CAG (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act 1971
Also called: CAG DPC Act · Topic: Constitutional Bodies: UPSC, CAG, Finance Commission and Others · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The CAG (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act 1971 is the law Parliament made under Article 149 to set out what the CAG does. It fixes the CAG's term at six years or age 65, whichever comes first. It also lists what the CAG audits:
- spending by the Union and the states from the Consolidated, Contingency and Public Accounts (s. 13);
- bodies mostly funded by the government (s. 14);
- receipts and stores (ss. 16-17);
- government companies (s. 19);
- audits handed over by the President or a Governor (s. 20).
The Constitution creates the office. This Act supplies the working details.
Example
Section 14 lets the CAG audit a body that gets government grants or loans of ₹25 lakh or more, if these make up at least 75% of its spending. This is true even though the body is not a government department.
Don't confuse with
- Article 148: it creates the office and its constitutional protections, such as removal like a Supreme Court judge. The 1971 Act only fills in the term, duties and powers.