CO885-(16-18) — Page 424

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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C.O.

Reference :-

•885

17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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them.

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$26. Receipts.

260. All receipts must be vonched for on the form prescribed by law or regulation. 261. Except when otherwise provided and in cases when receipts are not required (such as customs duties or sale of stamps) accounting officers must give receipts from books of counterfoil forms bearing printed consecutive numbers, for every sum paid to Where such a check can be obtained the counterfoils should be signed by the payers and, in cases in which dues are payable by adhesive stamps, the stamp must be effectually cancelled by the receiving officer or the head of his department. Numbered counterfoil receipt books will be supplied by the Treasurer, who will be responsible for their custody, and to whom the counterfoils will be returned when the receipt forms are exhausted. Counterfoil books should not be cut or divided.'

262. All licenses, permits, certificates, passage orders and other documents for which payments are made will be issued from counterfoil books printed with consecutive

numbers.

263. Court fees, licenses and similar receipts should be collected by means of stamps whenever practicable. In such cases the stamps will be affixed by the persons paying in such revenue and effectually cancelled by the proper officer. The cancellation should whenever possible be performed by an officer other than the officer employed to sell the stamps.

264. All officers, other than the Treasurer and the sub-accountants, who receive in their public capacity any duties, taxes, licenses, fees, rents or other money forming a portion of the colonial revenue, are required to pay the whole amount of such money, daily or at the earliest possible opportunity, either into the bank to the credit of the Colonial Treasurer, or into the Treasury, or to the sub-accountant for the district.

265. In all cases the gross amounts due must be collected and paid into, or accounted for to, the Treasury. No abatements or counter-claims are to be admitted except in respect of commission to auctioneers, which will be dealt with by deduction from the amounts realised by sales by auction, the net proceeds only being brought to credit. Any other charges upon the revenue, such as percentages on collection or postage and money order commissions, will require authority, and should appear us expenditure, supported by proper vouchers.

266. Between the time of receipt and the time of payment into the bank, Treasury, or Sub-Treasury, 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.

267. 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.

268. All fees received by an officer in his public capacity, which are specially appropriated, either wholly or in part, to the remuneration of such officer, and which form part of his pensionable emoluments, 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 receivable by the Government 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.” Where the Government is not entitled to any portion of such fees and they are not a pensionable emolument, the officer receiving them will be required to make a monthly report of their amount for record in the Treasury. The estimated amounts receivable as fees by any officer should be shown in footnotes to the annual Estimates.

269. 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, together with a transcript of the cash book or where possible the cash book itself. In the latter case the Treasurer or sub-accountant will sign on the cash book a receipt for the amount taken over, which will be the full balance shown. He will at the same time check the cash book, or transcript thereof, by the counterfoils of the receipt given by the collector, and no collector will be paid any portion of his salary until he has accounted for all money received by him.

270. Whenever a public officer not being a regular collector of revenue comes into

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receipt of public money, he will pay it to the Treasurer or the nearest sub-accountant without delay, obtaining a receipt for the amount so paid in.

271. Should an accounting officer at any time experience difficulty in collecting money due from public officers or others, he will at once report the circumstances officially.

272. In every case in which an accounting officer shall fail to obtain the regular and punctual payment of public money receivable by him, his salary may be surcharged with the amount due, unless and until he shall show that the failure was occasioned by a cause beyond his control; and if, when such a surcharge is made, the amount in default be not ascertainable from the vouchers and accounts furnished, the salary of the officer will not be paid until he has furnished to the Treasurer a satisfactory statement of the amount due.

273. In case it shall appear, at any time, that the public revenue has sustained a loss by reason of the neglect or wilful fault of any head of a department or other accounting officer, he will be surcharged with the amount and the circumstances reported to the

Governor.

274. The Treasurer will report immediately to the Colonial Secretary whenever any sum receivable appears not to have been duly received by an accounting officer, or accounted for by hiin. 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.

275. All officers charged with the supervision of the collection of revenue will furnish the Auditor with 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.

276. 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.

277. In cases of arrears due by particular individuals, in which the necessity or justification for writing them off depends upon local circumstances, and when no question is involved either of large amount, of important or novel principle, or of the negligence of an accounting officer, the Colonial Secretary or other officer appointed by law to deal with such claims will from time to time furnish to the Auditor a list of cases in which it has been decided to write off such arrears, with the reason for so doing entered against each 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.

case.

§ 27. Expenditure.

278. All disbursements of public money in the Colony will be made by the Treasuret 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 incor- porated by the Treasurer in his monthly accounts.

279. Where a bank account is kept, all payments of not less than £2 (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.

280. Any officer allowing or directing any disbursement without proper authority will be held personally responsible for the amount.

281. 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 (not- withstanding 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" ;

(i.) Special Warrant, or Imprest Warrant;