Indian Railway Codes and Manuals-Stores code- Vol-I-Chapter-5 (V)

 


CHAPTER-V

SCRUTINY OF INDENTS/CONTRACTS FOR SUPPLY OF STORES AND CERTIFICATION OF FUNDS BY THE ACCOUNTS OFFICE

 

501.     Scrutiny of Indents/Contracts.— Copies of all Indents on central purchase agencies and contracts for stores or works valued over Rs. 4 Lakhs for items other than safety items and Rs. 8 Lakhs for safety items should be furnished to the Chief Accounts Officer for prior scrutiny and vetting.

(Authority Board's letter No. 2008/RS(G)/779/9 dated 0 6-02-2009)acs no. 25 page no. 81

 

The indents shall be scrutinised to see that:—  

(i) the quantity indented is not in excess of the quantity vetted previously in the contract estimate, recoupment sheet etc.  

(ii) that the correct head of purchase has been indicated and the expenditure has been shown as chargeable to the current year or advance grant according as the material is expected to be paid for during the current year or the subsequent years.

(iii) that the indent has been signed by an officer competent to do so.

The scrutiny of contracts/Acceptance of Tender should be conducted with reference to the purchase policy and rules, the Indian Railway Standard conditions of contract and general instructions issued by Railway Board or any other competent authority from time to time. Any departures therefrom should be reported to the authorities concerned for rectification. The agreement should be checked to see that:—

 (i) approval of the competent authority (as defined in Para 410-S) has been obtained. (ii) it is signed by an authority competent to do so. (iii) it is in the standard form and variations from the standard form, if any, are regular.  

(iv) that the rates and other particulars or conditions shown in the contract are in accordance with those quoted by the tenderer and accepted by the competent authority and that the total amount payable under the contract has been correctly indicated.  

502.    The existing price list rate, the last purchase rate and the date of such last purchase should be considered in checking the rate of the contract; if any large difference exists, it should be specially examined to make sure that the difference is not due to any failure to follow faithfully the procedure prescribed for the purpose of securing the lowest rates. It should also be seen that no unusual clauses exist in the agreement, which are likely to lead to loss. In cases of acceptance of tenders other than the lowest the justification set forth in support should be examined to see if it is in order. It should further be seen if the contract provides for the levy of liquidated damages from the supplier in case of delay in the delivery of stores and for such other safeguards in the interests of Administration.  

503.     Register of Agreements.—After audit the main particulars of the agreement should be entered into a special register maintained for the purpose (S. 503) and the agreement filed for safe custody. This register should show inter alia.:— 

(a)   Name of the Contractor and period of Contract;  

(b)   Particulars of Contract;                                                                      

(c)   Quantity ;

(d)   Rate and important terms of delivery;

(e)   Amount of security ; and (0   Penalty, if any.

This register facilitates reference to the original agreement and the check of contractors' bills, as it contains the important clauses of the agreement, shows the amount of agreement, the particulars of supplies, the amount of security, the penalty to be enforced and the terms of payment. The entries in the register should be made over the signature of the Section Officer. Separate parts of the register should be assigned for each class of stores.

504.    Whether the funds exist to meet the liabilities by the Indents/contracts should be examined by reference to the funds Register (see paragraph 506) and Indents/Contracts (or acceptance of tender) certified accordingly.

505.    Budget Allotment.—The funds sanctioned each year for Purchases are in respect of:— (i) Stores for Capital Works ;

(ii) Stores for works chargeable to the Depriciation Reserve Funds; Development Fund, Open Line Works (Revenue): and

(iii) Stores required for general purposes.

This lump-sum allotment will be distributed by the General Manager between the several heads of stores appearing in Form S. 506 (see also Annexure A to Form S. 3101). This distribution should be intimated to the Stores Accounts Office where it should be seen at the time of entering into commitments, that the expenditure likely to be incurred does not exceed the cash allotment as distributed over the various heads.

506.    Funds Register.—A Manuscript register should be maintained for the purposes of watching the incurrence of liabilities against the budget grant distributed as shown in paragraph 505. The form shown below should be used for the purpose.

FUNDS REGISTER

The amount of each contract or each indent forming a charge against the year's allotment should be entered in this register under the appropriate head of stores as also the cost of stores shown on accepted tenders, where such tenders themselves constitute the contracts. In respect of purchases arranged by the Controller of Stores under his powers of daily purchase of petty items, a statement should be called for monthly, and the figures intimated therein posted in the register under the various heads. Thus, all liabilities as far as can be ascertained are brought together on this register and compared with the budget allotments as they stand from lime to time. Excesses or savings due to alteration of contract prices or the cancellation of part or the whole of an existing contact or the issue of a Modification of a Purchase Order (S.619) should be posted in the register as a reduction of or addition to the balance of the grant.  

507. Certification of Funds.—Before placing any order or indent, a certificate regarding availability of funds should be invariably obtained from the Accounts Officers, Stores :—  

(a) In the case of purchases valued over Rs. 4 Lakhs each for items other than safety items and Rs. 8 Lakhs each for safety items, the total value of the tenders, after they have been accepted, will be worked out in the office of the Controller of Stores and the Accounts Officer will be asked to certify this total value before the acceptance of the tenders is communicated to the parties concerned. This will be done by reference to the Fund Register in which the amount certified should be entered at the same time.

(b) In the case of purchases valued less than Rs. 4 Lakhs each for items other than safety items and Rs. 8 Lakhs each for safety items including stores obtained through daily orders, the Controller of Stores should prepare a daily abstract of such orders showing the values of stores ordered, and the Accounts office should record a certificate of the availability of funds on this abstract before the orders are actually placed with the suppliers.

(Authority Board's letter No. 2008/RS(G)/779/9 dated 0 6-02-2009)…acs no. 26 page no. 83

Note (i)— Advance allotments are required for entering into commitments for "General Purposes" stores both imported and indigenous whether obtained directly or through the Director General Supplies and Disposals for delivery in the succeeding year or thereafter. With a view, however, to ensure executive control on Stores Balances and Legislative control on the advance commitments, specific allotment for General purposes stores subject to a ceiling limit of 80% jof the actual purchases of general purposes stores (excluding coal, coke, fuel oil and grain shop stores) of the proceeding years, are required to be fixed and approved by the Govt. In respect of coal, coke and fuel oil the specific requirement for such advance allotment should be worked out by the Railways and submitted for approval of the Govt. In order to fix the advance allotment for each year, the Railway Administrations should furnish by 25 th June each year, the following information duly checked by their FA&CAO :-                               

 

After the allotment has been fixed and approved by Govt. FA & CAO will not only certify  availability of funds on each advance indent, but it will also be his duty to check in consultation with  C.O.S. (CME in respect of fuel) that the quantity ordered for each item of stores is reasonable in view of  past consumption, stores in stock and on order and future requirements, (fixation and communication of advance allotment of a year based on the actual purchases of the previous year is possible only after close of previous years accounts. With a view, however, to avoid delay in sending forward indents in the next year, according to the time table laid down by Railway Board and the D.G.S. & D., an adhoc allotment will be made to the Railways in the month of March each year).  

Note (ii):— In order to have adequate ordering, Railways/Production Units may book orders in excess of the purchase grant subject to the condition that such excess booking is so regulated, in consultation with the associated finance, that the actual deliveries of the materials during the financial year remain within the budgeted purchase grant.  

Multiple choice questions:

  1. For which value of items should copies of all indents on central purchase agencies and contracts be furnished to the Chief Accounts Officer for prior scrutiny and vetting?

A) Over Rs. 2 Lakhs for all items
B) Over Rs. 4 Lakhs for items other than safety items and Rs. 8 Lakhs for safety items
C) Over Rs. 6 Lakhs for all items
D) Over Rs. 10 Lakhs for all items

Answer: B) Over Rs. 4 Lakhs for items other than safety items and Rs. 8 Lakhs for safety items

  1. What should be checked during the scrutiny of indents to ensure correct processing?

A) The indent is signed by the contractor
B) The quantity indented is not in excess of the quantity vetted previously in the contract estimate
C) The indent is approved by the Chief Accounts Officer
D) The indent is submitted within the current financial year

Answer: B) The quantity indented is not in excess of the quantity vetted previously in the contract estimate

  1. What is required to ensure that no unusual clauses exist in an agreement which could lead to loss?

A) Checking the rate of the contract against the existing price list rate and the last purchase rate
B) Confirming that the agreement is signed by an authority competent to do so
C) Ensuring the contract is in the standard form
D) Verifying the total amount payable under the contract

Answer: A) Checking the rate of the contract against the existing price list rate and the last purchase rate

  1. What should be recorded in the Register of Agreements?

A) Only the name of the contractor and the period of the contract
B) Main particulars of the agreement including name of the contractor, quantity, rate, security, and penalty
C) Only the particulars of the contract
D) All communication with the contractor

Answer: B) Main particulars of the agreement including name of the contractor, quantity, rate, security, and penalty

  1. How should the funds be checked before placing any order or indent?

A) By reference to the contractor's bank statements
B) By obtaining a certificate regarding availability of funds from the Accounts Officers, Stores
C) By consulting the General Manager
D) By verifying with the Chief Accounts Officer

Answer: B) By obtaining a certificate regarding availability of funds from the Accounts Officers, Stores

  1. How should excesses or savings due to alteration of contract prices be recorded?

A) They should not be recorded
B) They should be posted in the Funds Register as a reduction of or addition to the balance of the grant
C) They should be communicated to the contractor
D) They should be filed separately

Answer: B) They should be posted in the Funds Register as a reduction of or addition to the balance of the grant

  1. What should be ensured before entering into commitments for "General Purposes" stores?

A) Approval from the contractor
B) Advance allotments are fixed and approved by the Government
C) The total value of the tenders is less than Rs. 10 Lakhs
D) The General Manager's approval is obtained

Answer: B) Advance allotments are fixed and approved by the Government

  1. What information should be furnished by 25th June each year to fix the advance allotment for "General Purposes" stores?

A) Contractor's performance report
B) Actual purchases of general purposes stores of the previous year
C) Budget allocation for the current year
D) Inventory levels at the beginning of the year

Answer: B) Actual purchases of general purposes stores of the previous year

  1. What condition must be met for railways/production units to book orders in excess of the purchase grant?

A) Excess booking must be approved by the contractor
B) Actual deliveries during the financial year must remain within the budgeted purchase grant
C) The Controller of Stores must approve the excess booking
D) No condition needs to be met

Answer: B) Actual deliveries during the financial year must remain within the budgeted purchase grant

  1. In the case of purchases valued less than Rs. 4 Lakhs for items other than safety items, how should the Controller of Stores ensure the availability of funds?

A) By consulting the contractor
B) By preparing a daily abstract of such orders and having the Accounts office record a certificate of the availability of funds
C) By verifying the funds with the General Manager
D) By checking the funds at the end of each month

Answer: B) By preparing a daily abstract of such orders and having the Accounts office record a certificate of the availability of funds

 

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