Countersignature

(2) No officer shall act as his own controlling officer unless expressly authorised by Government. A list of officers who have been declared to be controlling officers in respect of their own travelling allowance will be found in Part I of Appendix IX.

(3) Except as provided in sub-rule (2) above, the travelling allowance bill of the head of a department shall be countersigned by the next higher administrative officer and, where there is no such higher administrative officer, by the Secretary to Government in the department concerned.

(4) Unless the Government direct otherwise, the travelling allowance bills of all other officers shall be countersigned by the head of the deparment concerned. A list of authorities who have been declared to be controlling officers in respect of particular government servants or categories of government servants or non-officials will be found in Part II of Appendix IX.

NOTE—The controlling officer for the purpose of travelling allowance for the journey of a government servant to join his post under a borrowing Government as well as for the return journey will be the controlling officer in regard to his post under that Government.

89. In the following cases travelling allowance bills may be paid without countersignature :

(a) [Deleted.]

(b) Travelling allowance bills of non-gazatted government servants, provided that detailed countersigned bills are subseqnently submitted to the Accountant General for adjustment. 89-A. Before undertaking a journey on tour, every government servant unless he is his own controlling officer should obtain the written permission of his controlling officer for undertaking the journey. In cases of urgency, however, a journey may be undertaken by a government servant without taking prior approval of his controlling officer but such permission should in variably be taken immediately after the journey has been performed.

NOTE—The controlling officer may, if the nature of journey required to be undertaken by the subordinates in his department so warrant, prescribe model tour programmes for each month or accord general approval in respect of unscheduled tours (e.g. excise raids) that may be necessary in the public interest. The actual journeys should, however, be approved by the controlling officer before admitting travelling allowance claims in respect thereof.

90. It is the duty of a controlling officer, before signing or countersigning a travelling allowance bill—

(a) to scrutinize the necessity, frequency and duration of journeys and halts for which travelling allowance is claimed, and to disallow the whole or any part of the travelling allowance claimed for any journey or halt if he considers that a journey was unnecessary or unduly protracted, or that a halt was of excessive duration;

(b) to scrutinize carefully the distances entered in travelling allowance bills;

(c) to satisfy himself that, where the actual cost of transporting personal effects is claimed under the rules, the scale on which such effects were transported, was reasonable; and to disallow any claim which, in his opinion, does not fulfill that condition;

(d) to satisfy himself that travelling allowance is not on the whole a source of profit to the recipient;

NOTE—In the case of rail journeys, the controlling officer may, in his discretion, demand a certificate from the government servant making a claim as to the class by which he actually performed a journey, and should, if necessary, reduce travelling allowance to the amount admissable for the class by which the journey was actually performed.

(e) to observe any rules which the Government may make for his guidance.

NOTE—The following means should be employed by controlling officer for checking road distances in travelling allowance bills:

(i) maps;

(ii) local knowledge of the officers countersigning and passing the bills; and

(iii) in doubtful cases ascertainment of actual measurement as recorded in Public Woks Department or other records.

91. Except where expressly permitted by the Government, a controlling officer shall not delegate to a subordinate his duty of countersignature.

NOTES—(1) Deputy or Assistant Directors of Education are authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of government servants of the Education Department on behalf of the Director of Education in cases where the Director’s counter-signature is necessary.

(2) The Drawing and Disbursing Officer of each Secretary’s Branch in the Civil Secretariat is authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of non-gazetted government servants of the branch on behalf of the Secretary in that Branch. But he should, before countersigning the bills have the claim verified by the government servant’s immediate superior officer.

(3) Officers of the Co-operative Department drawing pay in the senior scale are authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of the government servants and the honorary organisers of the department on behalf of the Registrar.

(4) Supreintending Engineers in the Irrigation Department are authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of the establishment attached to their camp.

(5) The Deputy Registrar, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of the establishment of the High Court in the absence of the Registrar during the period of the court’s long vacation.

(6) [Deleted.]

(7) Join Magistrates and Deputy Collectors or any other gazetted officer incharge of Combined Officers in districts are authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of tehsildars, naib-tehsildars and the ministerial establishments of district Officers and all offices subordinate to the district officer.

(8) [Deleted.]

(9) The Financial Controller (Industries) is authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of the non-gazetted staff of the Industries Department in cases where the Director’s signature is necessary.

(10) The Deputy Secretary, Board of High School and Intermediate, Education, is authorised to countersign on behalf of the Secretary, Board of High School and Intermediate Education, travelling allowance bills of examiners, tabulators, checkers, etc., of all the examinations conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education.

(11) The Assistant Cane Commissioner is authorised to countersign on behalf of the Cane Commissioner the travelling allowance bills of the non- gazetted government servants of the Cane Development Department directly controlled from the Headquarters.

(12) The Deputy Director of Agriculture, Headquarters, is authorised to countersign on behalf of the Director the travelling allowance bills of the non-gazetted District Agricultural Officers and the staff serving under them.

(13) The Sugarcane Inspectors are authorised to countersign on behalf of the Cane Commissioner the travelling allowance bills of the non-gazetted government servants of the Cane Department serving under them.

(14) The Deputy Directors of Animal Husbandry are authorised to countersign on behalf of the Director of Animal Husbandry the travelling allowance bills of the District Livestock Officers (Gazetted Subordinate) serving under their jurisdiction.

(15) [Deleted.]

(16) The Deputy Chief Audit Officer (Co-operatives), U .P. is authorised to countersign on behalf of the Chief Audit Officer, Co-operative Societies and Panchayats, U. P., travelling allowance bills of non-gazetted staff of the Co-operative Audit Organisation working under him.

(17) The Special Secretary to Government in Finance Department dealing with the establishment of the Branch is authorised to countersign the travelling allowance bills of Group ‘A’ gazetted officers working in Finance Secretary’s Branch, U. P. Secretariat, provided that the tour programme has the prior approval of the Secretary, Finance Department and such an approved programme is enclosed with the bills.