Streamlining SNA SPARSH: New Rejection Reasons Added to PFMS

Published: February 4, 2026

The Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, has recently issued an Office Memorandum (File No. I-126/1/2022-ITD-CGA/166) regarding significant updates to the Public Financial Management System (PFMS). These updates aim to improve the efficiency of fund releases between the Centre and States under the SNA SPARSH framework.

The Problem: Previously, States often received rejected claims without clear explanations, leading to manual follow-ups and delays in releasing the Centre’s share of funds.

Enhanced Transparency in Claim Rejections

To ensure "Just-in-time" fund flow, the Controller General of Accounts has introduced four additional reasons for claim rejections on PFMS:

• Insufficient Balance: When the Centre’s Budget Head lacks funds as per the Mother Sanction.
• Incorrect Budget Head: When a claim is generated under a head not specified in the Mother Sanction.
• Incorrect Scheme Component: Errors in selecting the specific component during claim generation.
• State-Requested Rejection: For instances where a State inadvertently submits a file and requests its return.

Summary of Available Return Reasons

Reason for Return	Context for Selection
Fund Sharing Pattern Mismatch	Sharing pattern differs from official scheme guidelines.
Top-up Capture Errors	Top-up amounts were not entered in the separate designated field.
Budget Exceedance	Gross payment exceeds the Mother Sanction’s balance.
Incorrect Head/Component	Claims raised against unauthorized budget heads or components.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for PD Checkers

Authorized PD Checkers can now follow these steps on the PFMS portal to return claims with specific discrepancies:

1. Navigate to Mother Sanctions → SNA SPARSH Mother Sanction Summary.
2. Select the relevant Centrally Sponsored Scheme and State.
3. Filter the File Status as "Pending" to view active claims.
4. Select the discrepant file and click the "Return" button.
5. Choose one or multiple reasons from the new mandatory remarks pop-up.

Once returned, States can use the Reconciliation API to view the updated status on their respective IFMIS platforms.

Official Documentation

For the full list of instructions and Annexures, download the original Office Memorandum below:

Download PDF (ITD166dt04022026.pdf)

Disclaimer

Educational Purpose Only: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only.

Accuracy & Mistakes: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content based on the official Memorandum, Human errors or omissions may occur. We do not warrant the completeness or reliability of this information.

No Liability: Under no circumstances shall the author or this website be held liable for any loss or damage (including financial loss) arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information presented here.

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