Implementation of rule 4.49 of the Punjab Subsidiary Treasury Rules Payment of 100000 and above to Contractors and Suppliers 17.09.2008
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject: Punjab Subsidiary Treasury Rules
Kindly refer to the subject as cited above.
2. Your attention is invited to the provision of amended Rule 4.49 (a) of the Punjab Subsidiary Treasury Rules (STR), reproduced below, whereby payments of Rs. 100,000/- and above, to the contractors and suppliers, are to be made in the form of crossed cheques, issued by the Accountant General, Punjab / concerned District Accounts Officer in favor of the Drawing and Disbursing Officer for further endorsement in favor of the payee/s: –
“Payments of Rs. 100,000/- and above to contractors and suppliers shall not be made in cash by the Drawing and Disbursing Officers. At places where pre audit is conducted and pre-audit cheques are issued, the drawing and Disbursing Officer shall make an endorsement on the bill requiring a separate crossed cheque in his favor. The Accountant General, Punjab shall then issue a crossed cheque in favor of the Drawing and Disbursing Officer who will collect it either personally or through his authorized agent. The Drawing and Disbursing Officer will then endorse the cheque in favor of the contractor / supplier and deliver it to him on proper identification and obtain his acknowledgement”.
3. However, the Accountant General, Punjab has not been strictly observing the said rule and instead issuing pre-audited cheques by stamping them ‘Not Negotiable’ constraining the DDOs to make payments to suppliers/contractors in cash, instead of through crossed cheques, in contravention of the rule referred to above.
4. The aforesaid practice not only led to frequent audit observations by the Pakistan Audit Department but also circumvented the inbuilt safety mechanism of transferring the payments to payees in their bank accounts to minimize the chances of fraud / embezzlement/theft.
5. In order to rationalize the issue, the matter was taken up with the Controller General of Accounts, Islamabad for ensuring that the provisions of Rule 4.49 (a) STR are observed in letter and spirit.
6. The Controller General of Accounts, Islamabad after due consideration of the entire issue has advised the Accountant General, Punjab to observe the requirement of Rule 4.49 (a) of STR.
7. It is accordingly requested that all DDOs under your control may kindly be directed to observe the said rule in letter and spirit.
