Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Head

n/a

Role

Chairman

Annual budget

n/a

Staff

n/a

Established

1973

Legal basis

Article 76 of the Constitution of Bangladesh (empowers Jatiya Sangsad to appoint standing committees); Article 128(1) of the Constitution (CAG submits audit reports to the President, who causes them to be laid before Parliament, whereupon they are referred to PAC); Comptroller and Auditor General (Additional Functions) Act, 1974 (Section 5). Committee members are elected by the Sangsad itself.

The committee is currently focused on the operationalization of the Public Accounts Audit Bill 2026 to modernize parliamentary scrutiny of public expenditures.

The PAC is one of only two standing committees explicitly required by the Constitution of Bangladesh (the other is the Privileges Committee). It is established under Article 76, with its audit function flowing from Article 128(1) -- CAG reports go to the President, who lays them before Parliament, which refers them to the PAC. Members are elected by the Sangsad (not nominated by the Speaker). In past parliaments, the committee comprised 8-15 members; the chairmanship by convention goes to an opposition member in Westminster systems, but Bangladesh practice has historically varied. The 13th Jatiya Sangsad (BNP majority) convened its first session on 12 March 2026; committee appointments follow the first session but the PAC chairmanship for the 13th parliament has not been confirmed in any indexed primary source as of 2026-05-17 -- current_head is null to reflect this. The 38 audit reports submitted on 5 May 2026 by CAG Md Nurul Islam cover FY2021-22 for 17 ministries/divisions; constitutional procedure requires them to be laid before Parliament and referred to PAC for formal examination. The Rooppur pillow scam (Tk 36 crore procurement irregularity in the Green City residential building, Pabna) and Karnaphuli Tunnel tree-planting disbursement (Tk 50 crore disbursed, no trees found) are among the highest-profile items in the current audit cycle. The ACC has separately filed cases regarding Karnaphuli Tunnel against former minister Obaidul Quader and three others (financial loss: approximately Tk 585 crore from three non-essential components). Established_year set to 1973, the year of the first Jatiya Sangsad, as the committee has existed since Bangladesh's inaugural parliament.