Indian Railway Codes and Manuals-Accounts code- Vol-II-Chapter-29 (XXIX)
CHAPTER XXIX
CARRIAGE BILLS AND THE
ACCOUNTS OFFICE BALANCE SHEET
2901 Stations take credit in their Balance sheet for
the amount of fares and freight represented by vouchers sent to the Accounts
Office in lieu of Cash. The realization of this amount, as also of similar
other amounts which do not pass through the Station Balance Sheet(viz. carriage
of postal mails, haulage of postal vehicles, etc.) develops upon the Accounts
Office and is made through Carriage Bills.
2902 Classes of Carriage Bills.-Carriage Bills are
of two classes, namely
1) Those prepared from Warrants and Credit notes
received daily from stations with the Cash Remittance Notes.
2) Those prepared from Advices and statements
received from departments, etc.
2903 The procedure for the receipt, sorting and
registration of station vouchers (Local and Through) has been described in
paragraph 2727. The following paragraphs deal with the check of Credit Notes,
Advice and Statements, and with the preparation of Bills and their realization
from the firms or departments concerned.
2904 Check of credit notes- The amount of each
individual credit note as received from the station should be compared with the
entry relating to the connected tickets, way-bill or invoice in the return
(including machine prepared abstracts returned by the destination stations and
paid statements received from machine section in the case of Goods/Money Coal
traffic) in support of
c. Those adjustable in the books of the home
railway.
2929 It will be found convenient to write up the
Accounts Office Balance sheet separately for each class of bills, for this
purpose, each Accounts Office Balance sheet should be the corresponding debit,
to ensure that the latter show an identical amount. In cases in which demurrage
or wharfage charges are included in a Credit Note, it should be seen that such
charges are accounted for in the Demurrage and Wharfage returns. A suitable
remark should be given in the relevant return against the entry of the
connected Ticket, Waybill or Invoice to guard against duplicate credit being
taken in connection with the same transaction. The following points should also
be looked into during the check of Credit Notes:-
1) The credit note is ‘original’ and is in proper
form.
2) It is signed by the department issuing it.
3) It bears the stamp of the issuing office.
4) There are no erasures, and alterations, if any,
have been attested by the issuing officer.
5) The certificate at the foot of the credit note
has been completed and signed by the Station Master and CBS/CGS as the case may
be with stamp. The sample signatures of the signatories are to be forwarded to
Traffic Accounts office at the beginning of the Financial Year and whenever a
new incumbent assumes charge.
6) Full particulars of the transaction, in payment
of which is rendered, are quoted.
7) When a single credit note is issued for a number
of transactions payable at one time and place, full particulars of all such
transactions are recorded in the credit note.
8) In the case of Credit Notes of the posts and
telegraphs department the column headed ‘class’ has been correctly filled in to
admit of the correct levy of freight charges. Note- the above procedure does
not apply to Firms credit notes which are sent by cash office to the Reserve
Bank direct for collection from the bankers of the firms concerned and are not,
therefore, received and subjected to check in the Accounts Office.
2905 The check of charges shown in warrants and
credit notes relating to coaching traffic mainly consists in bringing them to
accord with the checked amount of the connected tickets or waybills except
that:-
1) In the case BPT/EFT where the connected tickets
may not have come in the prescribed check, the warrants/credit notes should be
checked completely and
2) The check of freight charges on credit notes
relating to Parcels traffic involving freight value below Rs.30 in each case
should be conducted to the extent of 10%subject to the same conditions as in
vogue in the check of parcels way-bills falling under this monetary limit.
3) In the case of police warrants/jail vouchers, the
under mentioned checks should be conducted:-
a. Complete check of fare with reference to the
particulars shown on the Police Warrants/Jail Vouchers, viz., Station From,
Station to, class, etc. which are not exchanged through UTS/PRS system.
b. In case where under or overcharges are noticed
the linking should be cent percent. c. Cent Percent linking with entries of
tickets in the return where other than printed tickets are issued. In the case
of Goods traffic, the Credit Notes should be checked as per the data available
thereon. The Accounts foil of the Invoices received from the forwarding station
should be referred to and verified by TA for the purpose. The check of rates on
Goods Credit Notes involving freight value of Rs. 100/- may be exercised to the
extent of ten percent.
2906 Carriage bills for Credit notes and Warrants-
After the credit notes and warrants have been subjected to internal check in
the Accounts Office, these should be entered in carriage Bills (A.2907
orA.2908).
2907 All carriage bills except those against the
Controller of Defence Accounts should be prepared in formA-2907.
2908Carriage bills against Controller of Defence
Accounts should be prepared in FormA-2908.
2909 The Carriage Bills should be prepared
separately for each Government Department, firm or person against whom a claim
lies, and should show the total freight due on each voucher, the vouchers
themselves being securely attached to the bill. Thus the total each bill 83
will represent the freight due on the vouchers attached to it.
2910 Register of Credit notes kept pending.- Credit
notes, should be as far as possible, be included in Carriage Bills for the
month to which they pertain. However, those, which cannot be billed for, on
account of some reason or other, should be entered in a register (From AC(T)
V-I) of pending credit notes maintained for the purpose, and care should be
taken to see that they are included in the subsequent bill against the department
concerned.
2911 Commission Charges on Warrants and Credit
Notes.- Commission Charges are payable to the railways by the Government
departments for the use of Warrants and Credit notes in payment of railway fare
and freight.
2912 The commission charges should be levied at the
rates prescribed by Board for Credit Notes and Warrants relating to the State
Governments, Union Territories and Civil Departments of the Government of
India. In the case of Defence Department of Government of India,also,the commission
charges should be levied at the rate prescribed by Board forCredit Notes and
Warrants except that in respect of Military Warrants for
individuals(FormI.A.F.T1752)for journey in II class/sleeper class, the
Commission charges should be levied at the rate prescribed by Board for as
Commission charges. The commission may be charge above rates or as prescribed
from time to time.
2913 The amount of commission charges recoverable
from the departments concerned, on account of the use of warrants and credit
notes, should be included as a separate item in the same bill in which charges
in respect of the warrants and credit notes issued by the mare included.
2914 Requisition forms used for reserving railway
accommodation for High Officials of Government are not included in the term
‘warrants and credit notes’ for the purpose of levy of commission charges and
consequently no commission charges should be recovered in their case.
2915 Railway Orders issued by the Military Secretary
to the President for railway accommodation for the transport of the President
should be treated in the same way as requisition of High Officials and no
commission charges should be recovered in their case either.
2916 Commission charges should not be levied on
Emergent Police Passes and on vouchers tendered by the Posts and Telegraphs
Department for occasional dispatches for the conveyance of mails.
2917 Miscellaneous bills- These bills comprise such
items as hire of engine and wagons other than that due by other railways on
stock interchanged, interest on the capital cost of postal vehicles, charges
for the conveyance of mails as a regular daily service, haulage of postal
vehicles, demurrage and wharfage charges due from Departments of the railway.
2918 Bills for the conveyance of Postal mails as a
regular daily service and for the haulage of Postal vehicles should be prepared
on the authority of Statements (Paragraph 1608-T and 1616- T) furnished half
yearly by the Divisional Superintendents. In all other cases, bills should be
prepared on such information, to be supplied by departmental or other officers,
as may be necessary to work out the
charge in accordance with the rules and orders in force.
2919 Adjustment of petty sums between railways-The
detailed instructions for inter railway adjustments are contained in paragraphs
867to 870 F. These do not, however, apply to the following classes of
transactions which should be adjusted regardless of the amount involved.
1) Debits against Joint station staff.
2)Through traffic transactions(exceptasprovidedinPara-2920)
Clearance of charges of hire on goods vehicles.
2920 Inter-railway adjustment in respect of the
under noted categories of Through traffic transactions should not be carried
out as between the Indian Railways
1) Public claims refund.
2)Over charges sheets relating to clearance of
station outstanding.
3)Items twice accounted for.
4)Debits raised and subsequently withdrawn, etc. Re
adjustment of items wrongly accounted for with a railway when(on the accountal
being proposed with the correct railway the amount involved falls below Rs.50
in each case. Overcharges or undercharges coming to notice, after freight
relating to Invoices/P.W.bills has been apportioned provisionally.
2921 Numbering of carriages bills-Bills should before
issue, be serially numbered with reference to their entry in the
AOB(A2922)suitable code letters being prefixed to the number to distinguish one
class of bills from the other. These should then be submitted to the firm,
person or department concerned.
2922 Accounts Office Balance sheet- for the purpose
of taking the Carriage Bills into account and of watching their realization
from the firms or departments concerned, as also for incorporating in accounts
the traffic cash received otherwise than through the Station Balance
Sheets(e.g. work shop profit, advertisement fees, sale of grass, fares of
coupons sold by Tourist Agents, fares represented by Suburban Tickets sold in
Headquarter offices, etc)a Balance Sheet(corresponding to the Bills Receivable
Account in commercial Book-keeping)should be maintained in.
2923 Separate AOB should be maintained for Coaching
and Goods transactions.
2924 Debit entries in the Accounts Office Balance
sheet–The debit entries in AOB comprise ofOpening balance. Amount of carriage
bills issued in connection with station vouchers-
a) For the current month plus
b)Kept pending in the previous month(PartA)
Amount of pending vouchers-
a)For the current month less,
b)Amount of pending vouchers (station figures)for
previous months billed for in the current month.
Amount of Miscellaneous bills(Part B)and Direct
traffic receipts under-
A) coaching
B) Goods, and Sundry other earnings.
2925 Credit entries in the Accounts Office Balance
Sheet.-The credit entries in the AOB comprise of
1)Cash(i.e. direct cash receipts& payments on
Traffic Account);
2) Transfers Railways and adjustments through the
RBI;
3) Book Transfers(Transfer of credits between
Traffic & General Books);and 86 Balance sheet transfers (Transfer of
credits between Station Balance sheet and Accounts Office Balance sheet).
2926 The closing balance of the AOB consists of the
unrealised amount of Carriage Bills and amount of vouchers kept pending.
2927 Posting of the Accounts Office Balance Sheet.
-It is necessary, in the case of vouchers, to defer the posting of the AOB,
till Carriage Bills have been made out against the persons, firms or
departments concerned, so that only the total of each bill need be entered in
the AOB and the number of postings is reduced to a minimum. All bills pending
realization or adjustment should be posted in the debit column of the AOB, the
amount of fare or freight and commission, if any, being posted separately under
the sub-columns provided for the purposes. The latter should be credited to
Sundry Other Earnings on the debit side of the Balance Sheet.
2928 From the point of view of realization, the
bills fall under three distinct categories, namely
a. Bills payable in cash,
b. Those adjustable through “Transfers Railways” and
through the Reserve Bank, and
kept in two parts ‘A’ & ‘B’(Paragraph-2924)and
separate pages allotted for the record of the three categories of bills
mentioned in the previous paragraph. The total of each category should be
brought together at the end of each part and that of each part in the Summary
mentioned in paragraph2932.In the form of the Accounts office Balance sheet
(A-2922 provision is made for the adjustment of transactions for three months.
In totaling each part, therefore, a separate total should be made of the
unadjusted items brought forwarded from the previous quarter.
2930 Debits to be cleared by cash recovery will be
so cleared on receipt of cash for which the necessary advice will be sent by
the Cashier. Those which are adjustable by book entry will be so adjusted on
receipts of the transfer acceptances of other railways or Govt. departments by
means of journal entries of transfers between General and Traffic books, the
later in the case of item adjustable in the books of the home railway. The
transfer acceptances will be communicated by the booking section. All such
credits should be posted in the credit column of the Accounts office Balance
sheet against the connected debits entries and the months outstanding reduced
accordingly.
2931 Miscellaneous Earnings Register.- Direct
Traffic Cash Receipts or similar other items not previously brought to account
should be recorded in Misc. Earnings Register(FormA-2931)and credited to the
appropriate head of earnings.
2932 After the postings in the Accounts Office
Balance Sheet have been completed, a Summary of both the parts (A and B) should
be prepared in Form A2932. Separate summaries should be prepared for Coaching
Goods Accounts Office Balance Sheets.
2933 The totals arrived at in the Summary mentioned
in the previous paragraph should be transcribed to the Traffic Book, Part
C(A.3225).
2934 Claims for under and overcharges in items
included in Carriage Bills-The time limits for claims by firms or departments
against the railway for overcharges and by the railway against firms of
departments for undercharges on items included in a Carriage Bill which has
already been rendered are governed by Paragraph 352 and 353 of the Indian
Railway Code for the Traffic 88 Department. If any such claim is made by a firm
or department in time, it should be investigated and, if admitted, the mistake
should be rectified through an ‘Adjustment’ Bills to be prepared and rendered to
the firm or department concerned. All such ‘Adjustment’ Bills should be classed
as Miscellaneous Bills (Paragraph 2917) and entered in Part‘B’of the Accounts
Office Balance Sheet irrespective of the ‘class’ of the original bill.
2935 Outstanding Bills.- The outstanding in the
Accounts Office Balance Sheet should be reviewed monthly and suitable action
taken for the realization of old outstanding. Those more than twelve months old
should be specially watched.
Multiple choice questions:
- What is the primary responsibility of stations
regarding fares and freight represented by vouchers sent to the Accounts
Office?
a)
Collect cash directly from customers
b) Take credit in their Balance Sheet for the amount
c) Write off the amount as a loss
d) Send the vouchers back to the originating department
Answer: b) Take credit in their Balance Sheet for the amount
- Carriage Bills are primarily prepared based on:
a)
Amounts credited in the station’s Balance Sheet
b) Vouchers sent from the Accounts Office to stations
c) Warrants and Credit notes received daily from stations
d) Payments made directly by the departments
Answer: c) Warrants and Credit notes received daily from stations
- Which of the following is NOT a part of the check for
Credit Notes?
a)
Ensuring the Credit Note is in proper form
b) Verifying that the Credit Note has been signed by the issuing department
c) Confirming the amount with the station’s cash records
d) Checking for erasures and alterations on the Credit Note
Answer: c) Confirming the amount with the station’s cash records
- What should be done if a Credit Note contains demurrage
or wharfage charges?
a)
The charges should be adjusted against the station’s cash balance
b) The Credit Note should be returned to the issuing department
c) The charges should be accounted for in the Demurrage and Wharfage returns
d) The charges should be deducted from the next carriage bill
Answer: c) The charges should be accounted for in the Demurrage and
Wharfage returns
- Which form is used for preparing carriage bills against
the Controller of Defence Accounts?
a)
A-2907
b) A-2908
c) AC(T) V-I
d) A-2808
Answer: b) A-2908
- Where should Credit Notes that cannot be billed for the
month due to some reason be recorded?
a)
In a separate ledger maintained by the station
b) In a register of pending credit notes (Form AC(T) V-I)
c) In the station’s Balance Sheet as a receivable
d) In the Accounts Office cash book
Answer: b) In a register of pending credit notes (Form AC(T) V-I)
- Commission charges on Warrants and Credit Notes are:
a)
Payable by the railways to the departments
b) Levied by the railways on the Government departments
c) Not applicable to any Government departments
d) Deducted from the amount of the carriage bill
Answer: b) Levied by the railways on the Government departments
- Which of the following is exempt from commission
charges?
a)
Railway Orders for the transport of the President
b) Credit Notes of the Defence Department
c) Regular daily service of postal mails
d) Credit Notes from the Police Department
Answer: a) Railway Orders for the transport of the President
- Miscellaneous bills do NOT include which of the
following items?
a)
Hire of engine and wagons
b) Interest on the capital cost of postal vehicles
c) Commission charges on Credit Notes
d) Demurrage and wharfage charges
Answer: c) Commission charges on Credit Notes
- Bills for the conveyance of Postal mails as a regular
daily service should be prepared based on:
a)
Information supplied by station staff
b) Daily entries in the station’s Balance Sheet
c) Statements furnished half-yearly by Divisional Superintendents
d) Credit Notes sent by the Posts and Telegraphs Department
Answer: c) Statements furnished half-yearly by Divisional
Superintendents
11.Which of the following transactions should be adjusted between railways regardless of the amount involved?
a) Public claims refund
b) Debits against Joint station staff
c) Overcharges on invoices
d) Items twice accounted for
Answer: b) Debits against Joint station staff
12.Inter-railway adjustments for which of the following transactions should NOT be carried out as between Indian Railways?
a) Debits against Joint station staff
b) Through traffic transactions
c) Public claims refund
d) Clearance of charges of hire on goods vehicles
Answer: c) Public claims refund
13.Before issuing carriage bills, they should be:
a) Approved by the Chief Accounts Officer
b) Signed by the Station Master
c) Serially numbered with a suitable code prefix
d) Sent to the Reserve Bank for verification
Answer: c) Serially numbered with a suitable code prefix
14.The Accounts Office Balance Sheet (AOB) should be maintained for:
a) Watching realization of traffic cash received through Station Balance
Sheets
b) Recording only the cash payments made by the Accounts Office
c) Incorporating in accounts the traffic cash received otherwise than through
the Station Balance Sheets
d) Transferring all credit entries to General Books
Answer: c) Incorporating in accounts the traffic cash received otherwise than through the Station Balance Sheets
15.Which of the following is included in the debit entries of the Accounts Office Balance Sheet?
a) Cash receipts on Traffic Account
b) Transfers Railways and adjustments through the RBI
c) Miscellaneous bills and direct traffic receipts
d) Book Transfers between Traffic & General Books
Answer: c) Miscellaneous bills and direct traffic receipts
16.The closing balance of the Accounts Office Balance Sheet consists of:
a) The total amount of carriage bills issued during the month
b) The unrealized amount of Carriage Bills and vouchers kept pending
c) The total cash receipts on Traffic Account
d) The total credit entries in the Accounts Office Balance Sheet
Answer: b) The unrealized amount of Carriage Bills and vouchers kept pending
17.In which register should Direct Traffic Cash Receipts that have not been previously brought to account be recorded?
a) Miscellaneous Earnings Register
b) Carriage Bills Register
c) Traffic Cash Register
d) Accounts Office Ledger
Answer: a) Miscellaneous Earnings Register
18.After the postings in the Accounts Office Balance Sheet are completed, what should be prepared?
a) A monthly ledger report
b) A Statement of Realization
c) A Summary of both parts (A and B)
d) A Cash Flow Statement
Answer: c) A Summary of both parts (A and B)
19.What should be done if a claim for overcharges is admitted after a Carriage Bill has been rendered?
a) A new Carriage Bill should be issued
b) The mistake should be rectified through an ‘Adjustment’ Bill
c) The amount should be deducted from the next Carriage Bill
d) The claim should be rejected as it is too late
Answer: b) The mistake should be rectified through an ‘Adjustment’ Bill
20.How often should the outstanding bills in the Accounts Office Balance Sheet be reviewed?
a) Quarterly
b) Annually
c) Monthly
d) Biannually
Answer: c) Monthly
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