« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Tax planning for 2025: How to maximise your savings before March 31 deadline  New income tax bill reaches Parliament: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tables I-T Bill 2025 in Lok Sabha  5 major changes in the last 6 months every taxpayer should know!  Good news for taxpayers: ITR forms updated to allow 87A tax rebate claims, but there's a catch  Top 10 income tax changes from 2024 to look out for while filing ITR in 2025 «  Debating cross-border tax issues... Tax-free hills become investment hotspot... » Govt orders audit of all grant-in-aid schemes October, 15th 2007 After releasing a Rs 50-lakh grant to an NGO even before signing a memorandum of understanding with it, the Consumer Affairs Ministry has now ordered an in-depth financial audit of all its grant-in-aid schemes in the wake of allegations of improper allocation of funds. "The ministry has asked the chief controller of accounts to conduct a special audit to look into all aspects," said a senior accounts wing official, confirming the review. The funds, running into crores, were disbursed from the Consumer Welfare Fund of the ministry over the last three years among 35 NGOs with the purpose of promoting consumer awareness. The ministry's decision to conduct an internal review coincides with the Central Vigilance Commission's decision to admit a complaint on the alleged multi-crore scam involving the Fund. "We have received a complaint and we shall examine it," said CVC secretary Sujit Banerjee. The complaint was filed by whistle blower Nitin Saxena, who himself is associated with a Delhi-based NGO, All India Consumer Education Society. Consumer Affairs Secretary Yashwant Bhave, denied any relation between the ministry's decision to order a special audit and the complaint filed in CVC. "I don't even know what the complaint (filed in CVC) says," he said, adding that the audit was part of a normal practice to confirm that due diligence was observed while using the funds.