Shimla: Himachal State Election Commission has appointed Deputy Commissioner, Shimla as authorized officer with whom election expenses shall be lodged by the contesting candidates under Section 13-B of Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994.
Every contesting candidate or his authorized agent could incur expenditure up to a maximum limit of Rs. 15,000 under Rule 34 of H.P. Municipal (Election) Rules, 1994. The account of expenditure shall be kept in a register as per the form No. 25 and account of expenditure maintained in Form No. 26.
All expenditure by the candidates or his/her authorized election agent on all the items of expenditure maintained in Form-26 shall be included in the aforesaid account of election expenditure.
All documents such as vouchers, receipts, acknowledgments etc. in support of expenditure incurred and recorded in the register shall be maintained correctly.
Account of all expenditure in connection with the election incurred between the date on which he/she has been nominated and the date of declaration of results thereof, both days inclusive, have to be maintained by all the contesting candidates.
Day-to-day account shall be made available to the Returning Officer or any other officer authorized by him for inspection at any time during the process of elections. Every candidate of his agent, within thirty days from the date of declaration of results of Municipal Corporation, Shimla shall lodge with the Deputy Commissioner Shimla an account of election expenses failing which it will be treated as corrupt practice under Section 21 of the Act, he added.
Deputy Commissioner Shimla will supply relevant forms for this purpose to the candidates at the time of filing of nomination papers by the contestant.
