231. Whenever a public officer not being a regular collector of revenue comes into receipt of public money, he will pay it to the Treasurer or to a sub-accountant without delay, obtaining a receipt for the amount so paid in. 232. In all cases the gross amounts received must be paid into, or accounted for to, the Treasury. All charges upon the revenue received will require authority, and should appear as expenditure, supported by proper vouchers. 233. Between the time of receipt and the time of payment into the bank or Treasury, or to a sub-accountant, no public money shall be made use of in any way whatsoever; nor will any officer advance, lend, or exchange any sum for which he is answerable to the Government. 234. Bills of exchange, cheques, or promissory notes will not be received as revenue, except under such conditions as, having regard to local circumstances, the Governor may prescribe by standing order. When so authorised, accounting officers, on the receipt of any such negotiable instrument, will enter the amount thereof in their cash books as revenue collected, taking credit for the same when handed over to the Treasurer. 235. Where fees are received from the public by an officer in his public capacity they need not be paid into or accounted for to the Treasury if they are wholly appropriated to the remuneration of such officer and are not a pensionable emolument, but the officer receiving them will be required to make a monthly report of their amount for record in the Treasury. In all other cases fees received from the public by an officer in his public capacity, which are appropriated, either wholly or in part, to his remuneration, will be dealt with in the same manner as other receipts of public money and the total amount paid into or accounted for to the Treasury. The amount to which the officer is entitled will then be issued to him, on a proper voucher, by the Treasurer. In all cases where any portion of such fees is retained by the Government, or where the fees are a pensionable emolument, the total sum collected will be brought to account as revenue, the amount paid to the officer being charged as expenditure against the proper head, under "Personal Emoluments." The estimated amounts receivable as fees by any officer should be shown in footnotes to the annual Estimates. 236. Payments to the Treasury or to sub-accountants by collectors of revenue will be supported in each case by such subsidiary detailed schedules or abstracts as the Treasurer may prescribe. 237. If at any time the public revenue sustains a loss by reason of the neglect or fault of any officer, he will be liable to be surcharged with the amount. 238. The Treasurer will report to the Colonial Secretary any failure on the part of an accounting officer to receive and duly account for any sums receivable by him. He will also report any case in which he may have reason to think that the revenue is falling unduly into arrear. The Auditor will similarly report in like circumstances. 239. All officers charged with the supervision of the collection of revenue will furnish to the Treasurer for transmission to the Auditor periodical returns showing the state of the arrears in the collection of taxes or any other revenue receivable by them. In the event of there being no such arrears a nil return will be furnished. 240. In the case of irrecoverable arrears of revenue, except where other authority is by law established, the authority of the Secretary of State is required for any general cancellation of claims prior to a given date. 241. In cases of arrears of revenue due by particular individuals, in which the necessity or justification for the abandonment or remission of such arrears depends upon local circumstances, and no question is involved either of large amount, of important or novel principle, or of the negligence of an officer, the Colonial Secretary or other officer appointed by law to deal with such claims will from time to time furnish to the Treasurer for transmission to the Auditor a list of cases in which it has been decided to abandon or remit such arrears, with the reason for so doing entered against each case. Unless the Auditor sees cause to challenge the decision in any case, this list will be accepted as a valid discharge for the accounting officer in respect of the non-collection of any amount specified thereon. D. Payments. 242. All disbursements of public money in the Colony will be made by the Treasurer under authority from the Governor, either personally or by officers acting, by instruction, as his sub-accountants. The Treasurer and all accounting officers will be held personally and pecuniarily responsible for inaccuracies in the rendering of accounts and for any payments made, except as prescribed by these Regulations. Disbursements in England will be made by the Crown Agents, whose accounts will, as soon as received, be incorporated by the Treasurer in his monthly accounts. 243. Where a bank account is kept, all payments of £2 or more (or the equivalent in local currency) will be made by cheques signed by the Treasurer or by the authorised sub-accountant, and countersigned by such other departmental officer as may be appointed by the Governor to do so. The Governor will, if he sees fit, appoint a lower or higher limit. The counterfoils of all cheques will be preserved for reference. 244. Any officer allowing or directing any disbursement without proper authority will be held personally responsible for the amount. 245. The complete authority requisite for expenditure out of public funds consists of a vote or enactment of the Legislature and the sanction of the Secretary of State. The authority thus conveyed is addressed solely to the Governor, and the Treasurer is strictly prohibited from making any payments, or accepting any charge on his accounts (notwithstanding that the services to which they relate may be duly provided for in the estimates or Appropriation Law), unless authorised so to do by (i) General Warrant, under the hand of the Governor or of the Colonial Secretary signing "by command"; (ii) Requisition approved by the Governor; (iii) Special Warrant; (vi) The Secretary of State's approval of expenditure incurred by the Crown Agents in England. 246. Before the commencement of each year a complete Schedule will be prepared by the Treasurer of the personal emoluments and other public services, provided for in the Estimates for the year, over which the Government does not desire to reserve special control. This Schedule will be annexed to the General Warrant of the Governor, authorising the payment by the Treasurer monthly, or at such periods as may be necessary during the year, of the services therein enumerated. This General Warrant will be prepared and signed in triplicate and copies filed in the Colonial Secretary's Office, the Treasury, and the Audit office. 247. When an officer considers it necessary to incur expenditure on a service for which there is provision in the Estimates but the expenditure on which has not been authorised in the General Warrant, he will, as soon as possible and before incurring the expenditure, submit a Requisition in triplicate stating the whole extent and estimated cost of the service required, and giving all details as far as he is able. In the case of any public works, plans, specifications, tenders, and estimates, as far as practicable, should accompany the Requisition. 248. The head of the department responsible for the expenditure will examine the Requisition, fill in from his departmental vote account the statement of expenditure already incurred or authorised, countersign it, and forward it to the Treasurer for submission to the Governor. 249. It is the duty of the Treasurer on receipt of a Requisition to satisfy himself that the expenditure for which authority is required is sufficiently provided for in the Estimates, and that it is proposed to be charged against the proper head and sub-head; that the particulars given in the Requisition are accurate and sufficient for the guidance of the Governor in considering the propriety of the expenditure, and that all regulations which may affect the duty of the officer concerned in respect of the Requisition have been complied with. He will obtain from the officer any information that may be necessary for the assistance of the Governor, and will return the Requisition for amendment, if incomplete or indefinite. In forwarding the Requisition, the Treasurer will advise as to the funds available for meeting the proposed expenditure, having due regard to the whole of the services which appear likely to be chargeable against the sub-head in the course of the year. The three copies of the Requisition, with the Governor's allowance or disallowance noted thereon, will be returned to the Treasurer. If approved, it will be sufficient authority for the expenditure to be incurred, and one copy will be retained by the Treasurer and another sent to the Audit Office. The third copy will be sent to the head of the department from which it was received for record and reference. 250. Should the expenditure authorised upon any Requisition be found insufficient, the head of the department requiring authority for further expenditure will, so soon as he foresees the necessity therefore, forward to the Treasurer a supplementary Requisition for such further expenditure, drawn up in the same form as the original Requisition and accompanied by a memorandum explaining the necessity for the excess. 251. In any exceptional case where it is manifestly for the benefit of the public service that expenditure should be immediately incurred, and time does not permit of authority being obtained in the usual way, an officer may, on his own responsibility, incur the expenditure; but he will at once forward a Requisition as above provided with a covering memorandum explaining the reasons which induced him to depart from the ordinary course. In every such case he will be held personally liable for the expenditure in the event of the payment not being finally approved; and any items which may appear unnecessary or extravagant will be disallowed and surcharged against him. 252. All payment entries in the accounts must be vouched for on the prescribed form. 253. Vouchers for all salaries, allowances, and other services included in the General Warrant will be delivered duly certified by the heads of departments to the Treasurer, or, in the out-stations, to the nearest sub-accountant, three clear days at least before the last day of public business in each month. Any vouchers delivered after the date prescribed will be liable to be held over until the pay-day of the following month. In the last month of each financial year the vouchers for salaries, allowances, and pensions should be delivered not later than the 26th of that month. Officers whose salaries do not exceed £100 a year may be paid weekly or half-monthly. 254. All travelling and transport allowances are granted in respect of expenditure actually incurred on the public service, no part being intended as a personal emolument to any officer. 255. In the event of any unauthorised payment being made in consequence of an incorrect certificate on a voucher, the certifying officer will be held responsible for the same, and the amount will be surcharged against him. 256. A Special Warrant will be required for all payments on account of services not included in the Estimates, even though provided by law, and for payments in excess of the amounts provided in the Estimates. A Special Warrant will also be necessary if any addition is made to the rates of personal emoluments or to the number of posts authorised in the Estimates even though the expenditure on the sub-head will not be thereby increased. Special Warrants shall be prepared and signed in triplicate, as in the case of the General Warrant, and copies filed in the same offices. The foregoing procedure does not apply to expenditure incurred by the Crown Agents in England on instructions received from the Secretary of State. 257. Separate vouchers will, as far as possible, be used for separate sub-heads and for the payment of different services, especially in cases where each service has been separately authorised. 258. All vouchers will contain full particulars of each service, such as dates, numbers, quantities, distances and rates, so as to enable them to be checked without reference to any other document. 259. The signature of the head of a department certifies to the accuracy of every detail on the voucher. He will therefore be held responsible that the services specified have been duly performed, that the prices charged are either according to contracts or approved scales, or fair and reasonable according to current local rates, that authority has been obtained as quoted, that the computations and castings have been verified and are arithmetically correct, that the persons named in the vouchers are those entitled to receive payment, and that stores purchased have been duly taken on charge. 260. When supplies are furnished or work done under agreement or contract, there will be attached to the voucher a certificate that the payments are in accordance with the terms of the contract or agreement, that, as regards supplies, the articles have been received, and, in the case of work, that it has been properly done. In the case of a payment on account no more will be claimed than the cost of the work certified to have been performed. When a deduction is made from the amount payable on a contract in respect of a penalty or fine, the net sum only will be paid. 261. In cases where public offices present claims for small payments made by them, sub-vouchers, in the shape of actual receipts, must be produced whenever practicable. When sub-vouchers cannot be obtained the officer will certify that the charges have been incurred solely upon the public service and actually paid by him. 262. Whenever possible payment of wages will be made by an officer of the Treasury and witnessed by another public officer or other responsible person approved by the Treasurer, who will sign the sheets as witness to the payments having been made to the persons entitled to the money. Money should not be paid to unofficial persons for distribution in wages. 263. The Treasurer, before paying any claim, will satisfy himself that : (i) The payment will not cause an excess on the amount provided in the Estimates or in special warrants, on the sub-head to which it is chargeable ; (ii) The expenditure has been authorised by Warrant or approved Requisition, as quoted on the voucher; (iii) The information furnished on the voucher is correct in all particulars and that the certificate is signed by the proper officer; (iv) All proper deductions from salaries or pensions on account of contributions, repayment of advances, remittances, or other liabilities have been duly made. Sub-accountants making payments for the Treasurer will similarly satisfy themselves in regard to these points so far as they are in a position to do so. 264. Payment will be made only to the persons named in the vouchers, or their legal representatives, from whom signed receipts (duly stamped, where necessary) must be taken at the time of payment. Where the recipient is unable to write, he will make his mark in acknowledgment of receipt, the act being witnessed and the receipt countersigned by some person other than the paying officer. Where this is impracticable, as occasionally in the case of payments to a number of labourers, the paying officer will certify that the payments have been actually made, such certificate being countersigned by some person other than the paying officer who was present at the time of payment. When payments are made to persons other than those named in the vouchers or to the agents of officers absent on leave, the authorities under which they are made (such as powers of attorney, and letters of administration) shall be registered in the Treasury and notified on the vouchers, except where the law permits of a declaration being substituted for letters of administration in cases of succession to small estates. In the case of an officer absent on leave, the amount of whose salary is paid to his agent, a certificate that the officer was alive on the date to which salary is claimed must be furnished to the Treasurer and attached to the payment voucher. When an alteration occurs in the amount expressed to be received, the initials of the recipient should be written against such alteration. A receipt given by an officer for money paid to him by way of imprest, or in adjustment of an account where he derives no personal benefit therefrom is not, unless specially required by local law, chargeable with stamp duty. Payments of subsistence and other allowances in reimbursement of expenses actually incurred are likewise exempt. E. Classification and Control. 265. (1) When the annual Estimates have been passed by the Legislature and approved by the Secretary of State, and the Appropriation Law allowed by His Majesty, the expenditure of the year must be held to be definitely limited and arranged. Should any further disbursements on account of the service of that year be required, which could not have been foreseen, cannot be postponed without detriment to the public service, and cannot appropriately be charged to an existing sub-head of the Estimates or will cause any excess thereon, approval by the Legislature and the Secretary of State of the necessary additional provision for such disbursements will be sought in the following manner : (a) Where the provision for the supplementary expenditure is not in excess of an amount fixed by (c) The Schedule for the quarter (or other shorter period) will thus include under heads and sub-heads (2) If after the close of the financial year it is found that supplementary expenditure has occurred during that year which has not been included in any Schedule, and the Governor considers that such expenditure should be admitted as a charge to public funds, he will as soon as possible submit a statement of such expenditure to the Legislature and the Secretary of State for their approval of its being so charged. 266. If the supplementary expenditure causes an excess on a head, such excess should ultimately be covered by a supplementary Appropriation Law. 267. The Governor is not authorised to make any addition to the fixed establishment of the Colony nor to alter the appropriation of the established salaries of any public department, either as regards the number of appointments, or the rates of salary and emoluments, without the previous sanction of the Secretary of State. 268. The Estimates form the basis of the accounts of the year to which they relate, and the classification and sub-division of the accounts of revenue and expenditure must accord with the detail of the Estimates. 269. It is the duty of a head of a department to watch the expenditure of his department with reference tothe amounts provided in the Estimates, and to report at once through the Treasurer to the Colonial Secretary whenever it may appear that the amounts provided will prove insufficient for the service of the year. Whenever the Treasurer makes any charge against a vote by transfer from the Crown Agents' account or the account of another department, he will immediately notify the head of the department responsible for the vote, who will post his vote account accordingly. 270. If charges are made against a head which, although apparently chargeable to that head, do not clearly come within the meaning of any of the sub-heads, they should be brought by the Treasurer under the notice of the head of the department concerned and of the Colonial Secretary, with a view to the insertion of an additional sub-head in the accounts. 271. The authority for expenditure conveyed by an Appropriation Law lapses at the end of the financial year to which it relates, and if further expenditure is necessary for the completion of any service it must be provided for in the Estimates, or in a Schedule of additional provision, of the year in which the sum will actually be expended. The authority conveyed by warrant and requisitions similarly lapses on the last day of the financial year in which they are issued and no payments may be made after that date, except under the authority of Warrants or Requisitions issued for the service of the ensuing financial year. 272. The date of receipt or payment governs the date of the record of the transaction in the accounts. In no circumstances may payments be made before they are due for the purpose of utilising an anticipated saving on a sub-head, nor may the unexpended portion of any sub-head be drawn from the Treasury for the purpose of setting it in reserve to meet impending payments, or to be carried to a deposit or suspense account. On the other hand, expenditure properly chargeable to the account of a given year must, as far as possible, be met within the year, and must not be deferred for the purpose of avoiding an excess on the amount provided in the Estimates. 273. Where any officer, department, or board administers on behalf of the Government any commercial or industrial enterprise, or any service involving receipts and payments, the whole of such receipts and pay. ments shall, excepting where otherwise authorised by the Governor with the approval of the Secretary of State, be accounted for to the Treasurer, and included in his monthly and annual accounts; and the estimates of the department will be prepared accordingly. 274. When a personal advance in anticipation of salary is allowed, it will be debited as an advance to the recipient and not to the vote for his salary. Any advance made to an officer is to be notified to the head of his department, who will take care that proper arrangements are made for repayment and that no salary is subsequently paid unless such arrangements have been made and are complied with. 275. In accounting for the purchase or sale of securities on account of the Colonial Government, the cost price or price realized will be entered under Investments or Investments Realized "below the line," that is, following after and distinct from the entries relating to revenue and to expenditure charged against revenue. Any profit on sale as compared with the value at which the securities sold appear in the accounts will be carried to current revenue and any loss charged to expenditure. At the close of each financial year, each of the securities held on account of the Colonial Government will be valued at the current middle market price in London on the last working day of the year, and the value assigned to each security in the accounts will be adjusted so as to correspond with that price. The amount by which the new value exceeds or falls short of the old value will be carried to the credit or debit of an Investments Adjustment Account, and the balance of that account will be carried to revenue or charged to expenditure. Where securities are held on behalf of a fund so that they belong to the fund and not to the Colonial Government, a similar procedure shall be followed, but the gain or loss will accrue to the fund and not to the Colonial Government. When securities are transferred from one fund to another fund in the custody of the Government, they shall be so transferred at the current middle market price in London at the date of transfer. 276. If a Colony receives a grant or loan from Imperial funds to meet certain specific expenditure, the grant or loan when received shall be brought to account below the line, and payments on the service charged to expenditure above the line. At the end of each month, an amount equal to the amount which has been charged as expenditure during the month on the service, or if the grant or loan is only to meet a part of the expenditure, then such part of that expenditure as ranks for assistance from Imperial funds, shall be debited to the below the line account and credited to Revenue. 277. Any necessary expenditure on services of a confidential nature, the purpose and particulars of which cannot be divulged, will be specially reported to the Secretary of State and will be supported in the accounts by the Governor's certificate of payment and declaration that he has satisfied himself that the money has been properly expended. 278. Unless the amount involved does not exceed the limit up to which the Governor has been authorized to sanction on his own authority such writing off, abandonment, or remission, and neither fraud nor negligence on the part of an officer is involved, the authority of the Secretary of State is required. (c) GG (a) for the writing off of any loss of public money or stamps, or (b) subject to the provisions of Regulation 241, for the abandonment or remission of any claim for money due to the Government, or (c) subject to the provisions of Regulation 345, for the writing off of any sum which has appeared as an asset in a previous account. F. Loan Expenditure. 279. The complete authority requisite for expenditure which is to be met by loan consists of an enactment of the Legislature and the sanction of the Secretary of State. This is normally secured by the passing of the Law authorizing the raising of the loan and the expenditure of the money so raised. 280. Where the law authorizing the raising of the loan does not specifically authorize the execution of the particular works contemplated, and the amount to be expended upon each, those amounts require the sanction of the Legislature and the Secretary of State. 281. In cases where sufficient loan funds are not immediately available and the expenditure must therefore be met in whole or in part out of current revenue or surplus balances subject to reimbursement when the contemplated loan has been raised, such expenditure will be charged as an advance pending reimbursement. The amount to be advanced in any year will require the sanction of the Legislature and the Secretary of State. 282. The anticipated loan expenditure during the year will not appear in the body of the Estimates but a full statement of such expenditure, including a schedule showing the salaries of any staff specially engaged, should be appended to the general Estimates of the Colony, and receive the approval of the Legislature and the sanction of the Secretary of State. In the case of expenditure on a public work, the particulars mentioned in Colonial Regulation 220 should also be given. 283. When the statement referred to in the preceding Regulation has been approved by the Legislature and sanctioned by the Secretary of State, the loan expenditure of the year must be held to be definitely limited and arranged. Should any further disbursements during the year be required, the approval of the Legislature and the sanction of the Secretary of State will be necessary. 284. The authorities mentioned in the preceding Regulations 279–283 are addressed solely to the Governor ; and before the Treasurer makes any payments in respect of loan expenditure he requires the Governor's authority, which should be conveyed to him by Loan Warrants under the hand of the Governor or of the Colonial Secretary signing " by command ". G. Remittances and Imprests. 285. All payments due by a Colonial Government to public departments or other creditors in the United Kingdom, and, unless otherwise authorised, all payments due to other Governments, shall be made through the Crown Agents for the Colonies. 286. The Crown Agents shall be kept continuously in funds by the Treasurer, whose duty it is to watch the account of the Colony with the Crown Agents, to be prepared to meet their current requirements and to notify them in good time if local circumstances make it necessary to arrange for temporary accommodation in aid of the Government's account with them. 287. The maximum cash balance which may be retained by sub-accountants will be calculated upon their average current requirements and fixed by authority of the Governor, and the Treasurer will be responsible for seeing that such balances do not exceed their authorised limits. 288. The cost of remittance of salaries or pensions not drawn through an agent of the Colony will be deducted from the amount remitted. 289. If it is necessary for any officer other than a sub-accountant to have at his disposal, for disbursement on the public service, money for which vouchers cannot be presented direct to the Treasurer or a sub-accountant for payment, he will receive an imprest of such amount as the Governor may sanction. 290. The Governor's sanction will be conveyed by Imprest Warrant, and the Treasurer will be held respon. sible that no imprest is made without such Warrant, and also for seeing that all imprests are duly accounted for in accordance with the terms of the Warrant covering them. The Governor may give a general Imprest Warrant to the Treasurer authorising him to make imprests, as may be necessary, for any duly authorized service. 291. Imprests are not to be charged in the accounts as final expenditure, the actual payments only, out of such imprests, being so charged. Cash payments made by the Treasurer or his sub-accountants by way of imprest will be entered in the cash book and totalled with the rest of the payments in balancing it. Imprests will not be treated by the Treasurer as "Advances " or " Remittances "but will be accounted for, below the line, under a separate head "Imprests." The imprests and the amounts of the authorised payments accounted for will be posted to a personal imprest account of the officer concerned. H. Custody of Public Money. 292. Wherever possible, the Governor will employ one or more of the banks in the Colony for the custody of public money either on current account or on deposit. He will be responsible for seeing that effect is given to any instructions from the Secretary of State for limiting the amount of public money that may be at any one time in the custody of a bank. He will communicate such instructions to the Treasurer, who will be responsible for their strict observance, and also to the Auditor, whose duty it will be to report at once to the Governor for the information of the Secretary of State, if he should find that the prescribed limit has been exceeded. |