FINANCIAL PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

4.30 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara's recommendation to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Financial Procedure Ordinance, 1959, No. 39 of 1959, has been in operation for the last four years. This Bill seeks to make certain amendments which appear necessary in the light of the last four years' experience. Subsection (3) of section 7 of the principal Ordinance is amended to enable the investment of monies standing to the credit of the State and stocks, funds and securities authorised for the time being in the United Kingdom for the investment of trust funds. The provision of subsection (2) of section 12 of the principal Ordinance has given rise to an accounting difficulty, insofar as it requires that the repayment of loans received under the local Treasury Bills Ordinance to be made from the Consolidated Revenue Account where the money received as loans are credited to the Consolidated Loan Account, with the result that the credits remain uncleared in the Consolidated Loan Account. Clause 3 of the Bill amends section 12 of the principal Ordinance so that such repayments can be charged to the Consolidated Loan Account.

Another difficulty encountered in the operation of the principal Ordinance stems from the requirement that the refunds of taxes over-collected have been treated as expenditure by providing votes under different departmental Heads of Expenditure. This tends to give a magnified picture of the running cost of the department concerned. Clause 4 of the Bill amends the principal Ordinance so as to enable such refunds to be charged on the Consolidated Fund.

Section 19 of the principal Ordinance, which concerns the procedures for surcharge, empowers the Minister to surcharge a person in the event of deficiency or irregularity in the management of Singapore Government Funds. Since certain Singapore Departments are responsible for the administration of funds other than those of the Singapore Government, as in the case, for instance, of Pan-Malayan Departments, it is desirable to amend section 19 of the Ordinance as proposed in clause 5 of the Bill.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Dr Goh Keng Swee]

Bill considered in Committee; reported, without amendment, read a Third time and passed.