47. The following general instructions regarding the preparation and form of vouchers should also be observed :

(a) Printed forms of vouchers in English or Hindi should be adopted as much as possible, but when, from any circumstances a voucher in a language other than English or Hindi is unavoidably necessary, a bilingual form should be used.

(b) When the use of an account or voucher purely in a language other than English or Hindi is unavoidable, a brief abstract should be endorsed in English or Hindi under the signature of the preferring Government servant stating the amount, the name of the payee, and the nature of the payment.

NOTE—Payees’ receipts in an Indian language for sums between Rs. 25 and Rs. 100, received in connexion with petty and minor works and repairs carried out by the police, may be preferred by the Police Department without translating them into English or Hindi. Receipts for sums in excess of Rs. 100 received in this connexion, should be translated into English or Hindi as required by the above rule (see note 2 to paragraph 51 and note to paragraph 310).

(c) All vouchers must be signed in ink and filled up in ink or typerwritten. The vouchers can be signed and written with ball point pen also, provided, the writings and signatures are clear and legible and ink does not split or spread. The amount of each voucher should, as far as whole rupees are concerned, be written in words as well as in figures. The amount of paisa may always, however, be written in figure after the words stating the number of rupees, but in case of there being no paisa the word "only" should be inserted after the number of whole rupees and care should be taken to have no space for interpolation as in the following examples—"Rupees twenty-six only," "Rupees twenty-five and paisa 35." All bills should have written prominently across them in words a sum expressed in whole rupees which is slightly in excess of that for which they are presented for payment at the Treasury ; for example, if the bill is for Rs. 108.22 Paise the cross enrty should be "under rupees one hundred and nine only." The drawing officers will be held responsible for the accuracy of all the entries which should be so made as not to lead themselves to fraudulent manipulations.

(d) All corrections and alterations affecting amounts of the bills either in words or in figures should be attested by the drawing officers by their full signatures with date and not merely by initials; any corrections or alterations in the orders of payment must be attested in the same way by the Treasury Officer. No document bearing an erasure can be accepted, and payment of such vouchers should be refused by the Treasury Officer and a fresh voucher called for. Corrections and alterations in orders of payment drawn by Treasury Officers on the Bank should be attested by their full signature.

(e) The correct head of classification should be recorded on each voucher by the drawing officer (e.g.) the major, minor and sub-head and the primary and secondary units of appropriation, against which the amount of the bill is to be debited. The classification noted on the bills should also show whether the expenditure is "voted" or "charged" on the revenues of the State. The distinction between the "voted" and "charged’’ expenditure is explained in the Uttar Pradesh Budget Manual, which should be referred to in all doubtfull cases. The classification as noted in the Annual Budget Estimates should generally be taken as a guide.

NOTES—The distinction between "State" or "Central" charges should invariably be indicated on all bills as laid down in paragraph 45-B.

(2) When bills are drawn by non-officials, the responsibility for noting the correct classification devolves on the officers countersigning the bills.

(f) Charges against two major heads should not be included in one voucher, but the Treasury Officer will not take exception to a voucher on this ground unless the items require different action from him, such as entry in different registers. This order does not apply to the pay and allowances of a Governments ervant, or of an establishment, as in such cases the whole of the pay and allowances, even if belonging to two or more major heads of account, should be drawn on a single bill if they are chargeable wholly to revenues of the State or the Central Government.

(g) Unless the Government in the Finance Department have expressly authorized it in the case of any specified office no payment may be made on a voucher or order signed by a clerk instead of by the head of an office, although in the absence of the latter the clerk may be in the habit of signing letters for him. Nor may any moneys be paid on a voucher or order signed with a rubber or facsimile stamp. When the signature on a voucher is given by a mark or seal or thumb-impression, it should be attested by some known person. Signatures in a language other than English or Hindi must always be transliterated into English or Hindi.

NOTES—(1) The head of an office may authorize any gazetted Government servant serving under him to sign a bill, vouchers, or order for him, communicating the name and the specimen signature of the Government servant to the Treasury This will not, however, relieve the head of the office in any way of his responsibility for the accuracy of the bill or for the disposal of the money received in payment.

(2) Subject to the conditions stated in note 1, and subject to the condition that no other gazetted officer serving under him is present at headquarters, a Superintendent of Police may authorize the Reserve Inspector of the district to sign a bill, voucher or order for him when he is absent from the district or when he is on tour within the district.

(3) Head Assistants of Commissioner’s offices and the office superintendent in the office of the Deputy Commissioner-in-charge, Kumaon Division are authorized to sign sub-vouchers and payment orders for all classes of contingent expenditure not exceeding Rs. 25 but the Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioner-in-charge, concerned will continue to sign the bill for contingent expenditure and will be responsible for its accuracy and for the disposal of the money received in payment.

The-Head Assistant of the Commissioner, Varanasi Division, is authorized to sign pay orders in connexion with scholarships granted to the children of the members of ex-Royal family of Delhi, Varanasi branch, when the Commissioner is out of station or otherwise engaged at head quarters.

(4) The Head Assistant of the office of the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, is authorized to sign or countersign all bills other than travelling allowance bills on behalf of and under instructions from the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, if the Registrar and the Deputy Registrars are away from the headquarters.

(5) The following officers of the Education Department are authorised to pass the remuneration bill of examiners and contingent charges in respect of the items mentioned against them. The remuneration bills should be paid in accordance with the sanctioned rates and within the funds to be allowed by the Director of Education and the Registrars should submit to the Director of Education a statement of expenditure passed by them within the funds allotted to them for the purpose :

(6) The Senior Assistant Masters/Mistresses of Government High and Normal Schools or Government Higher Secondary Schools, Intermediate and Training Colleges, who are required either by the Director of Education, the Additional Director of Education, the Regional Deputy Directors of Education, the District Inspectors/Inspectresses of Girl’s Schools to perform, in addition to their own duties, the duties of Head Masters/Head Mistresses or Principals/Lady Principals in temporary vacancies lasting for less than 6 weeks are authorised to sign all bills pertaining to the school/college.

(7) The Camp Treasurer, Civil Secretariat, is authorized to sign credit notes issued by the Camp Secretariat.

(8) The Personal Assistant of the Inspector General of Prisons is authorized to sign sub-vouchers and payment orders for urgent expenditure of a purely contingent nature not exceeding Rs. 5 but the Inspector-General of Prisons will continue to sign the bill for contingent expenditure and will be responsible for its accuracy and for the disposal of the money received in payment.

(9) The Fruit Expert to Government is authorized to draw under his own signature the establishment and contingent bills of his office.

(10) The head clerk in the office of the Inspector-General of Registration is authorized to sign payment orders for petty contingent expenditure not exceeding Rs. 20 in each case if the Inspector General of Registration is away from his headquarters.

(11) The Head Assistant of the office of the Director Medical Health Services and Family Planning is authorized to sign sub-vouchers and payment orders for all classes of contingent expenditure not exceeding Rs. 25, but the Director Medical Health Services and Family Planning will continue to sign the bills for contingent expenditure and will be responsible for their accuracy and for the disposal of the money received in payment.

(12).The Deputy Inspector of Schools, Deoria is authorized to sign the bills relating to Education Expansion Scheme for encashment at the Treasury.

(13) The Range Assistant Examiners of the Local Fund Audit Department are authorized to sign contingent bills relating to their ranges.

(14) The Manager, State Pharmacy of Ayurvedic and Unani Medicines, is authorized to sign sub-vouchers and payment orders for all classes of urgent contingent expenditure not exceeding Rs. 25, in each case.

(15) Overseers of Irrigation Department, in the absence of the sub-divisional officer or assistant engineer from the head-quarters, are authorized to sign credit notes when the amount involved is more than Rs. 50, subject to the condition that the overseer concerned shall get the counterfoil of the credit note countersigned by the sub-divisional officer immediately on the latter’s return to the headquarters.

(16) The Administrative Department, with the approval of their Secretary, may declare as drawing and disbursing officer for its subordinate office, which is an independent unit, the senior most gazetted, officer of that office who is fully acquainted with the accounting procedure and financial rules having at least five years administrative experience.

(17) In case an officer vested with the powers of Drawing and Disbursing Officers proceeds on leave or is transferred or that post falls vacant for a period not more than two months due to any reason, and no officiating or permanent arrangement is made and the competent authority appoints some gazetted officer to discharge the duties of that post in addition to his own duties, that officer will be deemed to have been duly declared as drawing and disbursing officer. These provisions will not apply to the short term arrangement made during the absence of a drawing and disbursing officer on tour.

(h) Bills requiring previous counter-signature should be returned unpaid if presented without such counter-signature.

(i) When bills are presented on account of charges incurred under any special orders, the orders sanctioning the charge should be quoted. Copies of sanction accompanying a bill must be duly certified by a responsible Government servant, not by a clerk.

(j) The authority under which deductions are made in a bill should be quoted.

(k) Dates of payment should when possible be noted by the payees in their acknowledgements in sub-vouchers, acquittance rolls, etc. If, for any reason, such as illiteracy or the presentation of receipts in anticipation of payment, it is not possible for the dates of payment to be noted by the payees, the dates of actual payment should be noted by disbursing officers on the documents under their initials, either separately for each payment or by groups as may be found convenient.

(l) In cases in which the endorsement on a bill is unauthorized, incomplete, or otherwise irregular, the Treasury Officers should refuse payment of the bill and return it to the person who presents it with a memorandum explaining why payment is refused.

(m) Receipts for all sums exceeding Rs. 20 must be stamped unless they are exempt from stamp duty under the rules issued under the Stamp Act.

NOTES—(1) The limit of Rs. 20 upto which a receipt is not required to be stamped, should be applied to the net amount payable on a bill and not the gross claim preferred therein.

(2) Cash memorandum issued by tradesmen for sales against cash payment are not treated as receipts within the meaning of section 2(23) of the Indian Stamp Act (II of 1899), and need not be stamped even if the amount exceeds Rs. 20 unless they contain an acknowledgement of the receipt of the price of the articles sold.

(3) A pay order on a bill endorsed by a Government servant in favour of his banker or agent need not be stamped, but the receipt of the banker or agent in whose favour the order is made, whether it is in the body of the bill itself or separate, should be stamped unless the receipt on the bill has already been duly signed and stamped by the Government servant himself.

(4) Cash memoranda which do not contain an acknowledgement of the receipt of money from persons named therein are not receipts within the meaning of section 2 (23) of the Indian Stamps Act (II of 1899). Further, the mere writing of the purchaser’s name and address on a cash memorandum for delivery purposes does not transform it into an acknowledgement to the purchaser that the money has been paid. Cash memoranda will not, therefore, be regarded as sub-vouchers in audit unless they contain an acknowledgement of the receipt of money from the persons named therein (with stamps affixed when the amount exceeds Rs. 20), or in cases where it is not practicable, they are stamped ‘paid’ and initialled by the drawing and disbursing officer.

(n) All transactions of Government shall be brought into account by rounding off to the nearest rupee. (fractions of 50 paise and above to be rounded off to the next higher rupee and fractions of less than 50 paise to be ignored).

(o) When the drawing officer requires payment to be made through some other person, he must specifically endorse an order to pay to that specified person.

(p) When payment is desired wholly or partly by Bank Draft a formal application for Bank Draft should accompany the bill and the manner in which payment is desired should also be indicated in the drawer’s receipt on the bill.

47-A. The pay, travelling allowance and contingent bills should be treated as cash after the "Payee’s discharge to the Bank or Treasury" on the bill has been signed by the drawing officer concerned. Such bills should not be entrusted for encashment except to responsible persons as defined in Appendix XVII of this Volume. Receipt for the bill handed over for encashment should be taken from the person or persons concerned in a separate register of bills passed for payment to be maintained in the following form :

48. Treasury Officers, when cashing bills for Government servants at a distance from the Treasury, should furnish a note explaining the amount of cash and transfer receipts (if any), issued, and any deductions or alterations that may be made in the bill presented. The note should be in bilingual form, as it is important that the guard or messenger who receives the money should ascertain that the amount stated agrees with the actual cash or drafts delivered to him ; and, when that person is unable to read, the Treasury Officer should himself explain to him the amount entered on the note.

The following form is recommended :

Signature of messenger,

Treasury Officer.

49. Every voucher must bear a pay order signed or initialed, and dated, by a responsible disbursing officer. This order should specify the amount payable both in words and figures.

NOTE—Cashiers and others authorized to make disbursements on bill for claims against Government, should make no payment without a proper pay order of a responsible disbursing officer recorded clearly in ink on the bill or other voucher. No payment should be made on a voucher or order unless it is signed by hand and in ink.

50. Every voucher should bear, or have attached to it, an acknowledgement of the payment, signed by the person by whom or in whose behalf the claim is put forward. This acknowledgement should always be taken at the time of the payment.

NOTES—(1) If a disbursing officer anticipates any difficulty in obtaining from the person to whom money is due, a receipt in the proper form, it is open to him to decline to hand him the cheque or cash, or to make a remittance to him, as the case may be, until the acknowledgement of the payment, with all necessary particulars has been given by him. In all cases of payment by remittance, a note of the date and mode of remittance must be made on the bill or voucher at the time of remittance. In cases of remittance by postal money order, the purpose of the remittance should be briefly stated in the acknowledgement portion thereof.

(2) In the case of articles received by value -payable post, the value-payable cover together with the invoice or bill showing the details of items paid for may be accepted as a voucher. The disbursing officer should endorse a note on the cover to the effect that the payment was made through the post office and this will also cover charges for the postal commission.

(3) A certified copy marked "Duplicate" of a receipted voucher may be retained by the disbursing officer, should this be necessary to complete the record of his office but the payee should not be required to sign such a copy or give a duplicate acknowledgement of the payment.

(4) When money due to a contractor or other creditor is attached by a prohibitory order of a court and is afterwards paid into that court the receipt (to be prepared by the department concerned) signed by an officer of the court should show that the payment is on account of an attached debt and should set forth inter alia the name and capacity of the actual creditor to whom the money is due by the department, on what account it is due, and the number and date of the court’s order in accordance with which the payment is made. This receipt should be attached to the contract certificate or other bill in which the particulars of the creditor’s claim are recorded and should be enfaced in red ink by a reference to that bill, the bill being correspondingly enfaced by a reference to the attached receipt of the court.

(5) A single receipt, stamped where necessary, given by a payee in acknowledgement of several payments or a lumpsum payment, either in cash or by cheque, made to him, on one occasion, shall constitute a valid quittance and the disbursing officer, in such cases, should give cross reference on all vouchers to which the receipt relates.

51. When the payee signs in a language other than English or Hindi, he should be required to note the amount acknowledged in the same language in his own handwriting. In transliterating his acknowledgement, the amount acknowledged as well as any remarks made by him should also be reproduced in English or Hindi.

NOTES—(1) In case the payee is illiterate, or is unable to write beyond signing his name, the amount acknowledged should be filled in by the officer making the payment.

(2) The procedure laid down in the above paragraph need not be observed in the cases of payees receipts in a language other than Hindi or English for sums between Rs. 25 and Rs. 100 received in connexion with petty and minor works and repairs carried out by the police. (See note to paragraph 47(b) and note to paragraph 310).

Payment by Postal Money Order

52. (1) In cases in which money due by the Government is paid by Postal Order, the cost of remittance shall, in the absence of any special rule or order to the contrary, be borne by the payee.

NOTES—(1) The net leave salary of a Class IV Government servant, if so desired by him, should be remitted by the drawing officer by postal money order at Government expense.

(2) In cases of payments to suppliers of stores, remittance of amounts of less than Rs. 50 for which Bank Drafts are not ordinarily issued may be made by postal money order at Government expense.

(2) Remittance by a Treasury Officer—When it is desired that either the whole or a part of the amount of a bill prepared by the Treasury itself should be remitted to a person or persons by postal money order the bill should be accompanied by a properly prepared money order form or forms, as the case may be. The amount of the money order as well as the amount of commission due thereon should be shown as deductions in the bill. The purpose of the money order must be briefly stated on the acknowledgement portion of money order form in continuation of the entry "Received the sum specified on the reverse on...........", sufficient space being left below the manuscript entry thus made for the signature or thumb impression of the payee.

NOTE—Blank postal money order forms are made available to Treasuries on payment by the P. & T. Department. Money order commission charges and the cost of blank money order form will be adjusted by Book Transfer in the usual manner according to the existing procedure.

(3) Remittance by a Departmental Officer—When the whole or a part of the amount of a bill is required to be remitted by a Treasury Officer to a person or persons by postal money order he shall, if the bill is in order, pass it for the net amount after deduction of the amount to be remitted and the commission due thereon, credit the deductions by transfer to the post office and send the money order form or forms to the post office, with a certificate to the effect that the amount of the money order with the commission due, which must be specified in the certificate, has been credited to the Post Office by book transfer. The words "adjusted by book transfer" shall invariably be written in red ink across the money order form. The Treasury Officer shall also see that the purpose of the money order is stated in the acknowledgement portion of the money order form as required in clause(2) above.

On obtaining the money order receipts the Treasury Officer shall check them with the amount deducted from the bills and then transmit them for record to the drawing officers concerned.

NOTES—(1) In cases where remittances are made by a departmental officer by postal money order, the cost of remittance of which is borne by the payee concerned, the departmental officer may purchase a blank money order form from any post office and remit the amount after deducting the money order commission, including the cost of the blank money order form. The cost of the form and the money order commission will be treated as forming one transaction and entries will accordingly be made in the cash book.

(2) In case of remittance of amount payable by a departmental officer where the cost of remittance is borne by the Government, the blank postal money order forms may be purchased from the permanent advance, the expenditure being treated as final charge of the office on the date of purchase. As and when the amount is remitted to the payee by postal money order, the commission paid to the post office as also the amount remitted will be treated as expenditure on the day of remittance. Entries will be made in the cash-book as and when the transaction takes place.

In offices, where remittances of amounts payable by Government at the latter’s cost is a common feature it is permissible to purchase out of permanent advance blank postal money order forms in bulk office, an account of blank money order forms being kept in the same form as the account of service postage stamps.