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Article 234.- It shall be the duty of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic to control, supervise and audit the national income, expenditure and assets, as well as the operations in respect of the same.
The Law shall determine the organisation and functioning of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the appropriateness, nature and scope of its functions.
Article 235.- The functions of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic may, by law, extend to autonomous institutes, as well as to state or municipal administrations, without undermining the autonomy guaranteed to them by the present Constitution.
Article 236.- The Comptroller General of the Republic is an auxiliary organ of the Congress in its function of control over the Public Treasury and enjoys functional autonomy in the exercise of its powers.
Article 237.- The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic shall perform its duties under the direction and responsibility of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
To be the Comptroller General of the Republic, a person must be Venezuelan by birth, more than thirty (30) years of age, and must not be a clergyman.
Article 238.- The Houses, in a joint session, shall elect the Comptroller General of the Republic within the first thirty (30) days of each constitutional term.
In case of the permanent absence of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Houses, in a joint session, shall proceed to elect a new person for the rest of the constitutional term.
In case of temporary or accidental absence of the Comptroller General of the Republic, in the interim periods, and in case of definite absence while a new person is in the process of being appointed, the post shall be filled in the manner specified by the law.
Article 239.- Every year the Comptroller General of the Republic shall lay before the Congress a report on the work carried out by the Comptroller’s Office, and on the account or accounts that the bodies and officers required to do so have presented to the Congress. Similarly, it shall present any other report that the Congress or the National Executive requests at any time.
Article 1.- The Comptroller General of the Republic shall, in accordance with the law, exercise control, vigilance and supervision over the public income, expenditure and assets, as well as over the operations with regard to the same.
Article 2.- Public servants and private individuals are obliged to help the officers from the Comptroller’s Office, within the limits set out by this Law, in the performance of the functions mentioned in the foregoing Article.
Article 3.- The functions that the Constitution and the laws confer on the Comptroller’s Office shall be performed with impartiality and regardless of any party politics.
Article 4.- The Comptroller’s Office can communicate directly with all the bodies, entities and persons whose activities, operations and accounts are subject to its control, vigilance and inspection. Such bodies, entities and persons shall be obliged to afford written or verbal reports, and such books, records or documents as required from them.
Article 5.-, In the light of the results of its inspection duties, the Comptroller’s Office, may carry out studies in the fields of organisation, statistics, economics and finance, as well as analysis and investigations of any type, in order to determine the cost of public services, the results of administrative action and, in general, the efficiency with which the entities subject to its vigilance, inspection and control operate. The conclusions of such studies must be communicated to the concerned bodies who shall be legally empowered to adopt such conclusions.
Article 6.- The Treasury officers and employees, as well as entities or persons subject to the control laid down in this Law, who administer, handle or are responsible for safekeeping public funds and other assets, are obliged to present accounts of their administration in the manner and at the appropriate time as determined by the Comptroller’s Office. The same obligation shall apply to those persons who administer or maintain funds or other assets belonging to third parties on behalf of and at the order of the Republic.
Article 7.- It is the duty of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic to assess, direct, co-ordinate and, if need be, to recommend suitable systems of internal control for Public Administration in accordance with the requirements of each entity, so that the external control may complement the control conducted by the active administration.
Article 8.- The Comptroller’s Office shall be subject to the laws and rules governing the preparation and implementation of the budget with the following provisos:
1. Every year the Comptroller’s Office shall prepare the Draft of the Expenditure Budget for its functioning and shall send it to the National Executive;
2. The Congress can directly examine the accounts of the Comptroller’s Office and formulate any pertinent objections.
Article 9.- The Comptroller shall enter into whatever contracts are necessary for the execution of the Budget of the Comptroller’s Office.
Article 10.- The Comptroller’s Office shall function under the responsibility and direction of the Comptroller General of the Republic.
Article 11.- During the temporary or accidental leaves of absence of the Comptroller, as well as permanent absence while the Congress is filling the post, he shall be replaced by the Director General of the Comptroller’s Office, who shall meet the same conditions as those stipulated in the Constitution for becoming the Comptroller. He shall be appointed by the Comptroller on prior authorisation from the Congress or from the Delegated Commission. The Director General of the Comptroller’s Office shall perform, besides the functions of the Comptroller, those functions assigned to him in the Internal Rules.
Article 12.- The Comptroller shall be responsible for:
1. Framing the internal rules and regulations on the structure, organisation, authority and functioning of the Directorates and other departments of the Comptroller’s Office, in accordance with the provisions of this law;
2. Appointing and dismissing employees;
3. Determining, through the internal rules, which officers and employees shall be senior ones and persons of trust, and consequently, persons that he can freely appoint and remove; and
4. Exercising personnel management and authority of hierarchy.
In all other matters, as far as possible, the Law of Civil Service and its Rules shall be applied.
Article 13.- The Comptroller’s Office shall have the following Directorate Generals with such powers as assigned to them by the Comptroller, pursuant to this Law:
1. Directorate General;
2. Directorate of Control on Central Administration;
3. Directorate of Control on National Decentralised Administration;
4. Technical Directorate; and
5. Any other that may be set up with the authorisation of the Congress, at the proposal of the Comptroller in his annual report.
Article 14.- The Comptroller’s Office shall have such technical and administrative services as are required for the performance of its functions. The Internal Rules, to be framed by the Comptroller, shall determine the directorates, divisions, departments, offices and services, in accordance with this Law. The said Rules and their modifications must be published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE.
Article 15.- The Comptroller may create temporary or permanent posts in the offices and departments subject to the control, vigilance and inspection of the Comptroller’s Office, for such officers or employees as he considers appropriate, with the powers that he shall vest in them, within the confines of this Law.
Article 16.- The Comptroller can delegate the exercise of certain powers to the officers working in the Comptroller’s Office. The acts by the deputed officers shall have the same effect as if they had been taken by the Comptroller himself and, consequently, no hierarchic appeal shall be admitted against such acts.
The delegatory officers can not, in turn, delegate their powers.
The delegation of powers envisaged in this Article, as well as its reversal, shall come into effect from the date on which it is published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA.
Article 17.- Regardless of the civil and penal responsibility that is incumbent on them, the officers and employees of the Comptroller’s Office are accountable in the following cases:
1. For omission, negligence or lack of skill in controlling the contracts that were submitted to the body;
2. For insufficiency of the sureties that were approved for guaranteeing the completion of the said contracts;
3. For omission, negligence or lack of skill in checking the payment orders;
4. For not demanding that the accounts that were not presented in the stipulated time period be sent, and for not putting pressure on the persons responsible for preparing and sending the accounts, inventories, reports and documents;
5. For negligence, omission or unjustified delay in the examination or closing of the accounts;
6. For not processing the objections or for not taking the necessary administrative steps to rectify them;
7. For the objections made to the accounts after they have been approved and sanctioned for closing. In this case, the auditors involved in examining the accounts shall be jointly and severely responsible. This responsibility shall arise when the fact of not having recorded an objection was due to inadequate examination, negligence or lack of skill of the auditor;
8. For the losses caused to the entities subject to the control of the Comptroller’s Office for not having demanded bonds from the employees who are required to provide them or for having accepted bonds that were not enough to cover the assigned amount;
9. For the losses caused to the public treasury for not having attended the trials and proceedings in which the legality of the decisions taken by the Comptroller’s Office were being discussed;
10. For the losses caused for not having followed up violations of which they had knowledge; or when the fact of having overlooked a violation or not having followed it up was due to negligence on the part of the officer in charge.
11. In general, for non-fulfilment of the duties assigned to them by the laws.
CHAPTER I
Control of National Expenditure
Article 18.- The Offices of the Executive, before proceeding to acquire goods or services, or before entering into other contracts implying financial commitments for the Republic, must submit these to the Comptroller’s Office for its approval.
Depending on the nature and modalities of the commitment, the Comptroller’s Office shall verify:
1. Whether the expenditure is correctly imputed to the relevant head of the budget or to additional legally authorised credits.
2. Whether there are funds available in the budget;
3. Whether the prices are fair and reasonable;
4. Whether the necessary guarantees have been included and whether they are sufficient to cover the obligations that the contractor must assume.
The contracts referred to in the heading of this Article can not be executed unless and until the stipulations contained in the corresponding financial commitments are approved.
Paragraph One: The Comptroller’s Office shall check the rest of the aspects of the contract for their legality and shall warn the contracting entity about any violations it might have observed in the suggested stipulations, clearly indicating the responsibilities that would result therefrom in case the contract were entered into without rectifying such irregularities. If the contracting entity differs from the criterion of the Comptroller’s Office, it must, within the following thirty (30) days, give reasons and justifications as to why it went ahead and signed the contract.
Article 19.- By means of a special law, those contract that are required for the implementation of certain projects may be excluded from a priori control for a period of time to be fixed by the law itself.
Article 20.- The Comptroller may exclude those commitments not exceeding four hundred thousand bolivars (Bs. 400,000.00) from the control referred to in Article 18. To this end, he shall lay down the cases and conditions under which such exemption would be applicable, as well as the requirements that must be met, in a Resolution that must be published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA, notwithstanding the a posteriori control that shall be conducted on such operations when the time comes.
Every year the Comptroller can revise the above mentioned figure, subject to the amount of the expenditure Budget for that financial year. In any case, the amount in question shall not be less than four (4) and not more than (5) bolivars per million bolivars of the total amount of the expenditure budget in question.
Article 21.- In situations of emergency, such as in the case of public calamities or internal or external conflict, and other similar cases, when it is a matter of urgent necessity to execute certain works or acquire certain goods without the prior consent of the Comptroller, the provisions contained in Article 18 shall not be applied. But the Executive Offices are nevertheless obliged to immediately inform the Comptroller’s Office about the circumstances leading to such expenditure, so that the Comptroller’s Office may proceed to take the control measures it deems appropriate within the limits of this Law.
Article 22.- When the contracts entered into by the Executive have to be authorised or approved by the Congress, or by one of the Houses, the approval of the Comptroller’s Office shall not be required for the said financial commitment. Nor will this approval be required in cases of acquisition of goods through expropriation for reasons of public or social utility, the price for which has been fixed in accordance with the rules laid down in the Law of Matter.
Article 23.- In case of early termination of the contracts referred to in Article 18, the office in question must immediately inform the Comptroller’s Office about the reasons for taking such a decision and attach the pertinent data and documents.
Article 24.- The payment orders issued against the National Treasury must be submitted to the Comptroller’s Office for its approval, without which they can not be paid. The Comptroller’s Office shall check:
1. Whether the payment orders were issued in accordance with the legal provisions and the rules;
2. Whether they are duly imputed to budget credits or to legally authorised additional credits;
3. Whether there are funds available in the budget;
4. Whether they have been issued to pay for expenditure already incurred and vouched for, except those payments relating to the advance salaries or advance payments to contractors and officers who make such advance payments, or any other advance payments ordered in accordance with the laws;
5. Whether they correspond to the credits effectively available to the payees.
Article 25.- The payment orders on account of advances of any type shall be liable to objection when the administrators or payers have not rendered an account of the previous advance payments under the conditions and in the time frame fixed by the controlling body. The use of these funds for purposes other than those laid down in the Law or in the regulations framed by the Comptroller, as well as the inadequate handling or late, incorrect or incomplete submission of accounts, shall entail administrative responsibility and shall give rise to an investigation, notwithstanding the sanctions that would be applied for submission of incorrect accounts.
Article 26.- The objections formulated by the Comptroller’s Office in the control of financial commitments, advances and payment orders must be recorded in a motivated decision.
Article 27.- Once an objection has been raised to a payment order and the objection has not been rectified by the officer issuing the order, it shall be the responsibility of the Council of Ministers to take a decision on the objection. If the Council of Ministers ratifies the order, something it can not do if the objection is based on insufficiency of funds in the budget, the Comptroller’s Office must process it. However, it shall attach a note to the payment order placing its objection on record along with the decision of the Council of Ministers and it shall immediately inform the Congress or the Delegated Commission.
Article 28.- The Expenditure meant for defence and security of the State, classified as such by the Rules framed by the National Executive, are exempted from the provisions pertaining to control as laid down in this Law. But the corresponding payment orders shall be checked by the Comptroller’s Office for purposes of determining whether they have been correctly imputed to the budget credits or to the additional legally sanctioned credits, whether there is availability of funds in the budget and whether the legal requirements in respect of the order have been met.
The Comptroller, or the Director General of the Comptroller’s Office, shall personally verify that each payment order really corresponds to expenditure meant for the defence or security the State.
Those Ministers whose offices are in charge of handling such expenditure as mentioned in this Article, are obliged to control the use of these funds and shall be personally responsible for the decisions taken in respect of such funds.
Article 29.- In cases of credit claims against the Republic, in which it is necessary to have the opinion of the Comptroller’s Office, the latter may dispense with the above mentioned requirement in all cases where the amount does not exceed fifty thousand bolivars. Such a decision shall be published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA and must specify the cases and conditions in which this exemption shall apply and the requirements that must be met. But the Executive must inform the Comptroller’s Office, at intervals to be fixed by the latter, about the credits included in this exemption that were honoured. When there are indications of a single credit having been split in order to avoid the foregoing requirement, the Comptroller’s Office shall initiate administrative inquiries with a view to fixing responsibilities in the case.
Article 30.- It is the duty of the Comptroller’s Office to selectively or comprehensively examine, as well as to certify and declare the closing of the expenditure account of the Treasury employees and other persons handling, managing or safekeeping national funds.
Article 31.-The purpose of examining the accounts shall be:
1. To check the correctness and accuracy of the operations;
2. To determine whether the pertinent legal provisions and the contractual stipulations, as the case may be, were complied with;
3. To establish whether there are indications of punishable acts having been committed and to ask the competent Courts and other authorities to impose the sanctions required in such a case, and compensation for the damage or losses that may have been caused;
4. To determine the mistakes or omissions that might exist in the said accounts.
CHAPTER II
Control of National Receipts
Article 39.- The Comptroller’s Office is in charge of conducting a comprehensive or selective examination, as well as certifying and closing the accounts of all the income pertaining to Treasury offices and employees.
Article 40.- The Comptroller’s Office shall see to it that credits of the Republic are paid in a timely manner. Lack of diligence, omission, delay or improper execution of the procedures to be followed by the administering entities with regard to such credits, shall give rise to the ensuing inquiry in order to fix responsibilities in the case. If the lapses have also caused losses for the Republic, the guilty parties shall be jointly liable, along with the debtor, for the refund of such losses.
Article 41.- When the National Executive decides to declare lapsed the delayed credits in favour of the Republic, it shall have to seek the prior opinion of the Comptroller’s Office. The same requirement must be applied to cases of total or partial cancellation of the delayed credits, cessions, concession of extensions for payment or implementation of any transaction related to the credits and to the interests that might have accrued.
Credits not exceeding fifty thousand bolivars are exempted from this stipulation. The Executive shall send, on a monthly basis, a list of the decisions taken under this provision of exemption to the Comptroller’s Office.
CHAPTER III
Control of National Assets
Article 42.- The acquisition, disposal, administration, safekeeping, recovery, refund and other operations, as well as the accounts records pertaining to national assets of any type, shall be subject to the control, vigilance and audit of the Comptroller’s Office, within the limits established by this Law.
Article 43.- The omission, delay, negligence or imprudence in adopting the measures required for the preservation and protection of national assets, shall entail the initiation of an administrative inquiry to fix the responsibilities of the case.
The Comptroller’s Office shall formulate the suggestions it considers necessary for the conservation, proper use, protection or recovery of national assets.
Article 44.- The judges, notaries, registrars and other functionaries must send the Comptroller’s Office certified copies of the documents presented to them, the texts of which suggest some claim in favour of the Republic, except where a competent audit officer was involved in executing such documents, and in such cases, he shall be the one responsible for executing the waiver.
Article 45.- In claims concerning the assets, rights and shares of any type belonging to the Republic, that are hidden or unknown or for any reason unduly in the possession of third parties or are being exercised by them, it shall be essential to obtain the opinion of the Comptroller’s Office before the Executive can decide on how to proceed with the claim.
Article 46.- The examination and the closing of the national assets accounts shall be governed by the procedures laid down in Chapter I of this Title.
CHAPTER IV
Control of National Public Debt
Article 47.- The Comptroller’s Office shall see to it that the administrative procedures with regard to the use of resources deriving from public credit operations are carried out in accordance with the relevant legal provisions. Similarly, it shall also control the destruction or cancellation of the securities or other documents that have been paid off or redeemed and, for such purpose, the National Executive shall inform the Comptroller’s Office in advance.
Article 48.- The Banco Central de Venezuela (Central Bank of Venezuela), as well as the other financial agents of the National Executive in matters of public credit, shall be accountable for their administration to the Comptroller’s Office, in the manner and within the limits indicated by it.
Article 49.- The Comptroller’s Office shall see to it that the funds deriving from public credit are used for the purposes sanctioned in the legislative authorisations and shall inform the Congress or the Delegated Commission in this regard.
Article 50.- Objections made to the receipts accounts in cases of mistake in the calculation of the tax base or in the appraisals, errors in the taxpayers’ declarations, non-settlement of contested receipt, errors in the settlements of receipts, non-payment of the settled receipts, omission of pecuniary sanctions or other cases of non-compliance with the fiscal laws, as well as objections to the other accounts, in general, must contain:
1. The identification of the person rendering the accounts, or the taxpayer or the responsible person, and the identification of the account that is being objected to;
2. The period to which the account corresponds and the date on which it was presented;
3. Determination of the nature of the objection, with an indication of the reasons;
4. The fixing of the amount of the objection;
5. Indication of the period in which to contest the objection in accordance with Article 101;
6. Any other information that is considered necessary on which to base the objection.
Article 51.- The notification of the objection, with the specifications listed in the foregoing Article, shall be sent to the person rendering the account and to the guarantor, as well as the taxpayer or the responsible party, if required. After receiving the notification, the interested parties shall have access to the relevant file.
Article 52.- When the objection is definitive, because it was not contested or due to absence of appeal at the right time as stipulated in Chapter II of Title VIII, the Comptroller’s Office shall declare the account closed and shall sent the records to the National Executive so that it may take steps to recover the money, either through administrative or legal action.
In the trial, the accused may object to all the exceptions relating to the legality of the act, besides those pertaining to common law.
Article 53.- The officers in charge of enforcing the settlement of the objections must immediately notify the Comptroller’s Office about the collection.
Article 54.- Once the bills of settlement issued on account of the objections have been paid, or the objections have been declared unfounded in a conclusive verdict, the Comptroller’s Office shall proceed to close the account.
Article 55.- The fact that the objection affects a taxpayer or a responsible person does not exclude the officers concerned from bearing responsibility for the mistakes committed in this respect.
Article 56.- The National Autonomous Institutes are subject to the control, vigilance and audit of the Comptroller’s Office, except if the rules governing them stipulate otherwise.
Article 57.-The Comptroller’s Office can conduct regular audits or set up permanent control units in the autonomous institutes vested with the powers assigned to them by the Comptroller, within the limits of this Law.
Article 58.- The Comptroller’s Office can set up modalities for preventive control in autonomous institutes when it notices that its observations and recommendations have not been properly heeded. It may also set up such control modalities with the consent of the President of the Republic when the protection of public interests so warrants.
Article 59.- When there is evidence of irregularities causing pecuniary losses to the autonomous institutes, the Comptroller’s Office can formulate the relevant objections, and in such cases it shall follow the procedures laid down in this Law, as far as they are applicable.
Article 60.- The autonomous institutes must submit to the Comptroller’s Office, within the period fixed by the latter, starting from the date of their financial year ending, the balance sheet and a profit and loss statement or statement of operations, the balance sheet and a profit and loss statement or statement of budgetary execution, as the case may be, along with a complete analysis of the accounts.
Article 61.- The Comptroller’s Office can carry out all the studies and investigations that it considers necessary for the evaluation of the financial administration of the autonomous institutes.
Article 62.- The result of the investigations carried out by the Comptroller’s Office in the autonomous institutes shall be informed to the Executive Office they come under and to the Congress, notwithstanding the right of the Comptroller’s Office to apply the pertinent sanctions or proceed to take legal action, if required.
Article 63.- For purposes of this Law, the officers and employees in charge of the administration and handling of public funds and other assets of autonomous institutes shall be considered employees of the Treasury.
Article 64.- In those enterprises where the Republic, the autonomous institutes and other public entities are participants, the Comptroller’s Office can only conduct audits and exercise control functions over the administration in order to check whether the activities of the mentioned enterprises meet the decisions taken, and the plans and objectives assigned to them. The Comptroller’s Office can exercise similar control on body corporates and other institutions promoted by public entities, in which State enterprises are participants.
Article 65.- The Comptroller’s Office can exercise the functions of inspection, audit and inquiries on the state and municipal administrations as laid down in Chapters II and III of Title VI of this Law. Similarly, it shall see to it that the regulations framed pursuant to Article 229 of the Constitution are applied, in order to co-ordinate their expenditure.
Article 66.- The result of the work done by the Comptroller’s Office in the States and Municipalities shall be communicated to the National Executive, the Legislative Assembly or the corresponding Council.
Article 67.- For purposes of bringing uniformity into the public administration accounting regulations and procedures, the Comptroller’s Office may prescribe the relevant instructions for the States and the Municipalities by a resolution to be published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA.
Similarly, it may render advise to the state and municipal Comptroller Offices in matters requested by them.
Article 68.- The officers in the States and Municipalities must sent the Comptroller’s Office the statements of accounts, inventories of assets, records and other information requested by it.
CHAPTER I
Fiscal Accounting
Article 69.- The Comptroller’s Office shall lay down the accounting systems for all the branches and departments of the bodies subject to its control. For this purpose it shall prescribe the books, registers and forms to be used as well as the procedures for maintaining the accounts and the time frames in which they must be presented, through instructions and models that shall be published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA.
The accounting systems shall be finalised in co-ordination with the National Executive. For this purpose, the National Executive must maintain a centralised accounts system in the Finance Ministry. Nevertheless, the autonomous institutes and other decentralised bodies shall prepare their own accounting systems and shall submit them to the Executive Council and the Comptroller’s Office for their approval.
Article 70.- The Comptroller’s Office shall centralise the accounts of all the departments subject to its control, that administer, are in charge of safekeeping or handling funds or other national assets. It shall see to it that the provisions laid down in respect of accounting are applied and it shall answer any queries posed to it.
Article 71.- The Comptroller’s Office shall be responsible for directing the preparation and overseeing the updating of the inventories of assets belonging to the public administration departments.
Article 72.- The Comptroller’s Office shall prepare the balance sheet of the national public treasury and other financial statements that it deems appropriate.
Article 73.- The Comptroller’s Office must undertake periodic evaluation of the systems it has recommended and introduce the necessary modifications to bring about uniformity in government accounting regulations and procedures.
Article 74.- The Comptroller’s Office can order any modifications that it considers necessary in the accounts registers of the bodies subject to its control, who shall then be obliged to incorporate them in the period fixed for doing so, unless they can prove the illegality of such modifications.
CHAPTER II
Inspections and Audits
Article 75.- The Comptroller’s Office may, within the limits of this Law, carry out inspections in the public entities, departments and administrative bodies subject to its control, for purposes of verifying the legality and sincerity of their financial operations.
Article 76.- In the exercise of its control duties, the Comptroller’s Office can carry out those audits that it considers necessary in the places, establishments, buildings, vehicles, books and documents belonging to natural or artificial persons that are taxpayers or that in any way enter into contracts, negotiate or maintain operations with the Republic, the States, the Municipalities, the autonomous institutions and the State undertakings subject to the control of the Comptroller’s Office, or that are, in any manner, involved in the administration, handling or safekeeping of assets or funds belonging to such entities.
Article 77.- The Comptroller General can make use of the methods of perceptive control that might be required in order to verify the operations of the public entities subject to its control, that in some way or the other are related to the settlement and collection of receipts, handling and use of funds, administration of assets, acquisition and disposal of the same, as well as execution of contracts.
The objective of the verification referred to in this Article shall not just be to check the sincerity of the facts as regards their existence and effective implementation, but also to examine whether the records and relevant accounting systems adhere to the recommended legal and technical provisions.
Article 78.- The Comptroller’s Office is empowered to make sure that the contributions, subsidies and other transfers made by the Republic and autonomous institutes to other public and private entities are invested in the purposes for which they were made. To this end, it can carry out inspections and set up such control systems as it considers appropriate.
Article 79.- Accounts of entities or companies that are in the trust or under the guardianship of the Republic, are subject to the control and vigilance of the Comptroller’s Office in respect of their financial administration.
Article 80.- The subsidiary banks of the National Treasury shall be subject to the control, vigilance and auditing of the Comptroller’s Office in respect of the operations they carry out on account of the Treasury.
CHAPTER III
Administrative Inquiries
Article 81.- The Comptroller’s Office can conduct inquiries into any case where there are indications that public or private officers in charge of, or involved in, the administration, handling or custody of assets or funds of the entities subject to its control, have engaged in acts, facts or omissions that are in conflict with a legal or regulatory requirement, including the internal regulations of a general nature, even the rules laid down in the organisation’s handbook, systems and procedures. This inquiry can be conducted even when the concerned persons have ceased to hold office.
Article 82.- In the cases referred to in the foregoing Article, the Comptroller’s Office shall put together a case that will end in a stay of proceedings, acquittal or administrative responsibility, depending on the case. In the case of those decisions declaring administrative responsibility, the required pecuniary sanction shall be imposed in accordance with Title IV of the "Organic Law for the Protection of Public Property".
Article 83.- Once the inquiry has been started, the Comptroller’s office shall put together the testimonies, expert appraisals and other elements of judgement that it deems necessary to throw light on the facts. If in the course of this task, certain indications were to appear against any person, the Comptroller’s Office shall order that person to appear within ten (10) days following the date of the summons, and at that time it shall record his testimony and frame the charges against him. If the person being investigated does not appear to give testimony, the sanction provided for in Article 94 of this law shall be imposed, notwithstanding the continuation of the inquiry even in his absence.
Article 84.- Once the decision determining administrative responsibility is final, the ruling and the rest of the documents shall be sent to the competent officer so that he, in a period of thirty (30) days, may reasonably apply the corresponding disciplinary sanction, on which he shall provide a written report to the Comptroller’s Office.
The ruling of administrative responsibility by virtue of which the sanction of removal from office is applied, can also lead to disqualification from the exercise of any public function for a period of not more than three (3) years to be fixed by the competent officer depending on the seriousness of the mistake and the amount of the losses caused. This sanction of disqualification can be applied, in the above mentioned case, even when the person who has been held responsible is no longer in the position of public function, in which case, the officer empowered to impose it shall be the highest authority of the body where the facts occurred.
Article 85.- The procedure for which guidelines have been provided under this Title does not prevent taking the corresponding civil and penal action immediately in the ordinary courts where the cases shall run their own course. No objection may be entertained due to non-fulfilment of the requirements or formalities stipulated in this Law. In such cases where in the course of the mentioned inquiry, irregularities in the handling of funds and assets, or in the preparation of accounts are observed, they shall be immediately informed to the appropriate department in the Comptroller’s Office so that the objection procedure may be started, if required.
Article 86.- If from the administrative inquiry, indications emerge suggesting civil or penal responsibility after the substantiation which was considered essential has been completed, the file shall be sent to the competent authorities so that they may take the relevant action.
Article 87.- The steps taken by the Comptroller’s Office, including the evidence recorded, have probatory value as long as they are not disproved in the legal discussion.
Nevertheless, at the government’s initiative or at the instance of the Prosecutor in the Public Ministry or at the initiative of any of the parties, the competent Court shall once again examine the witnesses who testified before the Comptroller’s Office.
In case confirmation of the oral evidence is asked for, but is not provided, such evidence shall be appraised in its totality as presumption.
Article 88.- A confession made before the Comptroller’s Office shall have the same value as that made before the Court and can be used against the person making it, as long as the circumstances indicated in Article 247 of the Code of Criminal Prosecution are present.
Article 89.- When the Comptroller’s Office, in the course of an administrative inquiry, needs to take a statement from any person, it shall issue a summons and shall record the statement of the person appearing before it. The person summoned to give a statement before the Comptroller’s Office is obliged to appear and give his statement in the same manner laid down for witnesses or indictees, as the case may be, in the common law of procedure.
Article 90.- The persons exempted from appearing before the Comptroller’s Office and giving a statement are: the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the Congress and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The following categories of people are exempted from having to go to the Comptroller’s Office but not from testifying: Congressmen and Deputies of the Legislative Assemblies as long as their immunity lasts; Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice; the Chief Election Officer and members of the Election Commission; Ministers; the Secretary General of the President of the Republic, the Attorney General of the Republic, the Governors of the States, Federal Territories and Federal District; High Court and First Instance Court judges; the chiefs of the armed forces having jurisdiction and command of arms and the Archbishops and Bishops. When statements from these people are required, the Comptroller shall decide how and when the replies of these people shall be recorded in their own offices.
Article 91.- The Comptroller’s Office can abstain from continuing to hear administrative investigations when the amount of the presumed loss does not exceed one hundred thousand bolivars (Bs. 100,000.00), in which case it shall transfer the case with the relevant records to the competent authority so that it may proceed with the investigations. The Comptroller’s Office can continue the inquiry or investigation in those cases in which no pecuniary loss was caused when in its opinion it is necessary to fix administrative responsibility or to gather evidence of civil or penal responsibility against the persons being investigated.
Article 92.- Notwithstanding the powers conferred on the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the organs of internal control in the Ministries, as well as the bodies and entities referred to in points 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Article 4 of the Organic Law for the Protection of Public Property, must initiate and substantiate administrative inquiries when there is evidence of public officers or private persons, who are in charge of, or involved in any way, in the administration, handling or custody of public property, have committed such acts, facts or omissions as those indicated in Article 81.
The decision pertaining to these inquiries shall be the responsibility of the highest authority in the hierarchy of the concerned body, except when the evidence found leads to presumption of administrative responsibility of Ministers, Directors of Ministries, Presidents and Members of the Boards of Directors of Autonomous Institutes, government societies and foundations, in which case it must sent the file to the Comptroller’s Office so that it can take a decision on the inquiry.
Paragraph One.- In order for the bodies referred to in the first part of this Article to institute and proceed with an administrative inquiry, the regulations laid down in the provisions of the foregoing Chapter shall be applicable, with the exception of the provisions of Article 91. If from the inquiry, evidence were to arise of civil or penal responsibility, necessary steps will be taken to substantiate the evidence and the file will be forwarded to the competent authorities.
Paragraph Two.- The above mentioned organs of internal control must inform the Comptroller’s Office about the investigations being conducted, as well as the decisions resulting from the same and shall forward the relevant file in case the Comptroller’s Office decides to directly conduct the investigations or continue the ones already initiated by the mentioned organs of internal control.
Paragraph Three.- In the decision declaring administrative responsibility, the pecuniary sanctions mentioned in Title IV of the Organic Law for the Protection of Public Property shall be applied.
The decisions of acquittal or stay of proceedings can be reviewed by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic. Such decisions shall be notified to the interested parties thirty (30) days after the date on which this Body was informed. Once this period has lapsed, the Comptroller’s Office can not intervene in the inquiry.
When the Comptroller’s Office decides to exercise the power of review conferred on it by this provision, it must inform the concerned entity about its agreement or disagreement with the decision through a motivated Decision within the stipulated period. If the Decision is one of disagreement, the Comptroller’s Office shall directly take up the investigation and take whatever steps it deems relevant to resolve the case.
CHAPTER IV
Register of Public Employees
Article 93.- The Comptroller’s Office shall maintain the register of public officers and employees for control purposes. For this purpose, all appointments shall be communicated to the Comptroller’s Office by the officer making the appointments.
Article 94.- Depending on each case, the seriousness of the mistake and the entity suffering the losses caused, the Comptroller General shall impose fines of up to one hundred thousand bolivars (Bs. 100,000.00) on:
1. Those who hamper or prevent the Comptroller’s Office in the performance of its duties;
2. Those who repeatedly commit mistakes or omissions in the processing of matters they have to submit to the Comptroller’s Office for its consideration;
3. Those who did not appear, without a justified reason, when they were summoned by the Comptroller’s Office;
4. Those who, being required to send reports, books and documents to the Comptroller’s Office, did not do so in time;
5. Those who do not send the reports, books and documents required from them by the Comptroller’s Office within the stipulated time;
6. Those who do not allow inspection or audit related visits of officers from the Comptroller’s Office or who not furnish them the books, invoices and other documents they require for the performance of their control functions;
7. Those who, being required to furnish accounts, do not do so at the right time without a justified reason, or who repeatedly present them in an incorrect manner or do not afford the facilities required for examination of the same;
8. Those who employ public funds that they are in charge of administering, handling or safekeeping, for purposes other than those for which they were authorised by the Law, by the rules or by administrative acts;
9. Those who, in general, go against the provisions given in this Law.
Article 95.- While the administrative inquiry is going on, the Comptroller may ask that the re-offending officers or employees be removed from office or suspended in the exercise of their duties, when the seriousness of the facts so warrants.
Article 96.- The foregoing sanctions shall be applied notwithstanding the application of other sanctions devolving on officers or employees who have incurred in administrative responsibility.
CHAPTER I
General Provisions
Article 97.- The Comptroller, and the officers acting by delegation of power, may, at government initiative or at the request of one of the parties, reconsider their decision on grounds of legality or merit. Reconsideration shall not be allowed if an appeal has already been filed under the jurisdiction for suits under administrative law and is awaiting a decision. When reconsideration is the reason behind an appeal, the appeal must be filed, in writing along with justifications, within ten (10) days following the date on which the interested party came to know of the act.
Article 98.- The filing of the appeal for reconsideration shall not be a prerequisite for executive action to be considered exhausted.
Article 99.- An appeal for revision is permissible even against decisions that were deemed final due to lapsing of the period in which an appeal was to be filed under administrative law or because it was jurisdictionally dismissed. This appeal can only be filed before the Comptroller and must be based on supervening facts or facts that were unknown at the time of taking the decision. No appeal, whether administrative or jurisdictional, shall be admitted against the decision of the review appeal.
Article 100.- The filing of the appeals envisaged in this law against the decisions of the Comptroller’s Office do not prevent the Comptroller from executing his decisions under his own responsibility.
CHAPTER II
Appeal against Objections
Article 101.- The person rendering the account, the guarantor and the taxpayer or the responsible party, as the case may be, must reply to the objections within a period of thirty continuous (30) days starting from the date of the notification, plus the period of the distance, calculated at two hundred kilometres per day.
If there is no reply in the stipulated time, it shall be understood as agreement with the objection.
Article 102.- If the interested party alleges that the objection is due to irregularities committed by employees under his orders and if he provides sufficient evidence to that effect, the Comptroller’s Office, by a reasoned decision, shall dismiss the objection and proceed to formulate a new one and notify the correct person.
Article 103.- If the interested party contradicts the objection, the Comptroller’s Office, through a reasoned decision that will exhaust executive action, shall confirm, reform or revoke it. This decision shall be notified to the interested party.
Article 104.- An appeal of plenary jurisdiction before the Courts of administrative law can be filed against the decision of the Comptroller’s Office confirming or reforming the objection within a period of forty-five (45) continuous days starting from the date of the notice. In the hearing of this case, the judge may examine the circumstances determining the responsibility which is being contested.
Article 105.- The Court, on the very day that the appeal is filed, or at the next hearing, shall admit the appeal and order the Comptroller and the Attorney General of the Republic to be summoned. It shall also issue orders to the Comptroller to hand over the administrative file.
Both the Court summons as well as the notice shall be sent along with a copy of the petition and the documents accompanying the petition.
Article 106.- In the next hearing after the summons have been served, or after receiving the file, if that happens at a later date, the case shall be open for a period of ten (10) hearings to call for proof and twenty (20) to furnish proof, plus the time of the distance calculated in accordance with Article 101.
Article 107.- There shall be no cause for the opening of the probatory period when, in the opinion of the Court, the matter is merely one of right or when the representative for the Comptroller’s Office and the interested party agree.
Article 108.- Once the probatory term is over, the Court shall fix one of the three (3) subsequent hearings so that the reports of the parties may be heard. Once the reports are over, the Judge shall study the file for a period of sixty (60) consecutive days, extendible by thirty (30) consecutive days, through an express writ. During this period he can issue a writ to take a better decision.
Article 109.- Within the ten (10) hearings following the period fixed for studying the file, or after the completion of the writ for better decision, the Court shall give its decision.
Article 110.- With regard to everything that is not envisaged in the foregoing Articles, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall prevail, as far as possible.
Article 112.- Notwithstanding the powers of the Attorney General of the Republic, the Comptroller’s Office can depute representatives to any Court to defend the rights and interests of the Administration in the trials referred to in this Title.
