Indian Railway Codes and Manuals-Accounts code- Vol-II-Chapter-33 (XXXIII)
Chapter XXXIII
Inspection of Station
Accounts
3301 The preceding chapters deal with the check and
counting of returns which are submitted by the stations to the Accounts Office.
The check of initial records of accounts maintained at stations, which do not
come under the scrutiny of the Accounts Office, is carried out by the
Travelling Inspectors of Station Accounts who are also responsible to check
that the returns submitted by stations to the Accounts Office have been
correctly prepared and agree with the initial records maintained at the
stations.
Travelling Inspectors of Station Accounts or a Cell
specifically created in the Traffic Accounts office may be given requisite
access and responsibility for checking of online transactions of different
Systems such as PRS/FOIS/UTS/PMS Terminals with some specific report generation
eg., Exceptional report of missing Roll continuity.
Short remittance.
Delayed remittance.
Distance Masters
Junction distance table
Commodity/Classification
Master
Wagon Master
Siding Master
Any other Masters introduced from time to time
Besides, access to any report/data generated at the terminal, access to which
is not provided to the TAO. However, check such as short supply certificates
for granting of Train Load Classes have to be carried out at the units itself
until and unless the same has been incorporated in the system.
3302 Programme of Inspections.-Every station must be
inspected at such intervals as may be fixed by the Accounts Officer, the
interval not to exceed, ordinarily, four months in the case of largest stations
and six months in the case of small stations. The details of outcome of such
inspection, especially in case of an discrepancy found may be advised to the
TAO within a time limit as prescribed by the TA office.
3303 Each Office of the YTSK, JTBS, CBA, Post Office
PRS, Defence-PRS, Non-rail head PRS, Out-Agencies etc should be inspected every
month by the Accounts Inspector or Commercial Inspector to ensure that the
Agent correctly accounts for all the tickets sold and cash collected and does
not, at anytime, fall behind schedule either in making remittances or
submitting accounts to the railway. Each inspection by Commercial and Accounts
Inspector in alternate month should be conducted thoroughly in order to detect
any irregularity. A similar procedure should be introduced in the case of City
Booking Agents and Out-Agents to ensure that the returns and remittances etc.
are received in time and regularly. Inspection of JTBS /YTSK /Halt contractor
/non-railway PRS heads:/Out Agencies and other similar authorized ticketing
agencies to be conducted by TIAs/ Commercial Inspector every alternate months.
eg., TIAs may inspect a unit in odd months and Commercial Inspector’s in even
months.
3304 The Inspectors are required to keep their
programme confidential and the date on which it is proposed to visit a station
should not be made known to the Station Master /Commercial Incharge concerned.
3305 Intensive check over collection of Tickets.-
Intensive check over collection of tickets should be conducted periodically at
stations. For this purpose, the collection of tickets of all passengers
arriving at or entraining at the stations during 24 hours should be supervised
by Inspectors of Station Accounts 109 of the Reserve Force as nominated by the
Accounts Officer and staff of the Commercial Department. These intensive checks
should, also, be carried out by the Travelling Inspectors of station Accounts
holding regular beats during their journeys to and from station with the assistance
of station and Ticket Checking staff.
3306 Facilities for investigations. The Station
Masters are required to allow the inspecting staff of the Accounts Department
free access to all correspondence, books and other records at stations and to
afford them every possible facility in their investigations. All books,
documents and vouchers, as well as all tickets in Stock, outstanding parcels
and goods, cash in hand, etc. which may be asked for by the inspecting staff,
should be promptly produced for their inspection. Access to records, data,
reports / statements etc available in UTS/PRS/FOIS/TMS/PMS etc. should be
provided to TIAs though a unique ID & Password for the required period, as
specified from time to time. Reports which are required regularly should be
made available as Web Report with facility of access through Multiple Tabs.
3307 Inspection of Initial Records.- The Inspectors
should pay particular attention to the manner in which the initial records are
maintained at stations and Private Freight Terminal, container Depots, Sidings,
non-railway heads, etc. They should see that there are no erasures, overwritten
figures or unsigned corrections in the station, Private Freight Terminal,
container Depots, Sidings, non -railway heads, etc. books and documents and
that otherwise they have been maintained up-to-date, efficiently and in a way
that they can be relied upon, if necessary, as evidence in a court of law. All
TIAs shall update their knowledge regularly on the policies and procedures.
Maintain all the statistics of the stations and Private Freight Terminal,
container Depots, Sidings, non-railway heads. At the end of each inspection a
detailed performance report of the station/ Private Freight Terminal, container
Depots, Sidings, non -railway heads, etc shall be submitted, duly bringing out
the opportunities and improvements required to enhance functionality of
Sidings, Good-shed, station and to prevent loss of railway Revenues. The TIA
must apprise of potential earning opportunities at the station. They must also
ensure that any migration to a computerized system is accompanied by due
process of checks and balances in the original entry of records.
3308DutyofInspectorstoinstructstationstaff.-The
Inspectors should, at all times ,be prepared to give readily, when an
application is made to them by the station staff, instructions for the
preparation of returns for the Accounts Office and as to the manner in which
the books and accounts are to be kept at stations. Should any portion of such
instructions be not understood by the station staff, the Inspectors should take
the opportunity afforded by their visits to stations, to clarify them and
instruct the staff how to maintain their accounts and records.
3309 Initial Records not to be removed outside station
premises.- The work of checking the initial records and documents must be done
at the stations concerned and no documents belonging to the station should be
removed outside the station premises, except under special instructions from
the Accounts Officer or under very exceptional circumstances such as frauds.
3310 Duties of Inspectors in cases of frauds.-When a
fraud is suspected at a station or any non-railhead location Jansadharan Ticket
Booking Sewak, Yatri Ticket Sewak Kendra, Indian Post Passenger Reservation
Counter, Defence Passenger Reservation Counters, Container depots Private
sidings, Weigh bridges, Private Ports, IRCTC agents, etc. it I incumbent on the
Inspector immediately to report the matter to the Accounts Officer by name, and
to continue the investigation of the case with caution and calmness, avoiding
excitement and any tendency to exaggerate facts or jump at conclusions. In such
110 a case, he should, on no account, leave the station /non-railhead location
or take upon himself the safe custod of the books/equipments or cash connected
with fraud, without the permission of the Accounts Officer. He should, however,
see and call for a departmental and concerned executive officer’s intervention
(through RPF) and to ensure that proper measures are taken to prevent access by
the suspected party to the connected books/equipments, cash, etc. The general
instructions laid down in Chapter XI of the Indian Railway Financial Code
should be borne in mind in dealing with cases of losses, frauds and embezzlements.
3311 Main items to be checked by Inspectors.- The
detailed instructions for the check of various records of accounts at stations,
Private Freight Terminal, container Depots, Sidings, non railway heads, etc.
will be prescribed by the Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer or shall
be as laid down in the Manual of instructions for Inspection of Stations
Accounts. The following are some of the main items which the Inspectors should
look into:
1) Verification of cash and instruments immediately
on arrival at a station and the arrangement for its safe Custody.
2) In case of E-Payment of freight, verification of
payment of freight and other charges through Epayment advice slips, and their
consolidated date wise totals into Balance Sheet.
1. In case of card tickets: a. Arrangement of the
ticket in the tubes and check of fares and closing numbers of tickets with
those shown on the tube and in the summary of Daily Trains Cash-cum-summary
Book, respectively.
2. In case of UTS/PRS:
a. Verify the availability of Stock in hand with
usage on PRS/UTS/YTSK.
b. Cross verification of roll numbers in use with
stock register and continuity statement. Sale record of Smart Cards and Smart
Cards Stock Register.
c. Check the Stock Position of Ticket Rolls, in
relation to requirement and comment on position of over stock or under stock.
d. System Check of fare distance and other charges
on tickets issued through PRS/UTS at stations / STBS operator or UTS tickets
dispensed by ATVM & Co TVM /JTBS operator. Similar checks are to be
exercised in case of tickets issued by YTSK operator and non rail head PRS
Centers for actual chargeable distance, rates etc with distance table and
Coaching Tariff, and extant rules.
e. Check of Non-issued / Cancelled / Special
Cancelled tickets, e-refunds, e-ticket from ROPD or similar Reports for UTS and
PRS tickets.
f. Check of Mismatch tickets and their rectification
with sales from mismatch reports on UTS.
g. To exercise a better check on correct fare and
distance, a check of distance of all fare dumps to be exercised by the
RBS/distance vetting cell of Traffic Accounts Office in RBS.
3) Check of Paper tickets, including Blank Paper
Tickets, EFT, Luggage Ticket, Parcel Way Bills, etc. prepared manually or
through a computer system.
4) Check of Daily Trains Cash cum-summary Book and
Cash Remittance Notes including epayments, remittances through Agencies,
non-rail head booking agents.
5) Check of Guard's signature book for cash bags.
6) Check of outstanding parcels and goods with the
delivery books, Tally books, Vehicle register, register of unconnected
consignments and Gate Pass books maintained manually or on system.
7) Check of Parcels including leased parcel traffic
and Goods Cash Books, either maintained manually or through system
8) Check of continuity of all types of stationary
including Railway Receipt, P-way bills, etc. either maintained manually or
through system.
9) Recovery of wharfage and demurrage charges with
manual as well as system records.
10) Accountal of Error Sheets raised manually or
through the system.
11) System of re-weighment of inwards parcels and
goods and the accuracy of weighing machines and weighbridges.
12) Obtaining of proper Forwarding Notes, for manual
registration or E-demands both for goods and Parcel traffic.
13) Check of list of Outstanding
14) Regularity in the preparation of Test Balance
Sheets. In the station balance sheet for each nonrailway location like
JTBS/YTSK/Out-agency /Container-head, separate balance sheet, should be
prepared and then merged into station balance sheet. The balance sheet of
JTBS/YTSK, will not have provision for their deposits. A separate head for
JTBS/YTSK deposit and amount utilized on each day for dispensing tickets should
be shown with that balance sheet.
15) Handling bills for all types of traffic.
16) Unaccounted for invoices and their proper
disposal into the system PMS / FOIS, or manually as the case may be.
17) Excess fare books.
18) Witnessing of collection of tickets and check of
collected tickets as per instructions in vogue.
19) Cent percent inventory of all wagon load
consignments at goods sheds should be taken to check whether all consignments
on hand are represented by undelivered items as per register
20) Delivery book and Gate Pass Report maintained
manually as well as on FOIS/PMS, should be tallied with cash book to ensure
completeness of accountal of freight collected.
(21)In case of card tickets: a. Arrangement of the
ticket in the tubes and check of fares and closing numbers of tickets with
those shown on the tube and in the summary of Daily Trains Cash-cum-summary
books, respectively.
(22)In case of UTS/PRS Check the Stock Position of
Ticket Rolls, in relation to requirement and comment of position of over stock
or under stock. System Check of fare distance and other charges on tickets
issued through PRS/UTS at stations / STBS operator or UTS tickets dispensed by
ATVM & Co TVM /JTBS operator. Similar checks are to be exercised in case of
tickets issued by YTSK operator and non-rail head PRS Centers for actual
chargeable distance, rates etc with distance table and Coaching Tariff, and
extant rules. Check of Mismatch tickets and their rectification with sales from
mismatch reports on UTS/mismatch register maintained manually. Certification of
UTS/PRS ticket Rolls on hand by actual count and comparing those with book
balance i.e balance as certified in the Last check added with Receipts during
period through Indents , returned stocks from subunits, minus issued during the
period. Deficiencies /excess to be dealt as per prescribed provisions from time
to time. To exercise a better check on correct fare and distance, a check of
distance of all fare dumps to be exercised by the RBS/distance vetting cell of
Traffic Accounts Office in RBS.
(23) Timely submission of vouchers to TA office and
all Returns.
(24) Check of container traffic including
declaration of commodity, payment of freight, land license fee for Railway
land, etc.
3312 The Travelling Inspectors of Station Accounts
should prepare Test Balance Sheet in respect of both coaching and goods traffic
and submit to the Accounts Officer along with their inspection reports.
3313 Reserve Force of Inspectors of Station Accounts.-
In order to introduce an element of surprise in station inspections and carry
out special investigations of frauds, etc., a Reserve Force of experienced 112
Inspectors of Station Accounts should be formed. The main duties and
responsibilities of the Reserve Force of Inspectors should be as follows: —
1) Surprise Station inspections.
2) Special investigations of frauds and assistance
to the Prosecution of such cases in courts.
3) Collaboration with other departments at
Departmental Joint Enquiries.
4) Assisting the permanent District Inspectors in
the ascertainment by actual verification of goods and parcels on hand with the
purpose of proving the correctness of accounts specially at important and big
stations.
5) Collaboration with the Commercial Department in
undertaking special surprise checks with the object of bringing to light
irregularities in connection with tickets, etc. and suggesting remedial
measures.
6) Relief works as and when necessity arises.
7) System (FOIS /UTS / PRS / PMS)Audit including
review of concessional /incentive schemes, rationalization, leasing of Parcel
Vans check.
8) Traffic checking drives, including trains check
for ticketless travel or irregular travel.
9) Check of Mela Account for sale of reserved and
unreserved tickets, and settlement of dues with State Govt. for service
charges, mela surcharge, pilgrim tax, etc.
10) Special checks of worked lines, Private Freight
Terminals, sidings, etc.
3314 Test-checkof Inspectors Work.-The work of the
Travelling Inspectors of Station Accounts should be regularly test-checked by
the Accounts Officer. The test-check should be so regulated that the work of
every Inspector comes under scrutiny once a year and the accounts of all
important stations are test.
Multiple choice questions:
What is the primary responsibility
of Travelling Inspectors of Station Accounts?
a) Checking train schedules
b) Verifying and checking station accounts
c) Managing ticket sales
d) Supervising station masters
Answer: b) Verifying and checking station accounts
2. How often must large stations be
inspected according to the Accounts Officer's guidelines?
a) Every month
b) Every two months
c) Every four months
d) Every six months
Answer: c) Every four months
3. What is required to be
confidential during station inspections?
a) The inspector's report
b) The inspection findings
c) The inspector's identity
d) The inspection program
Answer: d) The inspection program
4. Which of the following reports
should be generated for online transactions during inspections?
a) Delayed remittance
b) Distance Masters
c) Commodity/Classification Master
d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
5. Who is responsible for inspecting
offices like YTSK, JTBS, and non-railhead PRS?
a) Commercial Inspector only
b) Accounts Inspector only
c) Station Master
d) Commercial and Accounts Inspector alternately
Answer: d) Commercial and Accounts Inspector alternately
6. What must Station Masters provide
to the inspecting staff during their investigations?
a) Free access to all
correspondence, books, and records
b) A detailed report of station operations
c) Training on new procedures
d) Personal assistance during inspections
Answer: a) Free access to all correspondence, books, and records
7. What should Inspectors avoid when
investigating suspected frauds?
a) Reporting to the Accounts Officer
b) Leaving the station without permission
c) Reviewing station records
d) Collecting evidence
Answer: b) Leaving the station without permission
8. Which system is NOT mentioned as
requiring access for online transaction checks?
a) PRS
b) UTS
c) FOIS
d) CRS
Answer: d) CRS
9. What must Inspectors submit at
the end of each inspection?
a) A list of missing documents
b) A detailed performance report
c) A copy of the station's financial statement
d) A report on ticket sales
Answer: b) A detailed performance report
10. What must Inspectors ensure when
stations migrate to a computerized system?
a) No changes to the system
b) Station masters receive training
c) Due process of checks and balances is followed
d) All paper records are destroyed
Answer: c) Due process of checks and balances is followed
11. What should be done if there are
deficiencies or excesses in ticket rolls during an inspection?
a) Ignore them
b) Report immediately to the station master
c) Deal with them as per prescribed provisions
d) Correct them on the spot
Answer: c) Deal with them as per prescribed provisions
12. What is one of the main duties
of the Reserve Force of Inspectors of Station Accounts?
a) Routine station inspections
b) Relief work in emergencies
c) Managing station finances
d) Supervising ticket sales
Answer: b) Relief work in emergencies
13. What must be checked in relation
to E-Payment of freight during inspections?
a) Correct fare calculations
b) Proper issuance of receipts
c) Verification of payment advice slips
d) Accurate distance calculations
Answer: c) Verification of payment advice slips
14. What is the purpose of the
intensive check over the collection of tickets?
a) To increase ticket sales
b) To supervise the collection process
c) To reduce the workload of inspectors
d) To check ticket stock levels
Answer: b) To supervise the collection process
15. What should be done with initial
records during an inspection?
a) Remove them from the station
b) Check them at the station only
c) Send them to the Accounts Office
d) Destroy them if outdated
Answer: b) Check them at the station only.
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