Action Taken Note
Also called: ATN · Topic: Constitutional Bodies: UPSC, CAG, Finance Commission and Others · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An Action Taken Note (ATN) is a written reply from a ministry. It says what the ministry has done about a CAG audit finding or a recommendation of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC picks only a few audit paragraphs for its own hearings. For the rest, called "non-selected" paragraphs, the ATN is the only follow-up. The CAG checks each ATN before it goes to the PAC. CAG guidance asks for ATNs within three months of the audit report being laid before the House. The ATN matters because it is the step where an audit finding is supposed to become real action. When ATNs come late, findings pile up unanswered, and a ministry faces no penalty for being late.
Example
In its 105th Report (1995-96), the PAC gave ministries four months to submit ATNs, sent through the Finance Ministry's Department of Expenditure. Even so, on 30 June 2013 the Finance Ministry counted 815 pending ATNs while the CAG counted 722 pending paragraphs. Railways had 169 of these and Defence had 143.
Don't confuse with
- Memorandum under Art. 323 / Art. 281: this is a note the government lays before the legislature along with a UPSC or Finance Commission report. It explains which advice was accepted and why some was rejected. An ATN instead answers audit findings or PAC recommendations.
- CAG audit report (Art. 151): this is the auditor's own finding. The ATN is the ministry's reply to it.