-receipt of replies/ proper replies from the Departments concerned.

• The Government of Assam did not prescribe norms for beer production from raw materials like malt, rice flakes, and sugar, despite historical standards in the Excise Manual and examples from other States such as Rajasthan. Analysis of brewery records from 2018–19 to 2023–24 showed that actual production of 1809.00 lakh Bulk Litres (BL) fell short of the minimum expected yield of 2039.71 lakh BL based on prescribed norms, indicating potential under-reporting and risk of excise duty loss. This highlights a critical regulatory gap that requires urgent attention through introduction of clear, enforceable production standards.

• As per Rule 498 (c), “Draught Beer” means fresh beer contained in a keg (Round metal or wooden container, used especially for storing beer) not more than 05% volume by volume (v/v) alcoholic content. Further, as per Rule 19 (a) (I), the Ad-valorem levy on draught beer shall be charged on basis of its daily installed capacity. In respect of 25 types/ flavour of beer (out of 40 types/flavour) produced by the five Microbreweries, in one of the batches produced, the alcoholic content was more than legally admissible strength. This represents clear violation of Rule 498 (c) of Assam Excise Rules, 2016. However, the Department did not initiate penal measure, citing absence of enabling provisions.

• The Excise Department did not enforce Rule 582 of the Assam Excise Rules, 2016, by not obtaining mandatory verification certificates confirming receipt of 74.82 crore holograms supplied between February 2022 and March 2023. This critical control lapse created a significant risk of diversion of holograms, if any, to unauthorised or illicit liquor manufacturers, remaining undetected, undermining excise duty safeguards and enabling potential counterfeit production.

• 05 bottling plants of Indian made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) did not pay Establishment Charges amounting to ₹90.50 lakh for the different months (July 2019 to March 2024). However, the concerned Superintendent of Excise did not take any action for realisation of Establishment Charges, which indicates that the proper monitoring was not being done. Moreover, the Assam Excise Rules lacked provisions for levying interest on delayed payments of Establishment Charge.

Taken together, the findings paint a picture of systemic financial indiscipline – one that the CAG has now placed squarely before the Public Accounts Committee for “discussion and suitable recommendations”.

[Team Maverick is going to publish the report in the forthcoming episodes].

Suvro Sanyal; Team Maverick.