The West Bengal Financial Rules
In exercise of the power conferred by clause (3) of Article 166 of the Constitution of India, the Governor is pleased hereby to make the following rules, namely :-
Volume I, Chapter 1
Introductory and Definitions
Short Title and Commencement
1.These rules may be called the "West Bengal Financial Rules" and they shall come into force with effect from [18th April 1979.]
2. The rules in this volume describe primarily the financial powers of different authorities subordinate to the Government of West Bengal and the procedure prescribed by the Governor which should be followed by them in the securing and spending of the funds necessary for the discharge of the functions entrusted to them. In the matter of receipt, custody and disbursement of Government moneys, these rules are supplementary to Treasury Rules, West Bengal and should be applied in conjunction with them. Departmental authorities should follow these rules, supplemented or modified by the special rules and instructions, if any, contained in their departmental regulations and other special orders applicable to them.
Definitions
3.Unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context the following expressions are used in the West Bengal Financial Rules in the sense here explained:-
(1)Accountant-General means the head of the office of audit and accounts, subordinate to the Auditor-General of India who keeps the accounts of the State and exercises audit functions in relation to those accounts on behalf of the Auditor-General of India.
(2) Administrative approval - This term denotes the formal acceptance, by the administrative department concerned, of the proposals for incurring any expenditure in the Works and Buildings or the Irrigation and Waterways Department on a work initiated by or connected with, the requirements of such administrative department. It is, in effect, an order to the Works and Buildings or the Irrigation and Waterways Department to execute certain specified works at a stated sum to meet the administrative needs of the department requiring the work. [See also clause (32).]
(3) Advance payment means a payment made on a running account to & contractor for work done by him but not measured.
(4) Appropriation means the amount provided in the budget estimates for a unit of appropriation or the part of that amount placed at the disposal of a disbursing officer.
(5) The Bank means the Reserve Bank of India or any branch or agency of the Reserve Bank of India and includes any branch of the [State] Bank of India acting as the agent of the Reserve Bank of India in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India. Act, 1934 (Act II of 1934).
"Reserve Bank" means the Reserve Bank of India.
(6) Book adjustment (or book transfer) means the entries made in the Government accounts in respect of a financial transaction which does not involve any actual receipt or disbursement of cash or stores by the Government, so that a disbursement entered under one head (or heads) is exactly counterbalanced by a receipt under another head (or heads). A book adjustment may represent a transaction between different departments of the Government or a correction in entries already made in the accounts.
(7) Competent authority means the Government or any other authority to whom the relevant powers may be delegated by the Government.
(8) Controlling officer means a Head of Department or other departmental officer who is entrusted with the responsibility of controlling the incurring of expenditure and/or the collection of revenue by the subordinate authorities of a department.
(9) Deposit works. - This term is applied to works of construction or repair the cost of which is met, not out of Government funds, but out of funds from non. Government sources, which- may either be deposited in cash or otherwise placed at the disposal of the Divisional Officer. Works executed for municipalities and other public bodies fall under this category when the cost is chargeable either to cash deposits made for the purpose, or to their credit balances at Treasuries.
(10) Divisional Officer - The term is applied to an executive officer of the Works and Buildings or the Irrigation and Waterways Department who is not subordinate to another executive or disbursing officer of the department, even though the executive charge held by him may not be recognised as a "division" by Government. Thus, the officer in charge of an independent subdivision is also treated as a Divisional Officer. .
(11) Final payment means the last payment on a running account made to a contractor in full settlement of the account relating to his contract when the con- tract has been completed or determined.
(12) Finance Department means the Finance Department of the Government of West Bengal and such other authorities in which the powers of the Finance Department are vested by the Governor.
(13) Financial Year means the year beginning on the 1st of April and ending on the 31st March following.
(14) Government means the Government of West Bengal.
Note : Whenever in these rules a power is conferred on Government, that power shall be exercised only after consultation with the Finance Department, unless there is any express provision to the contrary in any other rule, order or notification.
(15) Governor means the Governor of the State of West Bengal.
(16) Heads of Departments are Government servants declared to be such by Government in terms of rule 5(16) of West Bengal Service Rules, Part I.
(17) Intermediate payment is a term applied to a disbursement of any kind on a running account, not being the final payment. It includes an "Advance payment," a "Secured advance" and an "On-account payment (other than final payment on a running account)," or a combination of these.
(18) Issue rate.- The term denotes the cost per unit fixed, in respect of an article home on the stocks of the department at a valuation for the purpose of calculating the amount creditable to the sub-head concerned (i.e., the sub-head under which the article is classified) of the stock account by charge to the account or service concerned, when any quantity of that article "is issued from stock. This does not take into account the storage charges mentioned in clause (29).
(19) Local Loan Works - This expression indicates works executed by the Works and Buildings or the Irrigation and Waterways Department on behalf of a Municipality, Port Trust or other corporation, when the cost of the work is to form part of a loan given to it by Government for the purpose.
(20) Market rate - Used in respect of an article borne on the stock accounts of a division, this term indicates the cost per unit at which the article, or an article of similar description, can be procured, at a given time at the stores godown, from the public markets suitable to the division for obtaining a supply thereof.
(21) Non-recurring expenditure means expenditure sanctioned as a lump sum charge, whether the money be paid as a lump sum or by instalments.
(22) On-account payment or Payment on Account means a payment made on a running account to a contractor in respect of work done or supplies made by him and duly measured. Such a payment mayor may not be for the full value of the work or supplies; if it is an intermediate payment, it is subject to the final settlement of the running account on the completion of the contract for the work or supplies.
(23) Public Account means the Public Account of the State referred to in clause (2) of article 266 of the Constitution of India.
Note.- Without prejudice to anything contained in Article 202 of the Constitution of India "revenues of the State' , would include all moneys received by Government officers on behalf of the Government as such; not only the proceeds of taxation and the yield of ordinary revenues but also capital receipts such as the proceeds of sales of land; the proceeds of borrowing operations; unfounded debt; and unless the contrary intention appears, such receipts of a banking or deposit nature as by virtue of any statutory provision, or of any general or special executive order of the Government have to be held in the custody of the Government.
(24) Public Buildings - The term "Public Buildings" as used in these rules applies to buildings borne on the books of the Works and Buildings Department and maintained from the appropriation for public works in charge of Work and Buildings Department officers.
(25) Reappropriation means the transfer of savings in the appropriation for ~ unit of appropriation to meet excess expenditure anticipated under another unit.
(26) Recurring expenditure means all expenditure which is not non-recurring.
(27) Running Account is a term applied to the account with a contractor, when payment for work or supplies is made to him at convenient intervals subject to final settlement of the account on the completion or determination of his contract.
(28) State means the State of West Bengal.
(29) Storage rate and storage charges - These expressions denote, respectively, the centage rate fixed for, and charges levied on, all issues of stock to cover such actual expenditure as is incurred after the acquisition of the stores, on work-charged establishment employed on handling and keeping initial accounts, the custody of stock and the maintenance of the store godown or yards, etc.
(30) Supervision charges - This term, in relation to stores, is applied ordinarily to the charges which are levied, in addition to book value and store charges, in respect of stock materials sold or transferred, and are intended to cover such items of the expenditure incurred on the stores as do not enter their book value and are not included in the storage charges. [See clause (29).]
(31) Takavi works - This term denotes works of construction or maintenance relating to water courses or any other works, expenditure on which is treated by Government as a takavi advance (i.e., an advance to cultivators) recoverable from the party or parties concerned.
(32) Technical sanction means the order of the competent authority sanctioning a. properly detailed estimate of the cost of a work of construction or repair proposed to be carried out in the Works and Buildings or Irrigation and Waterways Department. Ordinarily, such sanction can only be accorded by the Government in the Works and Buildings or Irrigation and Waterways Department or by such authorities subordinate to the department to whom the power has boon delegated by Government. Sanction accorded to a work by any other department of Government is regarded merely as an administrative approval of the work, vide clause (2).
(33) Treasury Rules means the Treasury Rules, West Bengal, and the subsidiary rules made thereunder.
(34) Unit of appropriation means the lowest account head under which the Government place a specific appropriation at the disposal of the spending authority concerned.
(35) Value - This term used in connection with the sale of stock materials or their issues to works includes storage charges.
The West Bengal Financial Rules
Chapter 2
General System of Financial Management and Control
SECTION I - RECEIPT OF MONEY
Public Sector Banks Receipt of Government dues and check of revenue Public Sector Banks receipt by Departmental Officers
4. All transactions to which any officer of Government is a party in his official capacity must be brought to account without delay.
5. All moneys received by or on behalf of Government either as dues of Government or for deposit, remittance or otherwise shall be brought into Government Account without delay, in accordance with such general or special rules as may be issued under article 150 and clause (2) of article 283 of the Constitution of India.
6. (1) (a) All moneys received by or deposited with any officer, employed in connection with the affairs of the State in his capacity as such, other than revenues or public money raised or received by Government shall be paid into the Public Account.
(b) All moneys received by or deposited with any Court within the territory of the State to the credit of any cause, matter, account or persons shall be paid into the Public Account.
(2) The head of account to which such moneys shall be credited shall follow the normal rules of classification and the withdrawal of these moneys from the account shall be governed by the provisions in the Treasury Rules or such other general or special orders as may be issued in this behalf.
7. Departmental receipts may ordinarily be realised in legal tender coin or notes only, But in certain cases cheques payable on demand including crossed cheques, Reserve Bank of India Drafts and demand drafts may be accepted.
See also note below S. R. 32 of the Treasury Rules, West Bengal.
8. The departmental controlling officers should see that all sums due to Government are regularly received and checked against demands and that they are paid into the treasury. They Should accordingly arrange to receive from their subordinates accounts and returns claiming credit for 80 much paid into the treasury, and compare with those the figures recorded in the books of the Accountant-General if these are supplied to them under an arrangement between the Auditor-general and the Government.
The detailed rules regarding the demands and collection of revenue of the different departments are contained in the Departmental Regulations or Manuals. Note 1 - It is essential that the departmental controlling officer's account should not be compiled from the returns prepared by the treasury. But the Treasury Officer is in some oases required to verify returns prepared for submission to departmental controlling officers.
Note 2 - To facilitate the reconciliation of the returns submitted by the subordinate revenue authorities to the Board of Revenue with the figures supplied to the Board by the Accountant-General, the latter sends to each Collector a return showing the results arrived at in the first stage of the preparation of his monthly account. This return shows under certain heads the figures of the Treasury Cash Account and all the corrections and alterations introduced therein in this stage. These figures should be carefully compared by the Collector with those sent by him to the Board of Revenue with explanation of difference, if any. A certificate of this comparison should be given at the foot of the Revenue Returns, and a similar certificate should also be sent to the Accountant-General.
Revenue receipts of the Works and Buildings or of the Irrigation and Waterways Department
9. Revenue of the Works and Buildings or of the Irrigation and Waterways Department is assessed and realised in accordance with the following rules :-
(a) Divisional Officers of the Works and Buildings or of the Irrigation and Waterways Department are responsible that demands are made as revenue falls due, that steps are taken with a view to effect prompt realisation of all revenue, regular or occasional, and that proper records are kept to show, in respect of all items of revenue, recurring or non-recurring, the assessments made, the progress of recovery and the outstanding debts due to Government.
Note - The object of this rule is that all classes of revenue, whether accruing from property of any kind, from leases of rights and concessions (e.g., rights for fishing, grazing, etc., and use of waterpower) or from any other source are property watched.
(b) The recovery of all debts due to Government should receive the special attention of the Divisional Officer, and no debt should be remitted or written off except under the orders of competent authority.
Irrigation revenue collected by the District and Revenue authorities
10. (a) When revenue from irrigation and navigation works, etc., is realised by the District and Revenue authorities, the Divisional Officer should receive from the Collectors monthly statement of the amounts realised, to enable him to watch the progress of recovery against demands or assessments.
(b) The Divisional Officer should also submit to the Accountant-General a half-yearly statement showing separately for each civil district, the monthly realisations, as compared with assessments, in respect of each canal or other work. Recoveries of rents on buildings and lands
(a) From private persons
11. When a. public building, land or other property is let to a person not in the service of Government, the full assessed rent must be recovered in advance.
(b) From Government servants and pensioners
12. The recovery of rent from Government servants occupying rentable buildings in-charge of the department may be made either in cash or by deduction from their pay bills through the Treasury Officer or other disbursing officer concerned.
Note 1 - Amounts due on account of the hire of Government furniture and on account of the value of articles of furniture and other Government property lost or damaged by a Government servant as well as any other dues for which a Government servant may be liable to Government in respect of the residence allotted to him may also be recovered either in cash or by deduction from pay bills in accordance With this rule.
Note 2 - The system of direct recovery in cash from employees of other divisions and departments is ordinarily not suitable' when the rent recoverable is dependent upon the rate of pay of the occupant.
Note 3 - he agreement to be executed by Government servants occupying rentable-Government buildings shall include the following clause, namely:
The Governor (the lessor) shall have the right to deduct, through the concerned Treasury Officer or the concerned Disbursing Officer, as the case may be, from the Government servant s (the lessee's) monthly pay bill any amount which is due to Government as rent and recoverable from him (the lessee).