A (2) 19
98.
For reasons of economy, existing stocks of stores ledgers and forms will, however, continue to be employed until exhausted, when the new standard forms will be brought into use.
99. Indenting for Stores. Issue Vouchers.
It had hitherto been the practice for departments requiring stores to prepare their requisitions on Unallocated Stocks on what was termed a "Store Issue Voucher". This was made out in triplicate, the original and duplicate copies being sent to the Stores Department for that department to comply with as far as stocks and circumstances allowed. In cases where there were any variations between the stores supplied and those indented for, which cases were not infrequent, these copies of the vouchers would be suitably amended by the issuing department. It appears that receipts for the stores were usually obtained from the persons sent to collect them, and that the receiving department obtained for retention no reliable independently prepared document showing exactly the quantities, etc. of stores supplied as distinct from those ordered. The only vouchers available for audit on the occasion of the local Audit inspections of stores accounts were the office copies of requisitions ("Stores Issue Vouchers"). For obvious reasons, such papers were useless for audit purposes. Under the new arrangement, departments requiring stores will use a specially printed form of requisition, while the issuing store will prepare an issue voucher in which will be inserted details of all stores actually supplied. A copy of every issue voucher prepared will now be available for retention by the person or office to whom stores have been supplied. These issue vouchers will bear the signature of the issuing officer and can therefore properly be utilized by the receiving storekeeper to support the receipt entries in his stores ledger, and also by Audit Officers when conducting examinations of departmental store accounts.
100. Receipting of Issue Vouchers.
It came to the notice of Audit that frequently the only acquittances obtained for goods supplied by the Stores Department were those of the persons sent to take delivery, who were sometimes office messengers or coolies, and that no receipts were being obtained from the receiving storekeepers or the persons who were entitled to receive, use, or have the custody of the stores. It was pointed out by Audit that such an unsatisfactory state of affairs could not be allowed to continue, since no evidence was available that the stores supplied had been properly checked with the relative store issue vouchers by the officer finally responsible for them, and further that the receipt given on an issue voucher for stores supplied from Unallocated Stocks was intended not only to provide evidence of receipt of the stores enumerated thereon but also involved the acceptance of a charge against a sub-head of expenditure. Arrangements have been made that all such vouchers shall in future be signed by the storekeeper of the receiving department, or some other responsible officer entitled to receive them, who would usually be the person who signed the requisition. It has been made clear that Audit will not regard the signature, on a stores issue voucher, of a messenger, or other intermediary, as providing sufficient evidence that the stores supplied have been received and are correct and that they have been properly accounted for by the final recipient. In order to facilitate the identification of signatures, the new standard form of Issue Note now provides for the insertion of the "official designation" of the person signing the receipt.
101. Indenting for Unallocated Stores.
Objections raised by the Public Works Department to the introduction of accounting changes at the Central Government Store, which inter alia made provision for the signing of Issue Vouchers by responsible officers, made it clear to Audit that there had been insufficient control over the indenting for stores, and it was desirable that some restriction should be made as regards the persons authorized to sign requisitions and thereby to incur expenditure on behalf of that department. This matter was taken up, and a Government Circular was issued calling upon Heads of Departments to furnish lists of all officers in their departments who would be authorized to sign stores requisitions. The Circular was complied with, and in future
A (2) 19
98.
For reasons of economy existing stocks of stores ledgers and forms will however continue to be employed until exhausted, when the new standard forms will be brought into use.
99. Indenting for Stores. Issue Vouchers.
It had hitherto been the practice for departments requiring stores to prepare their requisitions on Unallocated Stocks on what was termed a "Store Issue Voucher This was made out in triplicate, the original and duplicate copies being sent to the Stores Department for that department to comply with as far as stocks and circum- stances allowed. In cases where there were any variations between the stores supplied and those indented for, which cases were not infrequent, these copies of the vouchers would be suitably amended by the issuing department. It appears that receipts for the stores were usually obtained from the persons sent to collect them, and that the receiving department obtained for retention no reliable independently prepared docu- ment showing exactly the quantities etc. of stores supplied as distinct from those ordered. The only vouchers available for audit on the occasion of the local Audit inspections of stores accounts were the office copies of requisitions. ("Stores Issue Vouchers'). For obvious reasons such papers were useless for audit purposes. Under the new arrangement departments requiring stores will use a specially printed form of requisition, while the issuing store will prepare an issue voucher in which will be inserted details of all stores actually supplied. A copy of every issue voucher pre- pared will now be available for retention by the person or office to whom stores have been supplied. These issue vouchers will bear the signature of the issuing officer and can therefore properly be utilized by the receiving storekeeper to support the receipt entries in his stores ledger, and also by Audit Officers when conducting examinations of departmental store accounts.
100. Receipting of Issue Vouchers.
It came to the notice of Audit that frequently the only acquittances obtained for goods supplied by the Stores Department were those of the persons sent to take delivery, who were sometimes office messengers or coolies, and that no receipts were being obtained from the receiving storekeepers or the persons who were entitled to receive, use, or have the custody of the stores. It was pointed out by Audit that such an unsatisfactory state of affairs could not be allowed to continue, since no evidence was available that the stores supplied had been properly checked with the relative store issue vouchers by the officer finally responsible for them, and further that the receipt given on an issue voucher for stores supplied from Unallocated Stocks was intended not only to provide evidence of receipt of the stores enumerated thereon but also involved the acceptance of a charge against a sub-head of expenditure. Arrange- ments have been made that all such vouchers shall in future be signed by the store- keeper of the receiving department, or some other responsible officer entitled to receive them, who would usually be the person who signed the requisition. It has been made clear that Audit will not regard the signature, on a stores issue voucher, of a messenger, or other intermediary, as providing sufficient evidence that the stores supplied have been received and are correct and that they have been properly accounted for by the final recipient. In order to facilitate the identification of signatures the new standard form of Issue Note now provides for the insertion of the "official designation" of the person signing the receipt.
101. Indenting for Unallocated Stores.
Objections raised by the Public Works Department to the introduction of accounting changes at the Central Government Store, which inter alia made provision for the signing of Issue Vouchers by responsible officers, made it clear to Audit that there had been insufficient control over the indenting for stores, and it was desirable that some restriction should be made as regards the persons authorized to sign requisitions and thereby to incur expenditure on behalf of that department. This matter was taken up, and a Government Circular was issued calling upon Heads of Departments to furnish lists of all officers in their departments who would be authorized to sign stores requisitions. The Circular was complied with, and in future
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