13
No: 3477/17.
X
Mr. Gent,
Mr. Vernon and Mr. Howard are both very
rightly on the side of orthodoxy and refer to Home
practice regarding date of charge. Before any final decision is taken on this paper, it may be as well to set out the Colonial practice generally and to view it from the Home practice angle.
2. It is, I suppose, the practice in every Colony for departments to present to the Treasury
or Sub-Accountants vouchers for sums which are
due for payment towards the end of each month,
and for the Treasury or Sub-Accountants to hand
over to the departments the money with which to make
the payments. The amounts so handed over are in
practice charged at once in the Treasury accounts as final expenditure against the votes concerned, but the payments by the departments are not necessarily
made before the close of the month in which the
money is drawn. In most cases, no doubt, the
payment by the department follows within a short period but in some cases a longer period of grace
for payment is allowed.
This practice has not been questioned, and it
has been hallowed by long use and by inclusion in some Financial Orders, e.g.
Hong Kong
-
12 days grace new G.0.276A, enclosure in No. 20 herein. (as to
the origin of this see 13787/33 Hong Kong)
Straits
Nigeria
-
77
,
14, 21 or more days grace
G.0.141.
7 days grace - F.I.142.
Kenya - 15
G.Coast
2
#
#1
F.0. 43.
-
F.0.140.
Any moneys not paid out within the days of grace
allowed