Administrative Agreement 002-2019-Superior Court of Accounts
Congreso Nacional
- Decree: ADM-002-2019
- Published: February 14, 2020
- Issuing body: Congreso Nacional
- Gazette: 35,175
- Category: Financial & Tax
Summary
This regulation establishes rules for managing, allocating, and controlling public funds intended for social, community, and infrastructure projects through government institutions, municipalities, and deputies. It defines who can receive these funds, what can be financed, how to request and disburse them, and how to account for them, with audits by the Superior Court of Accounts to ensure transparency and sanctions for misuse.
Considerations
That through Legislative Decree Number 156-2018, the Organic Law of the Legislative Branch dated November 8, 2018, was reformed, through which Article 81-A was introduced, which creates the Departmental Social Fund, as a permanent program of social projection of Deputies in all communities of their departments, intended for the execution of programs, projects and any Social assistance that positively impacts the living conditions of inhabitants. Said article establishes that a Special Law shall regulate everything related to this Fund. WHEREAS: The Conventions ratified by Honduras commit it to the adoption, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its domestic law, of the measures that are necessary, including legislative and administrative measures, to guarantee the fulfillment of the obligations of the Entities responsible for preventing, impeding, combating and punishing acts of corruption. Warning the corrupt that it will no longer be tolerated that the trust of public opinion be betrayed. Reiterating in the instruments that it adopts the importance of fundamental values such as honesty, respect for the rule of law, the obligation to render accounts and transparency to promote development in order to avoid corruption and to return the benefits obtained, and that in the future, corrupt officials will have fewer options to hide their illicit gains.
That the National Congress through Decree No. 156-2018 published in the Official Newspaper, La Gaceta, on October 18, 2019, in order to avoid ambiguities and guarantee greater legal certainty that regulates the management, allocation, settlement and rendering of accounts of public funds for social projects in attention to the power established in article 205 of the Constitution, issued the Special Law for the Management, Allocation, Execution, Settlement and Rendering of Accounts of Public Funds for Projects of Social Order, Community, Infrastructure and Social Programs.
That the Special Law for the Management, Allocation, Execution, Settlement and Rendering of Accounts of Public Funds for Projects of Social Order, Community, Infrastructure and Social Programs, in its article 20, requires that the Superior Court of Accounts shall issue the Regulation of said Law within a period of thirty (30) days counted from the date of its publication.
That the issuance and approval of internal regulatory standards on the exercise of the powers constitutionally conferred to the Superior Court of Accounts is the responsibility of the Plenary of Magistrates as the superior hierarchical body.
Articles
PURPOSE OF THE FUNDS. The funds subject to the Law are the following:
- a)
Construction and improvement of infrastructure in schools; public health care centers; parks, ranches and sports centers, streets and roads, sidewalks and street cleaning, roads and ditches; markets; drinking water projects, sewerage and drainage boxes, electrification and public lighting;
- b)
Construction and improvement of housing, floors, roofs, cisterns, walls, latrines, fumigation against insects causing epidemic diseases;
- c)
Mitigation of diseases from natural disasters;
- d)
Execution of special programs of the State of Honduras;
- e)
Training for the strengthening of democracy, values, civic coexistence, equity, human rights and others;
- f)
Economic and infrastructure support to patronatos, churches, water boards, municipalities, rural credit unions and community associations;
- g)
Delivery of uniforms and educational and sports implements, supplies and furniture, food provisions, medicines and economic assistance to sectors in conditions of vulnerability;
- h)
Artistic, cultural and national identity activities (muralism, arts fairs, music, painting, museums, cultural centers and others); and,
- i)
Seed capital for microenterprises.
APPLICATION FOR ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. Applications for allocation of funds must be submitted to Public Institutions of the Central Government, Decentralized Public Institutions, Municipal Corporations and the National Congress, with the following documents:
- a)
Application for funds and Project Profile, with execution schedule and disbursements;
- b)
Amount required;
- c)
Copy of personal documents and certification of status as public official and/or managing Deputy;
- d)
Copy of documents to prove the identity of the executor (natural or legal person);
- e)
Bank certification showing the special account enabled to receive public funds, which account must be used in a unique and exclusive manner for the execution of the project;
- f)
Others that may be required in relation to the type of project.
APPROVAL OF RESOURCES. The respective institution of the Central Government, Decentralized Institutions, Municipal Corporations and/or the National Congress, having identified and analyzed the projects, must resolve by approving or denying the application for funds. Once the allocation of funds is approved, the institution must proceed to disburse the resources in accordance with what is established in the following article. However, if at the beginning of the management of projects or social assistance these cease to be priorities for the community or group of persons to benefit, prior authorization from the respective institution must be obtained to reassign to another project or social assistance, justifying the change of destination of the same by evidencing the positive social impact of the modification of the item, the benefit or beneficiaries of the project or social assistance; making the corresponding adjustments for its respective settlement.
DISBURSEMENT OF RESOURCES. For each disbursement the applicant must present to the respective institution the disbursement request with the following documentation: 1) For the first disbursement the following is required:
- a)
Projection of the progress of the work or project or social assistance to be carried out with that disbursement;
- b)
Receipt directed to the respective institution, for the amount of the disbursement. 2) For second or subsequent disbursements the following is required: a) Financial settlement report of the first disbursement and so on successively until completion. If there are balances from the final settlement of the project, these will be reimbursed to the respective institution. Disbursements shall be made by means of transfer carried out by the respective institution, to the single account enabled by the executor, in accordance with the amounts or percentages established in the approval of the project. The respective institution is empowered to request at any time additional information that it deems necessary from the beneficiary institutions.
RESPONSIBILITY IN THE EXECUTION OF FUNDS. The execution of the transferred funds is the direct responsibility of the executor to whom they have been awarded.
SETTLEMENT OF FUNDS. The final settlement of the project must be made by the executor before the respective institution, accompanying for such purpose a settlement report of the project or assistance and all necessary documents that prove the execution of the project. Such settlements shall be subject at all times to any type of review and audit by the Superior Court of Accounts, for the fulfillment of the obligations and attributions that by law correspond to this entity. The final financial settlement report shall contain the following information:
- a)
Period covered by the execution;
- b)
Description of the project subject to settlement;
- c)
Approved project budget;
- d)
Amount transferred;
- e)
Amount executed;
- f)
Execution plan and schedule of activities; and, g) Other information that the respective institution deems convenient. The Audit Firms authorized by the National Banking and Insurance Commission may prepare through an audit the final financial settlement report, which shall always be subject to the review and audit related in the previous paragraph. For the purpose of complementing the settlement of the funds granted, in addition to the financial settlement, executors may, when appropriate, present a Physical Settlement Report, which must contain the following information:
- a)
Period covered by the physical execution report;
- b)
Number of persons who have already received the benefit of the program or number of persons projected to be benefited;
- c)
Detail of projects executed;
- d)
Photographs reflecting their condition before, during and after the work was completed; and,
- e)
Other information that the respective institution deems convenient.
- a)
CONTROL MEASURES. For the purpose of guaranteeing efficiency and effectiveness in the execution of funds, the respective institution must establish the necessary control measures to make transparent the management of resources. The Superior Court of Accounts, in accordance with Article 222 of the Constitution of the Republic, is the entity in charge of control and audit of resources allocated based on this law to the Public Institutions of the Central Government and/or Decentralized Institutions, Municipal Corporations and the National Congress. For such purpose, it shall instruct the Internal Audit Units of each of the Public Institutions to follow up on, supervise and resolve internal consultations regarding the funds that are allocated for the purposes of this Law.
AUDIT OR SPECIAL INVESTIGATION. For the settlement and accountability of the funds referred to in Article 3 of the Law, the respective Audit Departments are instructed to proceed, within a maximum period of three (3) years from the publication of Legislative Decree Number 116-2019, with the execution of audits and special investigations in accordance with the Guiding Frameworks and Audit Manuals in effect issued by the Court, regarding the aforementioned funds, whether or not these have been settled; for which the interested parties must present all corresponding documentation before the Superior Court of Accounts (TSC), which includes among others: Department and Municipality where the Project was executed, list of beneficiaries if these are natural persons or designation of the community if it was a community project, in the case of a project attaching if possible photographs of the progress, execution or completion of the work, in the case of assistance presenting a list of beneficiaries. The execution of the Audits or Special Investigations must consider what is established in Board of Directors Resolution of the National Congress No. 006-2010, of December 1, 2010.
PROCEDURE. Once the audit and special investigation by the Superior Court of Accounts (TSC) have been completed, ordered in the previous Article and the Court determines that all of the funds have been executed correctly, it shall so record in the corresponding Report, extending to the interested party the Certificate of Solvency or Full Discharge, which exempts from any type of civil, criminal or administrative responsibility in relation to the funds audited by this Court. If the Court determines that all or part of the executed funds have not been properly settled, it shall record it in that manner in the relevant Report, indicating the amount of economic damage caused to the State of Honduras, notifying the interested party of such circumstance, informing him that the Superior Court of Accounts, in accordance with the law, grants him a period to repair the determined damage in accordance with the table established in the following article. If the investigated party does not accept the Payment Agreement indicated by the Superior Court of Accounts, a Bill of Civil Liability shall be issued, which shall follow the administrative procedure established in the Organic Law of the Superior Court of Accounts and its Regulations; this Court must also establish Criminal and Administrative Responsibility if appropriate. Once the Report related in the previous paragraph is notified and the Payment Agreement is accepted by the investigated party, once the period is concluded and the full payment of the same is made by the responsible party, the Superior Court of Accounts shall issue the Certificate of Solvency or Full Discharge, which exempts from any type of civil, criminal or administrative responsibility in relation to the funds audited by this Court. If, once the payment period established in the subscribed Agreement is concluded, and the audited person has not paid the amount determined in the audit or special investigation indicated in the preceding Article, they shall be subject to Civil Responsibility, and a Bill of Responsibility shall be issued in accordance with what is established in our legal system, with the procedure established in said legal entity being followed, without prejudice to the administrative responsibility that may apply; in the event that indications of criminal responsibility are determined, notification shall be made to the competent authority in accordance with our current regulations. Once the above is done and the resolution issued by the Court is final, a fine of 2% shall be applied on the total amount not cleared plus the interest determined by the Superior Court of Accounts, so that the amount plus the fine shall be deposited with the General Treasury of the Republic by the audited person.
PERIODS FOR EXECUTION OF PAYMENT AGREEMENTS. To comply with the Payment Agreements established in the previous Article, the following is established:
The respective Audit Departments are instructed to proceed, within the term indicated in Legislative Decree Number 116-2019, with the execution of the audit or special investigation indicated, authorizing said Departments to expand their Annual Operating Plan in order to include the aforementioned Investigation. The results of the Investigations referred to above shall be notified by the corresponding legal means as the pertinent Reports are being issued, so that within the period specified above the mandate emanating from the National Congress is completed.
The respective Audit Departments for the execution of the task indicated above must adhere to what is provided in the Organic Law of the Superior Court of Accounts, its General Regulations; and, to the General Norms of Internal and External Audit and Guiding Frameworks of Internal and External Governmental Control in Effect.
Once the process of Planning of the Audit or Special Investigation is completed, public and private institutions, NGOs, OPDs, Foundations, Patronatos, churches, water boards, Municipalities, community associations and in general all those natural or legal persons who in any capacity received or managed public funds, whatever their origin, related in Article 16 of the Law, must within the term of forty-five (45) business days, counted from the entry into force of this Regulation, deliver to the Superior Court of Accounts all documentation related to said funds. By virtue of this, the documents concerning the settlements of the funds indicated in this Article must be presented before this Auditing Entity, ex officio or at the request of this Court for the purposes of the respective investigation.
Related laws
- Decreto Legislativo No. 56-2019 — Ley del Heroico y Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Honduras (Decree 56-2019, 2020)
- Law of the Heroic and Meritorious Fire Department of Honduras. — This law modernizes the organization and functions of Honduras' Fire Department, creating the National Fire Academy, establishing a professional career for permanent and volunteer firefighters, and defining their rights, duties, and hierarchical structure. It benefits the entire population by guaranteeing professional, permanent, and uninterrupted prevention, firefighting, rescue, and emergency response services throughout the national territory. (Decree 56-2019, 2020)
- Administrative Agreement 003-2021-TSC — This regulation establishes the operating rules for the Supreme Audit Court, the institution that oversees and controls how government, municipalities, and public entities use state money and resources. It defines its powers to investigate spending, detect corruption and illicit enrichment, ensuring that public funds are administered legally, efficiently, and transparently. (Decree 10-2002, 2021)
- Acuerdo Ejecutivo No. STLCC-SG-AM-039-2025 — Guía de Control Interno de Buenas Prácticas para el Fomento, Desarrollo e Inclusión de Personas con Discapacidad en el Sector Público (Decree STLCC-SG-AM-039-2025, 2025)
- Decreto Legislativo No. null — Presupuesto General de Ingresos y Egresos de la República para el Ejercicio Fiscal 2022 — This law establishes Honduras' budget of income and expenses for 2022. It authorizes borrowing, allocates own revenues to public institutions for their operations, regulates how funds are spent, and allows flexibility in the use of internal and external credits for post-COVID economic reactivation. (Decree null, 2022)