The Assam Government's Finance (Budget) Department has issued a fresh executive order aimed at fixing gaps in the state's medical reimbursement system and preventing irregularities in payment procedures.
The order follows the detection of discrepancies during a reconciliation exercise involving advice slips and reimbursement payments across administrative departments and treasury offices.
Authorities identified several specific problems during the reconciliation process.
These included data mismatches between administrative departments and treasury offices, advice slips that were sanctioned but payments not processed due to budget shortfalls or missing documents, and in some cases, payments made without any corresponding advice slip records — raising concerns about possible forgery or duplication.
The executive order introduces a set of mandatory reforms that all departments must implement immediately.
Going forward, all advice slips must be generated through the Finassam Portal and authenticated by competent authorities using digital signatures. Medical reimbursement approvals must also be issued online, in line with the Assam Delegation of Financial Powers (DFP) Rules, 2022.
Departments have been directed to carry out frequent reconciliation of records with all stakeholders. They will also be given access to a centralised budget head, with reimbursements processed on a First-In, First-Out basis to ensure fairness and transparency.
The Finance Department confirmed that the directives have been approved by the competent authority and that compliance is required without delay across all government departments.