In exercise of the
powers conferred by clause (c) of sub-section (2) of Section 35 of the
Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950, (Act XV of 1950), the
Travancore Devaswom Board is pleased to make the following rules, the same
having been previously published as required by Section 35 of the said Act. (a) Incorporated Devaswoms. So far as receipts and expenditure pertaining
to incorporated Devaswoms are concerned, the accounts and registers prescribed
by the Devaswoms Fund Account Rules published in the Devaswom Manual shall be
kept and maintained in all Sub-Group Offices as well as in the supervising and
controlling offices and the Devaswom Account Office. The Board shall make such
modifications in them from time to time as are found necessary. For the purposes of these rules, the offices
of the Group Superintendents and of the Special Officers of the
Superintendent's rank (as at Pattazhi and Mundakkayam) will be considered as
supervising offices and the offices of the Assistant Commissioners will be
treated as controlling offices. (b) Unincorporated Devaswoms. In the case of unincorporated Devaswoms, the
accounts and registers prescribed in the P. D. Manual shall be kept and
maintained in all P. D. Devaswoms, supervising and controlling offices, and in
the Devaswom Account Office. The Board shall make such modifications in them
from time to time as are found necessary. (c) Hindu Religious Endowments. In the case of Hindu Religious Endowments
over which the Board exercises superintendence under Section 37 (2) of the
Hindu Religious Institutions Act XV of 1950 the registers and accounts
prescribed in the rules passed under Section 41, 42 and 46 of the above Act
shall be maintained. The Board shall make such modifications in them as are
found necessary from time to time. In the case of endowments or institutions
over which superintendence is exercised under special rules, the registers and
accounts prescribed by such special rules shall be maintained. In cases where no detailed instructions exist
for maintaining any class of accounts, detailed rules with sample forms of the
accounts and registers to be maintained should be framed and forwarded to the
Board by the Devaswom Commissioner in consultation with the Devaswom Account
Officer and the Board's sanction taken for their adoption. (d) Maramat Department. So far as receipts and expenditure relating
to Maramat works are concerned the rules in the P. W. Account Code and the
register and accounts mentioned therein will be maintained in the offices of
the Maramat Department and also in the office of the Devaswom Account Officer
(except those relating to P. W. Works). Any other register of accounts found
necessary for the purposes of DevaswomMaramat works shall also be prescribed
from time to time by the Board in consultation with the Maramat Engineer and
the Devaswom Account Officer and they also be duly maintained in the offices of
the Maramat Department and in the Devaswom Account Office. (e) Registers and accounts relating to the expenditure on
account of administrative cost. For the proper maintenance of the accounts of
expenditure under Salaries, Establishment, T. A. Contingencies and other
charges relating to the various offices under the Board, the registers and
accounts prescribed by the Financial and Account Code shall be maintained in
the various offices with such modifications in them as the Board may order from
time to time. II.
General Principles Regarding the Maintenance of Registers and Accounts All important permanent registers and
accounts maintained in the various offices should invariably be page numbered
and sealed with the seal of the concerned office or the seal prescribed by the
rules as soon as they are begun to be used and a certificate to that effect
should be recorded by the Head of the office in each book. Registers, accounts and returns for which
forms have been prescribed under the various rules should be kept, maintained
and forwarded only in the prescribed forms. Any modification in the forms shall
not be made without the sanction of the Board. Where the use of carbon paper and pencil has
been prescribed by the rules as in the case of receipts to be granted parties
for amounts paid by them the rules should be strictly followed. All registers and accounts should always be
kept up-to-date as enjoined by the rules and all the prescribed periodical
returns should be forwarded before the expiry of the due dates. Registers and accounts should be written in
ink except where the use of carbon pencil is prescribed and all corrections
should be properly attested by the competent authority. All registers and accounts should be
maintained in bound books supplied by the Board or by the agencies sanctioned
by the Board. Receipts should be obtained from the officers
to whom registers etc., are supplied detailing the number and names of
registers etc., supplied. In the case of receipt books, ticket books and
similar other accounts the obtaining of such receipts should be specially
insisted on. A register or book in use at the close of one
year need not necessarily be given up and a fresh book taken up simply for the
reason that the financial year has run out. It may be continued to be used till
it is exhausted on grounds of economy. Officers responsible for the collection of
revenues shall see that the dues to be collected do not fall into arrears, that
prompt and timely action is taken against the defaulters and that all
collections are brought into the proper prescribed accounts then and there.
They shall also report to the higher authorities promptly all cases in which
the assistance of such authorities is necessary for the realisation of the
dues. Officers empowered to draw money or incur
expenditure shall see that all expenditure incurred by them is covered by
sanctions of the competent authorities, that all such expenditure is brought to
account then and there, and that no irregular or double payment is occasioned. Officers under the Board should see that all
the prescribed registers and accounts are duly kept and maintained in their
offices and during their tours and inspections they should see that their
subordinate officers are also keeping accounts properly and up-to-date. It shall be the duty of the controlling
officers and the Devaswom Account Officer to see that the prescribed accounts,
returns etc., due in their offices are received invariably on or before the due
dates and to bring to the notice of the Devaswom Board and the Heads of
Departments cases of default. Serious cases of neglect of duty, irregular
financial transaction, misappropriation, losses to the fund and similar other
matters shall be brought to the notice of the Board by the Devaswom Account
Officer and the Heads of Departments under the Board as soon as they are detected
or come to their knowledge. III.
Completion, Consolidation and Publication of Accounts The offices where the accounts of the Board
are initially prepared, the offices where they are consolidated and the
accounts that may be published, for the information of the public are dealt
within the Devaswom Manual. Audit of accounts shall be conducted in two
ways. One is audit conducted by the officers receiving the accounts in their
own offices and the other is audit conducted by them during their inspections.
The former may be called office audit and the latter out-audit. Duties and
responsibilities of the Officers (a)
Sub-Group
Officers and other initiating Officers.- They shall take care to see that in regard to
the revenue side they take account of all items of revenue, both fixed as well
as fluctuating, due for a particular year before the Commencement of the year
with reference to the pathivoos, lease register and other records and enter
them in the concerned registers showing also the due dates for their receipt.
In regard to expenditure they shall see that the invoices, bills and other
vouchers presented or attested by them are all for authorised expenditure
covered by sanctions and budget allotment and that the calculations in them are
correct. (b)
Supervising
Officers.- These officers shall conduct a preliminary
audit of the accounts received in their offices. On the revenue side they shall
see that amounts shown as remittances in Treasuries are supported by proper
chalans and that amounts exceeding securities are not retained by employees in
their hands without remittance. On the expenditure side they shall see that
vouchers presented for payment are in order, that sanctions and budget heads of
expenditure are noted in them, that budget allotments are not exceeded, that
they are duly stamped and signed and that the formal requirements of a voucher
are satisfied. All vouchers should be passed for payment after preliminary
audit before actual payment is made. (c)
Controlling
Officers.- Detailed and exhaustive audit of the accounts
with reference to the pathivoos and other sanctions shall be conducted in these
offices. The controlling officer shall be competent to disallow any item of
expenditure which is either not covered by sanction or in his opinion is in
excess of the actual requirement. The accounts should be posted in the
appropriate registers in his office before they are forwarded to the Devaswom
Account Officer. (d)
Devaswom
Account Officer.- The Accounts received in this office shall be
subjected to technical audit. The accounts of a particular institution relating
to a particular period or a particular ceremony shall be scrutinised in detail
with reference to all technical requirements before the amount is admitted by
the Account Officer in audit. He shall be competent to object, disallow or
defer or order recoveries in respect of all expenditure not covered by proper
sanction. Out Audit shall be conducted by officers
authorised to go on tour in connection with the discharge of their official
duties. The Devaswom Account Officer is authorised to conduct surprise
verification of cash or inspection of the accounts of any institution under the
Board. (a)
Supervising
officers.- Devaswom Superintendents shall be responsible
for the detailed audit of the accounts of the Petty Minor Devaswoms and P. D.
Devaswoms with less than Rs. 1,000 recurring income (valuing paddy at an
average rate of Rs. 11/2 per para for this purpose) in their groups with
reference to the pathivoos and other sanctions. The audit should be conducted
not less than once in six months and should be continuous and complete in its
nature, i. e., the accounts taken up for inspection should relate to a period
commencing from the date ending the previous inspection, and shall relate to
all transactions during such period. The inspection of the other Devaswoms will
be conducted by them as at present but a detailed audit with reference to
pathivoos and sanctions will be conducted by the Assistant Commissioners
concerned. (b)
Controlling
Officers (Assistant Commissioners).- They shall conduct a test audit of 25% of the
Minor, Petty and P. D. Devaswoms audited by the Superintendents and detailed
and continuous audit of all the Major Devaswoms and of P. D. Devaswoms (other
than those allotted to the Superintendents) in their districts. They should
inspect the accounts not less than once in every half year. (c)
DevaswomCommissioner.- The Devaswom Commissioner shall conduct test
audit of not less than 25% of the Minor, Petty and P. D. Devaswoms audited by
the Superintendents and 25% of the Devaswoms audited by the Assistant
Commissioners. He shall also inspect Superintendents 'and Assistant
Commissioners' offices and complete one round of inspection in two years. (d)
Account
Office.- The Devaswom Account Officer shall inspect
the accounts of all 1st class Major Devaswoms, Group Offices, Assistant
Commissioners' Offices, Maramat Division Offices, the Special Office at
Mundakayam, Pattazhi and Perumanom and P. D. Devaswoms with a recurring receipt
of more than Rs. 200 per year once in an year. In regard to the other institutions
the Devaswom Account Officer shall adjust his programme of inspections in such
a way that he completes one round of inspection of all institutions under the
Board within a period of five years as far as possible. VII.
General Principles Regarding Audit (1)
The
general instructions contained in the audit code shall be followed. (2)
Except
in the case of test audit the accounts taken up for audit should relate to a
period in continuation of the previous inspection. There should not be any
broken periods when the accounts were not inspected. (3)
Inspecting
or audit officers should record in the accounts inspected the period of the
accounts covered by their inspection. (4)
Audit
should be thorough and exhaustive and with reference to sanctions. The original
orders containing the sanctions should be verified during audit. These rules may be cited as the Travancore
Devaswom Audit Rules.THE TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM AUDIT
RULES, 1953
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THE TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM AUDIT RULES, 1953
THE TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM AUDIT RULES, 1953
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