Representation of the People Act, 1951 | Part V, Chapter VIII

Section 78: Lodging Election Expense Accounts with the District Election Officer

Section 78 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires every contesting candidate to lodge a true copy of the election expenditure account maintained under Section 77 with the District Election Officer within the statutory time limit.

Text of Section 78 - Lodging of account with the district election officer

Section 78(1). Every contesting candidate at an election shall, within thirty days from the date of election of the returned candidate or, if there are more than one returned candidate at the election and the dates of their election are different, the later of those two dates, lodge with the district election officer an account of his election expenses which shall be a true copy of the account kept by him or by his election agent under section 77.

Who must file and when?

The obligation applies to every contesting candidate, including candidates who lose the election. The account must be lodged within 30 days of the election of the returned candidate. If an election returns more than one candidate on different dates, the period is reckoned from the later date specified in Section 78. It is the candidate's obligation even if an election agent maintained the underlying records.

What account must be submitted?

The filing must be a true copy of the separate and correct account maintained by the candidate or election agent under Section 77. Section 77 covers election expenditure incurred or authorised by the candidate or election agent during the prescribed period, and requires compliance with the statutory expenditure ceiling. The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, particularly Rules 86 to 90, prescribe accounting particulars, supporting documents, inspection and related procedures.

Practical filing procedure

Maintain the day-to-day election expenditure register, bills, vouchers and supporting records in the form required by the election rules and applicable Election Commission directions.
Reconcile the final account with the records kept under Section 77, including expenses incurred or authorised during the relevant period.
Submit the prescribed account and supporting documents to the appropriate District Election Officer within the 30-day period and retain evidence of submission.
Respond to any lawful scrutiny or request for clarification by the election authorities.

Prescribed formats and procedural instructions should be checked against the Election Commission's current candidate expenditure-monitoring directions for the election concerned.

Consequences of non-compliance - Section 10A

Under Section 10A, where the Election Commission is satisfied that a person failed to lodge an account of election expenses within the time and manner required by or under the Act and has no good reason or justification for the failure, it may declare that person disqualified for three years from the date of the order. Such disqualification is not automatic merely because the deadline has passed; the statutory conditions and applicable procedure must be observed.

Related statutory provisions

Section 76 - Chapter VIII on election expenses applies to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly elections.
Section 77 - separate and correct account of election expenditure and expenditure ceiling.
Section 10A - disqualification for failure to lodge election expense accounts without good reason or justification.
Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 - detailed requirements concerning maintenance, filing and scrutiny of accounts.

Official sources

Updated 4 October 2026. Election-specific notifications and Election Commission directions should also be consulted.