Para 5.11 — MSO (A&E)
Original Rule Text
5.11 In cases where Certificate of payments are received in lieu of lost vouchers, they should be checked in detail in the same way as original vouchers. Scrutiny of the certificates of payment in the Office of the Accountant General (A&E) will not wait for audit thereof by Accountant General (Audit). They should be examined judiciously to see that there were no unusual circumstances or malafides attached to the non-production of the original vouchers and then they should be submitted to the Branch Officer if the amount of such certificate does not
exceed Rs. 10,000 or to the Group Officer, if it exceeds Rs. 10,000. Cases of loss of vouchers under unusual or peculiar circumstances should be brought to the notice of the Accountant General for information, if found necessary. Accountant General's enquiry in such cases will be directed to find out inter alia, whether there has been repeated or large number of cases of lost vouchers in respect of any particular Drawing and Disbursing Officer/treasury and whether there has been any suspected connivance or collusion of the departmental staff in non-production of original vouchers. For this purpose the Accountant General (A&E) may seek the help of Field audit parties of Accountant General (Audit).
The particulars of Certificates of Payment so accepted should be recorded in a register maintained in Form 2 and the Control Section should review the register half yearly (20th June and September) with a view to finding out whether there were any cases of loss of original vouchers under unusual circumstances or any malafides attached to the non-production of the original vouchers.
The result of the review should be submitted to the Accountant General on the 30th June and 31st December respectively.
What This Means
When original vouchers are lost and replaced by Certificates of Payment, these certificates must be scrutinized as carefully as original vouchers. Certificates up to Rs. 10,000 are approved by the Branch Officer; above Rs. 10,000 by the Group Officer. The AG's office must watch for suspicious patterns — such as repeated lost vouchers from the same officer — and investigate whether there is connivance or fraud. A register (Form 2) tracks all accepted certificates, reviewed half-yearly.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Certificates of Payment replace lost vouchers and must be checked like originals
- 2Approval authority: Branch Officer up to Rs. 10,000, Group Officer above Rs. 10,000
- 3Unusual circumstances or suspected bad faith must be reported to the Accountant General
- 4The AG investigates patterns: repeated losses, specific officers involved, possible collusion
- 5A register in Form 2 records all accepted Certificates of Payment
- 6Control Section reviews the register half-yearly (by June 20 and September) with results submitted to the AG by June 30 and December 31
Practical Example
A Drawing and Disbursing Officer in the Education Department submits Certificates of Payment for 12 lost vouchers in a single quarter, totaling Rs. 8 lakh. The compilation section notices this pattern and flags it to the Accountant General. The AG initiates an inquiry, checking whether the DDO has a history of voucher losses, and may request the AG (Audit) to send field audit parties to physically verify whether the payments were actually made to the claimed payees.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Certificate of Payment?▼
How does the AG detect fraud through lost vouchers?▼
Why is the scrutiny not held up waiting for audit?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.