SECTION XI—RESPONSIBILITY FOR OVERCHARGES

76. (a) Under Treasury Rule 32(b), a Government servant supplied with funds for expenditure shall be responsible for such funds until an accounts of them has been rendered to the satisfaction of the Accountant General. He shall also be responsible for seeing that payments are made to persons entitled to receive them.

(b) If any doubt arises as to the identity of the Government servant by whom an account of such funds shall be rendered, it shall be decided by the Government.

77. (a) A drawer of pay abstracts or bills or pay, allowances or contingent expenses will be held responsible for any overcharge.

(b) The responsibility of counter-signing officers will be that which attaches to all controlling officers.

(c) The Treasury Officer who makes payment without preaudit will be responsible for checking any palpable errors, and (in the case of change of office or of a rate of pay or allowances of gazetted Government servants), for passing the new rate with reference to the orders directing the change. He is also required to examine the accuracy of the arithmetical computations in a bill including the calculation of pay or allowances drawn for a broken period.

(d) The responsibility will thus rest primarily with the drawer of the bill and (failing recovery from him) the overcharge will be recovered from the Treasury Officer, or the countersigning officer, only in the event of culpable negligence on the part of either of them.

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