Accounting Code for Revenue Collection

301 - The individual officers concerned with the collection of particular items of revenue are specified in an Appendix to each year's approved Estimates, where such an officer is not already an Accounting Officer he will be primarily responsible to the Accounting Officer of his Ministry or Department. Accounting Officers will draw up a code of instructions of the procedure to be followed in their organizations to ensure the prompt and correct collection of revenue due. Each code will be subject to approval by the Accountant-General after consultation with the Auditor-General and will thereafter have effect as though it were part of these Financial Regulations. Where the approved code is at variance with these regulations the code will prevail.

Issue of Receipts

302 - Save where otherwise expressly provided every Sub- Issue of Accounting Officer or Revenue Collector will give a receipt upon the Receipts prescribed form for each sum paid to him. Every copy of receipt will bear the stamp of the office of issue. In no circumstances may temporary unofficial receipts be given.

Payer to sign.

303-Where carbon copy receipt books are used the payer shall sign the receipt in the space provided for the purpose: where counterfoil receipt books are used the payer shall sign on the counterfoil of the receipt. When money is received by post or messenger, the duplicate copy of the receipt issued will be supported by the covering document. Where the payer is unable to sign his name, he will be asked by the Sub-Accounting Officer or Revenue Collector to make his mark, and that mark will be witnessed by a third person, who will also enter his occupation and address.

Details of transaction to be shown in receipt

304-Where printed receipts or license forms contain spaces for the insertion of detail in manuscript, the appropriate detail will be inserted in each such space. The space provided for details of the amount paid will have inserted in it such information concerning quantities or rates, or the relevant invoice, issue voucher or other document as will enable the classification and computation of the amount to be verified. The particulars of cheques, money and postal orders will be shown on the receipt and counterfoil. Licenses will be brought to account directly in each cash book and no covering receipt is required.

General Receipts (Treasury Book 6)

306 - a) Except where receipt or license books are specially printed for particular purposes, or where receipting machines are used, General Receipts (Treasury Books 6) will be used by all Sub-Accounting Officers. These books each contain fifty sets of original, duplicate and triplicate receipts.

b) The original receipts will be completed in indelible pencil, and double sided carbon paper will be used to make the duplicate and triplicates. The originals will be handed or delivered to the payers by the officer who issues the receipts. The duplicate receipts supported by completed Treasury Forms 15 or 15A will be used as Cash book vouchers and the triplicate receipts will be retained in the book.

c) The above regulations for the preparation and disposal of original, duplicate and triplicate copies of receipts will be applied also to special receipt books or license books, which are printed and arranged in the same manner as General Receipt books.

Counterfoil to be initialed.

307 -- Where fixed fee licences or tickets of the counterfoil type are used, the counterfoil of each licence or ticket issued, will be initialed by the issuing officer.

308 - a) Except where receipt or licence books are specially printed for a particular purpose or where receipting machines are used, Revenue Collector' Receipt (Treasury Book 6A) will be used by all Revenue Collectors. These books each contain fifty sets of original, duplicate and triplicate receipts.

b) The original receipts will be completed in indelible pencil, and double sided carbon paper will be used to make duplicates and, where applicable triplicates. The originals will be handed over or delivered to the payers by the officer who issued the receipts.

c) Where fees are fixed, the amount of the fee should be printed on the receipt or licence. Under no circumstance shall a printed face value of a fixed fee licence or ticket be altered to a lower or higher amount by a revenue collector or Sub-Accounting Officer.

Revenue Collector's duties

309 - Every Revenue Collector will keep a cash book in which all receipts will be entered without delay in strict serial number order on the day of receipt, and in which all payments to a Sub-Accounting Officer or other prescribed officers will be promptly recorded. Such payments will be made at least a week unless an alternative specific period is approved by the Accountant-General.

The payments will be supported by a Revenue Collector's paying-in Form (Treasury 15A) and the duplicate receipts will be included by the Sub-Accounting Officer in his monthly accounts. The Revenue Collector will insert in the paying-in form the Head and Sub-Head to which the collections are to be credited, but the receiving cashier will in each case verify, so far as he is able, that the Head and Sub-Head are correct,

b) Where receipts or licences are of fixed value, such value being printed on the receipt or licence form, details of each such receipt or licence need not be given in the paying-in Form, nor need counterfoils be attached. The necessary information will be supplied on Treasury Form 15A as follows

Date Receipt Nos Head Sub-Head Amount

1-7April 1002-1-16 N K

15 at 50k

c) Where a document itself constitutes a receipt (e.g. a passport) or where adhesive postage stamps are used as evidence of receipt ,a register showing full particulars will be maintained by the revenue collecting officer and each entry therein checked and initialed by the responsible supervising officer who will satisfy himself that all such revenue had been collected and brought to account in the cash book.

Revenue Collector's Cash Books details to be included in

310-All receipt entries in the Revenue Collectors Cash Book will include the dates and numbers of all receipts issued. The Revenue Collector will obtain an official receipt for all moneys paid in by him and will paste this receipt in his cash book, recording its date and number, on the payment side of the cash book.

Treasury Control

311-Every Revenue Collector will submit his Cash Book and receipt books for examination to the Sub-Accounting Officer to whom he pays his collections at such fixed intervals as the Accountant-General or Accounting Officer may prescribe. In fixing the intervals at which (a) collections should be paid and (b) Revenue Collector's Books should be produced for examination, consideration will be taken of the number of transactions, the amount of money collected, the facilities available to Revenue Collectors for the safe custody of their cash and the travelling time involved. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, the intervals at which Revenue Collectors Cash Books are produced for examination shall not be greater than one month. The Accountant-General or the Accounting Officer shall supplement routine checks as far as possible by surprise inspections at offices concerned.

Revenue bank account

312-Sub-Accounting Officers,Pay officers,and Sub-Treasurers are responsible for calling upon Revenue Collectors to pay in their collections and produce their cash books for examinations in accordance with Regulations 309,310 and 311 and thereafter for reporting any failure to do so.

Sub-Accounting Officer's examination

313- A separate bank account for Revenue only shall be maintained by Ministries/Extra-Ministerial Departments at various banks to be designated by the Ministry of Finance. The balance of accounts shall be transferred bimonthly to the State Revenue accounts maintained by the Accountant-General.

Sub-Accounting Officer's examination

314 - a) When a revenue collector produces his Cash Book for examination to a Sub-Accounting Officer, the triplicate of counterfoils of his receipt books will be checked with the receipt entries in his Cash Book, and the payment entries with the Treasury receipts pasted in his Cash Book, in accordance with Financial Regulation 310.

Revenue Collectors' Cash Book to be ruled off.

b) The Revenue Collector's Cash Book must be ruled off and balanced, and cash or its equivalent must be produced in support of any collection not paid in previously. Examining officers will stamp, initial and date in ink the last receipt or counterfoil examined by them in each receipt book and will initial and date the Revenue Collector's Cash Book after they are satisfied that all moneys received have been correctly accounted for. Measures must be taken at each examination to ensure that no book issued to a Revenue Collector is being concealed for fraudulent purposes; and as far as possible, all books on issue to a Revenue Collector which should be produced at one inspection must be seen at the next, or if fraud is suspected, called for immediately,

c) Examining officers shall also impose any additional checks which circumstance may require.

Charts of Revenue Collectors.

315 - A Sub-Accounting Officer will maintain up-to-date in his office, a chart listing the individual Revenue Collectors under his control and the dates on which each is required to present his Cash Book for examination, (see specimen chart in Appendix 5).

Alterations

316-Whenever an incorrect entry has been made on a receipt or licence, the receipt or licence will be cancelled and a new form completed. The cancelled forms, including the original, will be retained in the receipt or licence book.

Departmental control

317 -It is the duty of the Accounting Officer responsible for the collection of revenue or other moneys due to Government, to ensure that all collections for which he is responsible are correctly and promptly brought to account, whether such collections are payable direct to him, or to a Sub-Accounting Officer or through any other channel. None of the checks which are required by these Regulations to be carried out by Sub-Accounting Officers. Relieves the Accounting Officer of the ultimate responsibility of verifying that all collections are brought to account. In addition to any other checks which an Accounting Officer may consider necessary, Revenue Collectors' Cash Books and cash balances will be checked at irregular intervals and Cash Books will be promptly reconciled with Revenue Registers or other records in use for the control of collections. Accounting officers will notify the appropriate Sub-Accounting Officer and the Auditor-General of the establishment of any new revenue collecting office.

Receipts by officers not in possession of official receipt books

318 - If an officer who is neither a Revenue Collector nor a Sub- Accounting Officer, comes into possession of moneys in the course of his official duties, he will lodge them without delay with a Sub- Accounting Officer who will issue an official receipt. The lodgment will be supported by a paying-in-form (Treasury Form 15). When accepting such lodgment the Sub-Accounting Officer will ascertain books whether the officer is likely to come into possession of further moneys in the course of his duties, and if so will arrange for the officer to be supplied with an official receipt book.

Collections to be paid to banks

319 - Subject to Regulations 816 and 817, and unless the Accounting officer or Sub-Accounting Officer shall expressly authorize otherwise, to be all stations where there is a bank in which the Government account is kept, collections will be paid in to the credit of the Government account at the bank, the relevant bank credit slip supported by completed Treasury Forms 15 or 15A in duplicate being tendered to the Sub-Accounting Officer in lieu of cash at the earlier moment (see Regulation 811).

Bills of Exchange

320 - Regulations concerning the acceptance and negotiation of cheques, are contained in chapter 8.

Revenue collection by Sub -- Accounting officers

321 - (a) Sub-Accounting Officers who function as Revenue Collectors will bring their collections to account direct into their Cash Books, the receipt being acknowledged on General Receipt Form (treasury Form 6). Or the appropriate Receipt or Licence form.

(b) This Regulation is not intended to prevent a division of work in a particular office. Any Officer other than the Sub-Accounting Officer may, for instance, be supplied with a Revenue Collectors receipt book (treasury Form 6A). and made responsible for the collection of specified revenue. Such officer shall be subject to all regulations relating to the conduct of Revenue Collectors.

Cash Surplus

322-Any unexplained surplus cash will be promptly brought to account as a receipt, placed on deposit, and reported to the Accountant-General or, in the case of a self-Accounting unit, to the Accounting Officer. Subject to the specific approval of the Accountant-General or the Accounting Officer, as the case may be, such surplus may be withdrawn from deposit to make good a subsequent deficiency provided that the deficiency is directly attributable to the correction of the error which caused the apparent surplus. The Accountant-General will instruct that amounts not so withdrawn from deposit are transferred to Revenue.

Deductions from Revenue prohibited

323-No deduction will be made from any revenue collection or other receipt to adjust a previous over credit. The gross amount received must on all occasions be accounted for in full.

Moneys due to Abia State Government

324-The following general principles will apply.

(a) All accounts or statements requesting payment to Government of revenue due should be sent out in advance and should show thereon the date by which payment should be made.

(b) All services rendered by Government must be paid for immediately on completion of the service at the latest. Where possible, payment should be made in advance, but when the final cost is not known an advance payment must be lodged to cover the estimated cost of the service.

(c) Where payment is outstanding a system of follow-up by means of reminders and final demand will be made. Printed or stenciled proformas should be used for this purpose, and definite instructions will be laid down by Accounting Officers in Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments for the reporting of outstanding arrears at an early date to a designated officer for a decision as to the action necessary to enforce payment, e.g. legal action, etc. Final demands should be sent by registered post.

The Procedure for refunds of revenue and advance payments as above is prescribed in Chapter 22, Financial Regulation 2206.

Arrears of Revenue annual returns

325 -- a) Accounting Officers who are responsible for the collection of revenue will furnish annually a Return of Arrears of revenue due at the 31st December in each year which remains uncollected by the following 31st March. The return which will be submitted by the 31st May, will be prepared in triplicate, one copy being sent to the Accountant-General, one to the Auditor-General and the third retained for record purposes. In cases where there is no outstanding revenue a NIL return should be furnished. The Accountant-General will list in his Annual Report these departmental returns for the information of the Public Accounts Committee.

Arrears of Revenue authority for write-off.

b) It is emphasized that it is the responsibility of Accounting Officers to follow up outstanding items of revenue and to take all necessary steps to ensure collection or, where collection is clearly impracticable, to apply to the Ministry of Finance for authority for a write-off, explaining the circumstances.

Arrears of Income Tax: annual returns

326-The Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue will furnish, in lieu of the Arrears of Revenue at the 31st December, a return of all assessments raised up to that date and still outstanding at the 30th June, each year. Such return will include all assessments in the following categories:

a) Under objection.

b) Under appeal.

c) Unpaid.