Distribution of pay and allowance

138 Under paragraph 76 the head of an office is personally responsible for every item of pay and allowances drawn on a bill signed by him or on his behalf until he has paid it to the person entitled to receive it, and obtained his receipt, duly stamped where necessary, on the office copy of the pay bill. If in any case, owing to the large size of an establishment, or because certain of its men are working in outstations, it is not found feasible or convenient to obtain the receipts of the payees on the office copy of the pay bill, the head of the office concerned may, at his discretion maintain a separate acquittance roll in Form 11-B. If the payee does not present himself before the end of the month, the amount drawn for him should ordinarily be refunded by short drawal in the next bill, his pay or allowance can be drawn anew under paragraph 141 when he presents himself to receive it. In cases, however, where this restriction will operate inconveniently, the amount of undisbursed pay may, at the option of the disbursing officer, be retained for any period not exceeding three months. As drawing officers are personally responsible for the sums drawn on establishment bills from the Treasury, the concession should not be availed of in cases where they are not satisfied that proper arrangements can be made for the safe custody of the sums retained. Pay may not, under any circumstances, be placed in deposit. The leave salary of a non-gazetted Government servant on leave in India must be drawn from the Treasury from which his pay is ordinarily disbursed under the signature of the head of his office or of the gazetted Government servant authorized to sign for the head of the office, vide paragraph 47 (g), and he must make his own arrangements for getting it remitted to him see Treasury Rule 20.

NOTES—(1) The maintenance of separate acquittance rolls should be despensed with if, in any case, the combination of pay bills and acquittance rolls is not found to be feasible owing to the large size of an establishment or because some of its men are working in out-stations, the head of the office concerned may, at his discretion, maintain a separate acquittance roll on the form in present use.

(2) The provisions of paragraph 111 apply also to bills of establishment. The drawing officer should see that a responsible person is sent to cash bills and that Government money is never entrusted to low-paid servants without security. For a definition of the term "responsible person" please see Appendix XVII. See also paragraph 47-A.

(3) The orders contained in note 2 and note 5 under paragraph 110 are mutatis mutandis applicable to the disbursement of pay and allowances of a non-gazetted Government servant.

139. A bill register in Form no. 11-C should be maintained by all drawing officers. The register should be reviewed monthly by the drawing officer, or by the officer, if any, authorized to sign bills on his behalf, and the result of the review recorded thereon.

This rule applies also to cash received by a subordinate officer for payment of pay and allowance of Government servants serving under him.

140. The head of an office is not at liberty to re-adjust the pay and allowances of Government servant by giving one person more and another less than the sanctioned pay of his post ; nor may he distribute the pay of an absentee otherwise than as provided in the Fundamental Rules. But in the case of departments or establishments divided into grades there is no objection to an excess appointment being made in a lower grade against a vacancy left unfilled in a higher grade. This liberty must, however, not be used for the purpose of increasing the numerical strength of an office. For each vacancy in a higher grade, only one extra appointment in a lower grade is admissible.

NOTE—This rule is applicable to ministerial establishment also.