Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Examination and Supervision over Budgets

(Adopted at the 38th Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on June 23, 2017)

Contents

Chapter I  General Provisions

Chapter II  Examination and Approval of Budgets

Chapter III  Supervision over Budget Implementation

Chapter IV  Examination and Approval of Budget Adjustment

Chapter V  Examination and Approval of Final Accounts

Chapter VI  Legal Liability

Chapter VII  Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I  General Provisions

Article 1

With a view to strengthening the examination and supervision over budgets, regulating government behaviors relating to revenues and expenditures, enhancing budget constraints, and playing the role of budgets in promoting national economic and social development, these Regulations are formulated in accordance with the Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People’s Congresses at All Levels, and other relevant laws and administrative regulations, in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2

These Regulations apply to the examination and approval of budgets, the adjustment plans for the budgets and final accounts, the supervision over budget implementation, and relevant activities of the municipal and district people’s congresses, their standing committees, and the people’s congresses of towns/townships.

Budgets shall include the general public budgets, the budgets for government-managed funds, the budgets for state capital operations and the budgets for social insurance funds.

Article 3

The principles of implementation in accordance with law, openness, transparency, comprehensive standardization and efficiency shall be adhered to in the examination and supervision over budgets.

Article 4

The municipal or district people’s congresses shall examine the draft general budgets and the reports on the implementation of the general budgets at the corresponding levels, approve the budgets and the reports on their implementation at the corresponding levels, alter or annul inappropriate resolutions on budgets or final accounts made by the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels (hereinafter referred to as the standing committees), and annul inappropriate decisions and orders on budgets or final accounts made by the governments at the corresponding levels.

The municipal and district standing committees shall supervise the implementation of the general budgets at the corresponding levels, examine and approve the adjustment plans for the budgets and the final accounts at the corresponding levels, and annul inappropriate decisions, orders and resolutions on budgets and final accounts made by the governments at the corresponding levels or by the people’s congresses at the next lower levels and their standing committees.

The people’s congresses of towns/townships shall examine and approve the budgets and the reports on the implementation of the budgets at the corresponding levels, supervise the implementation of the budgets at the corresponding levels, examine and approve the adjustment plans for the budgets at the corresponding levels, examine and approve the final accounts at the corresponding levels, and annul inappropriate decisions and orders on budgets or final accounts made by the governments at the corresponding levels. The draft budgets, adjustment plans for the budgets and drafts of the final accounts of towns/townships, compiled by the district people’s governments with the approval of the Municipal People’s Government, shall be submitted to the people’s congresses of the towns/townships for examination and approval.

Article 5

The financial and economic affairs committees of the municipal or district people’s congresses (hereinafter referred to as the financial and economic committees) shall, led by the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and their standing committees, be responsible for conducting the initial examination of the preliminary plans of the draft budgets at the corresponding levels, the implementation of the budgets for the previous year, preliminary adjustment plans for the budgets at the corresponding levels and the drafts of the final accounts at the corresponding levels, and put forward preliminary examination opinions.

Article 6

The budget commissions of the standing committees of the municipal or district people’s congresses (hereinafter referred to as the budget commissions) shall assist the financial and economic committees at the corresponding levels in the specific work concerning the examination of the draft budgets, adjustment plans for the budgets, and drafts of final accounts, the supervision over the implementation of budgets and other relevant work.

Article 7

The financial and economic committees and the budget commissions shall solicit opinions from the specialized committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and relevant working organs of the standing committees when conducting initial examination and research on the preliminary plans of the draft budgets at the corresponding levels, the implementation of the budgets for the previous year, preliminary adjustment plans for the budgets at the corresponding levels and the drafts of final accounts at the corresponding levels.

The specialized committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses and the relevant working organs of the standing committees thereof may conduct investigations and put forward opinions on the budgets of their associated departments, which shall be included in preliminary examination opinions after being consolidated and studied by the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the corresponding levels.

Article 8

The presidiums of the town/township people’s congresses (hereinafter referred to as the town/township presidiums) shall conduct initial examination and put forward opinions on the preliminary plans of the draft budgets at the corresponding levels, the implementation of the budgets, preliminary adjustment plans for the budgets at the corresponding levels and the drafts of final accounts at the corresponding levels.

Article 9

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses may supervise the budgets and final accounts at the corresponding levels and the next lower levels through the hearing of and deliberation over special work reports of the governments, inspection of law enforcement, inspection tours, survey and research on special subjects, inquiries, interpellations, investigation of special issues and other means. The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall strengthen supervision over key expenditures and major investment projects, and may conduct special supervision over the utilization of special funds with large amounts, vast influence or great public concerns, and hear and deliberate the relevant reports of the governments at the corresponding levels.

The town/township presidiums may supervise the budgets and final accounts at the corresponding levels by arranging the deputies to the people’s congresses hearing and discussing the work reports or special work reports of the governments, conducting inspection tours, survey and research on special subjects and inspection of law enforcement, and other means.

Article 10

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall establish the mechanisms of hearing the opinions and suggestions from the deputies to the people’s congresses and all circles of society before examining the budgets.

The financial and economic committees and the budget commissions shall extensively solicit opinions from the deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and the parties concerned, and organize the deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels to participate in relevant symposiums, briefings and preliminary budget examination meetings when conducting preliminary examination and supervision. The financial and economic committees and the budget commissions may set up specialized deputy groups for budget examination and organize the deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels to participate in budget examination and supervision, and may establish expert consultant mechanisms for budget examination by engaging consultants of budget examination and supervision or inviting relevant experts to assist in the examination and supervision over budgets.

The financial and economic committees, and the budget commissions and relevant departments of the governments at all levels shall provide consultation and other services for the examination and approval of the budgets by the deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

The people’s congresses of districts or towns/townships shall organize their deputies to hear the opinions from the constituencies and all circles of society through various means before holding sessions to examine the draft budgets.

Article 11

The municipal and district people’s governments shall strengthen the administration of fiscal policies and make reports to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels before the promulgation of their major local fiscal policies; upon promulgation, the major local fiscal policies shall be promptly reported to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

The documents of major fiscal revenue and expenditure policies formulated by the financial departments of the municipal or district people’s governments shall be delivered to the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the corresponding levels within fifteen days upon promulgation.

Article 12

The budget information of the municipal, district, and town/township people’s governments and all their departments and units shall be disclosed to the public in accordance with laws.

Except for those involving state secrets, the budgets, budget adjustments, final accounts and the reports and statements on the implementation of the budgets approved by the people’s congresses or their standing committees at the corresponding levels shall be disclosed to the public by the financial departments of the governments at the corresponding levels within twenty days upon approval; the budgets, the final accounts and the statements approved by the financial departments of the governments at the corresponding levels shall be disclosed to the public by relevant departments within twenty days upon approval; the departmental budgets, final accounts and statements approved by the competent departments for budgets at the corresponding levels shall be disclosed to the public by relevant units within twenty days upon approval. The expenditures of budgets and final accounts shall be disclosed down to items based on function classifications, and the basic expenditures of general public budgets shall be disclosed down to sections based on the classifications of economic nature.

The governments at all levels shall disclose the general transfer payments and special transfer payments, with all the budgets and final accounts of the special transfer payments to the governments at lower levels disclosed according to the specific projects, and shall disclose the approved quota, balance, issuance, utilization and repayment of debts and other relevant information of the corresponding regions. The governments at all levels shall disclose all the relevant fiscal and taxation systems, and gradually disclose the information including fund arrangement and utilization of major investment projects and the government consolidated financial reports.

The information disclosed by all the departments and units shall include their responsibilities, organizational structures, revenues and expenditures of the budgets, and the department operating expenditures. All the departments and units shall disclose the information concerning government procurement, budget performance, and the possession and utilization of state-owned assets.

The budget information shall be disclosed in a unified, standardized way, and convenient for public inquiries. The budget information shall be disclosed to the public on the main platforms including the government, department or unit web portals, on which columns of budget publicity shall be set up for centralized disclosure of information.

Chapter II  Examination and Approval of Budgets

Article 13

The people’s congresses and their standing committees at all levels examine and supervise whether revenues and expenditures of the governments at the corresponding levels are all included in the budgets.

All the government revenues and expenditures shall be listed in the budgets by the governments at all levels, all the departments and units according to law and may not be concealed or incompletely listed. Overall plans shall be made on the budgets for the government-managed funds, the budgets for state capital operations and the general public budgets pursuant to the relevant state provisions.

Article 14

The people’s congresses and their standing committees at all levels examine and supervise whether the budgets are compiled by the governments at the corresponding levels on the bases of the principles of making overall plans and taking all factors into consideration, practicing economy and thrift, being realistic, and emphasizing performance and balance between revenues and expenditures. Governments at all levels shall establish and improve the fixed-quota standard systems of the basic expenditures of the budgets, project expenditure standard systems and budget performance evaluation systems.

Governments at all levels shall establish multi-year budgeting balance mechanisms. The financial departments shall, together with various departments, compile the mid-term financial plans of the governments; all the departments shall compile the mid-term financial plans of the departments.

Article 15

The people’s congresses and their standing committees at all levels shall examine and supervise debt administration of the governments at the corresponding levels.

Governments at all levels shall incorporate government debts into the budget management, and establish the debt risk evaluation and pre-warning mechanisms, emergency disposal mechanisms and accountability systems.

Article 16

The financial departments of the municipal or district people’s governments shall report the budget compilation to and solicit opinions from the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the corresponding levels.

The financial and economic committees and the budget commissions shall know the compiling of draft budgets at the corresponding levels and of the departments during the budget compilation, hear opinions from the relevant parties by means of seminars, feasibility study meetings and hearings, and submit the feedback to the financial departments of the governments at the corresponding levels.

Article 17

The financial departments of the municipal or district people’s governments shall, thirty days before the sessions of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, submit the preliminary plans of the draft budgets at the corresponding levels to the financial and economic committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for initial examination. During the initial examination by the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions, the persons in charge from the government financial and other relevant departments shall be present to make explanations and hear the review opinions.

The financial and economic committees shall, fifteen days before the sessions of the people’s congresses, put forward comments on the initial examination and give feedback to the financial departments of the governments at the corresponding levels. The government financial departments shall, five days before the sessions of the people’s congresses, deliver written feedback on the implementation of such opinions. The comments on the initial examination and the reports of their implementation shall be printed and distributed to the representatives of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels during the sessions of the people’s congresses.

The financial departments of the town/township people’s governments shall, fifteen days before the sessions of the people’s congresses, submit the preliminary plans of the draft budgets at the corresponding levels and the implementation of the budgets for the previous year to the town/township presidiums for initial examination.

Article 18

Where the preliminary plans of the draft budgets are submitted, the following relevant materials and notes shall also be submitted according to law:

1. the revenue and expenditure statements of the general public budgets, the budgets for government-managed funds, the budgets for State-owned capital operations and the budgets for social insurance funds;

2. departmental budget sheets;

3. schedules of the transfer payments to the governments at lower levels;

4. category tables of key expenditures approved by the governments in the draft budgets and the lists of major investment projects;

5. special funds expenditure statements of the general public budgets;

6. government procurement budgets；

7. management of State-owned assets;

8. relevant notes on budgets compilation; and

9. other materials and the corresponding notes.

Article 19

The initial examination on the preliminary plans of the draft budgets and the implementation of the budgets for the previous year focus on the following:

1. whether or not the implementation of the budgets for the previous year meets the requirements of the budget resolutions of the people's congresses at the corresponding levels;

2. whether or not the budget arrangements comply with the law, the guidelines and policies on national economy and social development, and whether or not the revenue-expenditure policies are practical;

3. whether or not the budget arrangements for key expenditures and major investment projects approved by the governments are reasonable and feasible;

4. whether or not the compilation of the draft budgets is complete and the expenditures under the general public budgets are compiled and classified by their functions down to items and compiled and classified by their economic nature down to sections; whether or not the expenditures under the budgets for government-managed funds, the budgets for State-owned capital operations and the budgets for social insurance funds are compiled and classified by their functions down to items;

5. whether or not the budgets for the transfer expenditures to the governments at lower levels are regulated and appropriate;

6. whether or not the debts borrowed under the budget arrangements are lawful and rational, and there are a practical repayment plans and stable, reliable sources of funds for repayment of the debts;

7. whether or not the notes on the implementation of the budgets for the previous year and the draft budgets this year are comprehensive and clear; and

8. whether or not the explanations for the important matters related to the budget are clear.

Article 20

The financial and economic committees and the budget commissions shall, before the sessions of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, organize such departments of the governments at the corresponding levels as finance, management of State-owned assets, and human resources and social security to explain the draft budgets to the deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

Article 21

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses or their directors meetings shall, before the sessions of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, hear the initial examination and opinions from the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the corresponding levels.

Article 22

Governments at all levels shall generally, five days before the sessions of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, submit the official texts of the draft budgets and the reports thereon to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels or the town/township presidiums.

Article 23

During the sessions of the municipal or district people’s congresses, the financial and economic committees shall, pursuant to the review opinions of the deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, submit the reports on the examination results of the general draft budgets and the implementation of the general budgets for the previous year in the light of the initial examination opinions. The reports on examination results shall include the assessments on the implementation of the budgets for the previous year and the budget resolutions of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, and on this year’s draft budgets; suggestions on the approval of the draft budgets and the budget reports by the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels; opinions and proposals on the implementation of the annual budgets, improvement of the management and performance of the budgets, and enhancement of the supervision over budgets and other relevant matters. The reports on examination results shall be printed and distributed to all the deputies to the people’s congresses after the presidiums adopt them.

Where the committees of national economic, social development and budget examination are set up at the first sessions of each municipal or district people’s congresses, which shall submit the reports on the examination results of the general draft budgets and the implementation of the general budgets for the previous year to the presidiums of the sessions in pursuant to the review opinions of the people’s congress at the corresponding levels, and in the light of the preliminary examination opinions.

Financial budget examination committees are set up at the sessions of the town/township people’s congresses, which shall put forward the examination opinions are put forward on the proposed budgets.

During the sessions of the people’s congresses at all levels when the deputies to the people’s congresses review the draft budgets and the reports on the implementation of the budgets for the previous year, the financial and other relevant departments of the governments at the corresponding levels shall be present, hear the opinions and reply to the inquiries of deputies to the people’s congresses. Feedbacks to the opinions made by the deputies to the people’s congresses shall be given in a timely manner.

Article 24

Upon approval of the budgets of the governments at the corresponding levels by the municipal and district people’s congresses, the financial departments of the governments at the corresponding levels shall send copies of the approved budgets of the departments at the corresponding levels and the approved budgets for the transfer payments to the governments at lower levels to the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the corresponding levels.

The municipal or district people’s governments shall consolidate the budgets of the governments at the next lower levels and submit them to the governments at the next higher levels and the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for record. Where the municipal or district people’s governments consider that the budgets submitted for record by the governments at the next lower levels contravene laws or administrative regulations, or contain other inappropriateness, and that the resolutions approving the budgets have to be cancelled, the said governments shall submit the matter to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for deliberation and decision.

Chapter III  Supervision over Budget Implementation

Article 25

The municipal and district standing committees and the town/township presidiums shall strengthen the supervision over budget implementation. Governments at all levels, and all departments and units shall be subject to supervision, and fully and truthfully report the budget implementation and provide necessary materials.

Article 26

The supervision over budget implementation shall be conducted over the following major areas:

1. execution of resolutions and decisions made by the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and their standing committees;

2. arrangements of budgetary revenues;

3. approval of budgets and allocations of expenditures;

4. the budget systems, budget arrangements and budget implementation of all budget departments and units;

5. the arrangements of key expenditures and key investment projects decided by the governments and the availability and implementation of funds;

6. the management of the surplus revenues and the solutions of revenues that fall short;

7. the use of the reserve funds, budget circulating funds, budget stabilization funds and carryover funds;

8. the implementation of government procurement budgets and the management of budgets on government procurement of services;

9. the transfer payments to financial departments at lower levels;

10. management of government debts;

11. whether the funds are transferred for use among the departments’ and units’ different budgetary accounting items, when necessary, in accordance with the provisions of the financial departments of the governments during the budget implementation; and

12. other major items and specific issues in implementing budgets.

Article 27

The municipal and district standing committees and the town/township people’s congresses shall, from June to September each year, hear and deliberate reports made by the governments at the corresponding levels on the budget implementation of the previous stage of this year.

The financial departments of the municipal and district people’s governments shall submit the reports on the budget implementation of the first half of this year to the financial and economic committees and budget commissions at the corresponding levels thirty days prior to the sessions held by the standing committees at the same levels to hear and deliberate the reports on the budget implementation of the previous stage of this year. The financial departments of town/township people’s governments shall submit the reports on the budget implementation of the previous stage of this year to the town/township presidiums ten days prior to the sessions of the town/township people’s congresses to hear and deliberate the reports on the budget implementation of the previous stage of this year.

Article 28

The review opinions on the reports on the budget implementation made by members of the municipal and district standing committees shall be submitted to the governments at the corresponding levels for consideration and disposition. The municipal and district people’s governments shall submit the reports on consideration and disposition in writing to the standing committees at the corresponding levels.

The reports on the budget implementation, the standing committees’ review opinions and the consideration and disposition of the review opinions or implementation of the resolution from the governments at the corresponding levels shall be submitted to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and made public to the society.

Article 29

Prior to the municipal and district standing committees’ hearing and deliberation of the reports on budget implementation of the previous stage of this year, the budget commissions shall hear the reports on the budget implementation and management from the relevant departments of the governments at the corresponding levels, and give feedback to the financial departments of the governments at the corresponding levels. The government financial departments shall submit reports on the consideration and disposition in writing within thirty days.

Article 30

The municipal and district people’s governments shall strengthen the establishment of the integrated financial information platforms, improve information sharing mechanisms among the financial and taxation departments with the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the same levels, as well as push forward the supervision over the budget networking.

The financial, taxation, State-owned assets administration, human resources and social security and statistic departments of the municipal and district people’s governments shall submit the following budget related materials to the financial and economic committees and budget commissions at the corresponding levels through the budget networking:

1. the relevant documents on budget management policies;

2. the analyses on budget implementation;

3. government procurement;

4. information disclosure of the budgets;

5. the implementation of State-owned capital operating budgets;

6. management of social insurance funds;

7. the materials on taxation and statistics; and

8. other important materials concerning budget implementation.

Article 31

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses may, during supervision over the budget implementation, require the governments at the corresponding levels to conduct special audits or audit survey and report the audit results to the standing committees.

Article 32

Governments at all levels and their departments and units shall assess their budgetary expenditure performance. The municipal and district people’s governments shall submit reports on the budgetary expenditure performance assessment of the previous year to the standing committees in writing to the standing committees at the corresponding levels.

The financial and economic committees, budget commissions and the town/township presidiums may organize deputies to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and invite experts to participate in and track the ex ante, in-process and ex post performance management of budgetary expenditure of the governments, departments and units at the corresponding levels.

Article 33

The financial departments of the governments at all levels shall, in accordance with relevant state regulations, prepare consolidated financial reports of the governments on an accrual basis, which reflect the overall financial conditions, operations, and mid-and long-term financial sustainability of the governments, and submit them to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and the town/township presidiums for record.

Chapter IV  Examination and Approval of Budget Adjustment

Article 34

Where general public budgets, government fund budgets, budgets for State-owned capital operations, and budgets for social insurance funds approved by the people’s congresses at all levels must be adjusted in accordance with the Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China during the budget implementation, governments at all levels shall make budget adjustment schemes. The municipal or district people’s governments shall submit such schemes to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for examination and approval, while town/township people’s governments shall submit the schemes to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for examination and approval.

Article 35

The financial departments of the municipal or district people’s governments shall report the preliminary budget adjustment schemes to the financial and economic committees and the budget commissions at the corresponding levels in time. The government financial departments shall, thirty days before the sessions of the municipal or district standing committees for reviewing and adopting the budget adjustment schemes, submit the preliminary budget adjustment schemes to the financial and economic committees at the corresponding levels for initial examination.

The financial departments of town/township people’s governments shall, fifteen days before the sessions of the standing committees of the town/township congresses for reviewing and adopting the budget adjustment schemes, submit the preliminary budget adjustment schemes at the corresponding levels to the town/township presidiums for initial examination.

Article 36

The municipal and district standing committees and the town/township people’s congresses shall examine the following major contents when reviewing the budget adjustment schemes at the corresponding levels:

1. the reasons and basis for adjustment;

2. the items and amounts to be adjusted;

3. the balance between revenue and expenditure; and

4. whether there is a clear explanation on the major issues concerning the budget adjustment.

Article 37

The municipal and district financial and economic committees shall submit the reports on examination result on the budget adjustment schemes at the corresponding levels to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

The reports on examination results shall include:

1. the assessments on whether the budget adjustment schemes accord with the Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China；

2. the revenues and expenditures of the budget adjustment;

3. the assessments on whether the items adjusted and the fund arrangements are reasonable;

4. the suggestions on approval of the budget adjustment schemes by the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels; and

5. the comments and suggestions on the adjusted budgets.

Article 38

Where the budget adjustment decisions are made by governments at all levels without going through legal procedures, the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and their standing committees or the governments at the higher levels shall order changes or annulment of the decisions.

Chapter V  Review and Approval of Final Accounts

Article 39

The financial departments of the municipal or district people’s governments shall prepare the draft final accounts at the corresponding levels, and report them to the governments at the corresponding levels for approval after being audited by the auditing departments at the corresponding levels. The governments shall submit the draft final accounts to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for examination and approval and make reports on the final accounts at the corresponding levels. The town/township people’s governments shall prepare the draft final accounts at the corresponding levels, and submit them to the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for examination and approval.

The reports on the final accounts shall focus on the budget implementation, key expenditures, the utilization and performance of major investment projects of the previous year approved by the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels, and the main causes of failing to achieve the budgeted goals and the existing major problems.

The draft final accounts shall correspond with the budgets, presenting the budgetary amounts, adjusted budgetary amounts, and amounts of final accounts respectively. These figures shall be compared with the adjusted budgetary amounts and explanations shall be made for the great differences that occurred.

Article 40

The financial departments of the municipal and district people’s governments shall, thirty days before the sessions of the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels to review and approve the draft final accounts at the corresponding levels, submit the draft final accounts for the previous year to the financial and economic committees at the corresponding levels for initial examination.

The financial departments of the town/township people’s governments shall, ten days before the sessions of the town/township people’s congresses to review and approve the draft final accounts at the corresponding levels, submit the draft final accounts for the previous year to the town/township presidiums for initial examination.

Article 41

The financial and economic committees shall deliver reports on the examination results of the draft final accounts at the corresponding levels to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

The reports on examination results shall include:

1. the revenues and expenditures of the final accounts at the corresponding levels;

2. general evaluation on the final accounts at the corresponding levels;

3. the suggestions on approval of the final accounts by the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels; and

4. the opinions and proposals on solving the existing problems in the final accounts at the corresponding levels.

Article 42

After the final accounts at any level have been approved by the standing committees of the municipal or district people’s congresses, the relevant government financial departments shall, within twenty days, give approval replies of the final accounts to all the departments at the corresponding levels and send the approved departmental final accounts to the financial and economic committees and budget commissions at the corresponding levels.

The municipal and district people’s governments shall, in a timely manner, consolidate the final accounts of the governments at the next lower levels and submit them to the governments at the next higher levels and the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for record. Where the governments at higher levels consider that the final accounts submitted for record contravene laws or regulations or are otherwise inappropriate, and that the resolutions approving the final accounts shall be revoked, the said governments shall submit the matter to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels for deliberation and decision.

Article 43

The auditing departments of the municipal and district people’s governments shall, before the sessions of the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels to review and approve the draft final accounts at the corresponding levels, make audit reports on the budget implementation and other revenues and expenditures at the corresponding levels to the financial and economic committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and the budget commissions of the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

Article 44

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall hear and deliberate the audit reports of the governments at the corresponding levels concerning the budget implementation and other revenues and expenditures for the previous year.

The audit reports shall focus on:

1. the audit of budget implementation and other revenues and expenditures at the corresponding levels;

2. the problems found in auditing and the problem lists;

3. the analysis of the problems and the auditing opinions and suggestions; and

4. other important conditions that should be reported.

Article 45

The review opinions on the audit reports presented by the members of the standing committees of the municipal or district people’s congresses shall be submitted to the governments at the corresponding levels for consideration and disposition. The municipal and district people’s governments shall report the results of consideration and disposition in writing to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

The audit reports heard by the standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses and their review opinions, the reports on consideration and disposition concerning the review opinions or the implementation of the resolutions made by the governments at the corresponding levels, shall be notified to the representatives of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels and be published to the general public.

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses may make resolutions on the audit reports where they consider necessary. The governments at the corresponding levels shall, within the periods of time specified in the resolutions, report the implementation of the resolutions to the standing committees of the people’s congresses.

Article 46

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall hear and deliberate the reports of the governments at the corresponding levels on the rectification of the problems found in auditing, and may set up special inquiries concerning the rectification of the major problems.

The standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses shall follow up and supervise the rectification of the problems found in auditing. The financial and economic committees and the budget commissions shall organize and conduct follow-up surveys of the rectification of the problems found in auditing, and deliver follow-up reports to the standing committees of the people’s congresses at the corresponding levels.

The report on the rectification of the problems found in auditing shall correspond with the problems revealed in the audit reports and the suggestions therein. During the deliberation of the standing committees of the municipal and district people’s congresses on the rectification of the problems found in auditing, the relevant units being audited and the persons in-charge of the auditing departments of the government shall be present at the meetings to hear opinions and reply to enquiries.

Chapter VI  Legal Liability

Article 47

Where there are provisions that regulate any violation of these Regulations in other laws or administrative regulations, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 48

The governments at any level or relevant departments that violate these Regulations shall be ordered to make corrections. The persons in charge directly responsible and other persons directly responsible shall be subject to administrative liabilities according to law.

Article 49

Any citizen, legal person, or other organization that discover any violation of these Regulations may file reports or complaints to the relevant state organs in accordance with the law. Where the reported or complained units or individuals suppress or retaliate on those who file such reports or complaints, the competent departments at higher levels or the units to which the said individuals belong shall take administrative disciplinary actions against such units or individuals; where such acts constitute a crime, the said violators shall be subject to criminal liability according to law.

Chapter VII  Supplementary Provisions

Article 50

The standing committees of the district people’s congresses and the town/township people’s congresses may, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and in the light of the actual circumstances of the administrative regions, formulate specific measures with regard to budget examination and supervision.

Article 51

These Regulations shall be effective as of October 1, 2017. Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on Examination and Supervision over Municipal Budgets adopted at the 30th session of the 11th Standing Committee of Shanghai People’s Congress on August 20, 2001 shall be annulled at the same time.