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PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS – SECTION 112

Commencement [22 May 2023]

1. Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Public Finance Management Regulations.

PRELIMINARY

2. Interpretation

In these Regulations —

“Act” means the Public Finance Management Act;

“allocated stores” means stores the cost of which is chargeable directly to a budget classification in keeping with the Act;

“assets” means —

(a) a financial asset;

(b) a non-financial asset;

“budget classification” —

(a) means a systemic coding system for classifying and coding a transaction and event within the budget;

(b) includes the chart of accounts;

“Budget Director” means a person appointed by the Public Service Commission as the Budget Director;

“budget form” means a data entry tool used by a Government Agency to make a request and to fulfil the requirements of the request;

“budget module” means a tool used in the preparation and compilation of the budget;

“commitment incurred” means a liability in respect of goods, services or works supplied and received by a Government Agency;

“deposit receipt” means a receipt issued by a bank to a depositor for cash and cheques deposited with the bank that specifies the date, time, amount deposited and the account into which the funds are deposited into;

“electronic” means technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities;

“expenditure vote” means a sum appropriated to a service under an Appropriation Act;

“externally financed project” means a project that is not funded by means of the Government's recurrent revenue or non–debt capital revenue;

“financial asset” —

(a) means a non-physical asset;

(b) includes cash, securities, bank deposits, loans and receivables owned by the Government;

“financial instrument” means a monetary contract between parties that is created, traded, modified, and settled, such as, cash, a share certificate, bond;

“financial statement”, in relation to a financial year, means —

(a) a statement of financial position;

(b) a statement of comprehensive income;

(d) a statement of cash flow;

(e) a statement of borrowings;

(f) a statement of sinking fund;

(g) an audited or unaudited quarterly, monthly or annual financial account;

(h) notes to the statements or accounts referred to under paragraphs (a) to (g); or

(i) any other prescribed statement or account;

“first budget circular” means the document that provides a guide to each Government Agency of the proposed budget ceiling in preparation of its initial estimates of revenue and expenditure;

“monetary instrument” —

(a) means a product provided by a bank and any other institution;

(b) includes a cashier's cheque, traveller's cheque and money order;

“non-financial asset” —

(a) means an economic asset other than a financial asset;

(b) includes goods and stores;

“non–taxed revenue” —

(a) means an increase in Government net worth resulting from a transaction other than tax revenues;

(b) includes —
1. (i) grants,
1. (ii) property income,
1. (iii) sales of goods and services,
1. (iv) fines, penalties and forfeitures,
1. (v) miscellaneous and unidentified revenue;

(c) does not include —
1. (i) funds arising from the repayment of previous lending by governments or from borrowing,
1. (ii) proceeds derived from the sale of a fixed capital asset, stock, land and an intangible asset,
1. (iii) a private gift;

“paying-in-slip” means an outline presented in a bank that is used to deposit money into a bank account that —

(a) has a counterfoil which is returned to the depositor sealed and signed by the bank officer;

(b) gives details regarding the date, account number, amount deposited, in cash or cheque, and the name of the account holder;

“public official” means a contract worker;

“Public Sector Investment Programme Framework” means a suite of projects to achieve national development through public investment to advance the policy of the Government;

“Postmaster General” means a person appointed by the Public Service Commission as the Postmaster General;

“revenue receipt” means a receipt authorized by the Accountant General which must be issued on receipt of a payment of money to the Government;

“second budget circular” means the document that provides a guide to a Government Agency, after the decision of Cabinet under regulation 13, with respect to the final budget ceiling in preparation of its estimates of revenue and expenditure;

“stores” includes plant, equipment, machinery, tools and vehicles being the property, in the possession or under the control of the Government;

“strong room or safe” means a fortified room or enclosure designed to protect valuable items against fire, theft or other similar risks;

“suspense account” means —

(a) a temporary account to hold monies that are not identifiable with a service or purpose; and

(b) an account created where there is a discrepancy, error or incomplete information regarding a transaction;

“tax revenue” means —

(a) income tax;

(b) value added tax;

(d) a tax on the ownership and transfer of property; and

(e) any other tax;

“tax” means a compulsory or unrequited payment to the Government;

“Treasury Single Account”, in relation to Government, means a centralised bank account system where deposits and payment transactions are processed for a Government Agency;

“unauthorized expenditure” means —

(a) overspending of a vote or a main division within a vote; or

(b) in the case of a vote, expenditure not in accordance with the purpose of the vote;

“unallocated stores” means stores the cost of which is chargeable to a general sub-head of expenditure and which is not charged directly to an appropriate sub-head of expenditure until the stores are issued for specific work, goods or services;

“unexpendable stores” means stores that are not of a consumable nature and have a life assigned which remains on ledger charge, whether in use or in store, until the stores are disposed of, written-off or discarded;

“vote” means one of the main segments into which the Appropriation Act is divided that specifies the total amount which is appropriated for each Government Agency.

PART 1
BUDGET PROCESS

3. Medium-term expenditure framework

(1) The medium-term expenditure framework is a report on the fiscal policy statement under section 27 of the Act which is the first step of the budget.

(2) The medium-term expenditure framework must be presented to Cabinet for approval.

(3) The medium-term expenditure framework is a rolling plan for the financial year and 2 subsequent financial years that contains —
1. (a) a projection of all tax and non-tax revenues by category of revenue;
1. (b) any risks in the estimates of revenue;
1. (c) a projection of all expenditures, recurrent and capital;
1. (d) all liabilities and payment plans for outstanding debt;
1. (e) an aggregate expenditure limit for each financial year, identified by current and capital expenditures;
1. (f) a budget deficit for each financial year;
1. (g) any risks in the expenditures, such as, exogenous and endogenous shocks;
1. (h) all contingent liabilities, including guarantees;
1. (i) a list of all public-private partnerships, current and prospective; and
1. (j) any major economic issues that may arise and would affect the medium-term expenditure framework.

(4) The Ministry responsible for finance must maintain a database of proposed developmental projects within an established Public Sector Investment Programme.

4. Review of budget classification in preparation for the budget

Prior to the issuance of the first budget circular, the Budget Director and the Accountant General shall review the budget classification system to ensure that —

(a) it accommodates all programmes and activities of the Government;

(b) administrative accountability for expenditure and for the delivery of outputs and outcomes are clear.

5. Guidelines for draft of the estimates

(1) In preparing guidelines for the draft of the estimates, the following must be observed at all times during budget formulation and approval —
1. (a) revenue and expenditure must be entered into the budget module of the financial management system;
1. (b) expenditure entered in the Electronic Budget Estimates Preparation System must be authorized by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for finance for one financial year, unless otherwise stipulated in the first budget circular;
1. (c) the Eastern Caribbean Dollar must be used to prepare, present and report for the budget;
1. (d) a draft of the estimates must take into account expenditure priorities which contribute to the realisation of the required output and desired policy outcome.

(2) The budget ceiling contained in the first budget circular must take into account —
1. (a) the aggregate resource envelope following the forecast of revenue and expenditure categories;
1. (b) the non-discretionary expenditure, including debt service, wages and other related matters;
1. (c) the overall expenditure taking into consideration fiscal rules where applicable;
1. (d) a breakdown of the overall expenditure into current and capital expenditure by sector ceilings; and
1. (e) expenditure priorities as set out in Government policies.

6. Preparation of draft of the estimates

(1) In preparing a draft of the estimates, an accounting officer shall —
1. (a) prepare a draft of the estimates with respect to the Government Agency for which he or she is responsible;
1. (b) where necessary, obtain the requisite authority for personnel emoluments and other matters, prior to making provision for these matters in the preparation of the estimates.

(2) Estimates prepared under subregulation (1) must —
1. (a) contain reasonably foreseen services within the capacity of the Government Agency during the financial year;
1. (b) be complete and accurate;
1. (c) be developed with regard to the economy;
1. (d) reflect the true cost of the programme with detailed explanatory notes outlining variances and justification for any marked difference between —
  1. (i) the approved and revised estimates for the current financial year,
  1. (ii) the revised estimates for the current financial year and the estimates for 2 subsequent financial years;
1. (e) show separately items of current and capital expenditure;
1. (f) clearly indicate, in respect of each item in the estimates, the sums to be appropriated by Parliament and the sums charged on the Consolidated Fund by the Constitution of Saint Lucia, or provided for under an enactment, and in all cases, reference must be made to the relevant section of the Constitution of Saint Lucia, or an enactment;
1. (g) conform with the manner and format used for the budget circular, which supports programme-based budgeting and classification of expenditure in economic classes;
1. (h) be supported by the strategic plan of the Government Agency.

(3) An accounting officer shall submit to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance the estimates prepared under subregulations (1) and (2).

(4) The proposed ceilings for the financial year and 2 subsequent financial years may be re-adjusted on receipt of the second budget circular.

7. Revenue projections

(1) An accounting officer in a Government Agency shall, in each financial year, before the deadline stipulated by the Director of Finance, submit a projection of the sums of revenue to be collected by the Government Agency in the following financial year together with revised estimates of revenue collection in respect of the current financial year.

(2) A revenue projection under subregulation (1) must be submitted with forecasts in respect of the 2 financial years succeeding the following financial year.

(3) An accounting officer shall review the estimates of revenue every 6 months for the following 6 months, the current financial year and the following 2 financial years and inform the Director of Finance of the necessary changes.

8. Current and capital expenditure projections

(1) The expenditure in the draft of the estimates must set out —
1. (a) the appropriations arranged by expenditure vote under the instructions of the Government Agency;
1. (b) the outcomes and outputs associated with the money to be expended by each expenditure vote;
1. (c) expenditure for each expenditure vote presented in a form to support performance-based budgeting linking financial and non-financial performance for each expenditure vote, from a date to be determined by the Minister;
1. (d) additional details on expenditure for each expenditure vote presented by aggregated economic classifications that distinguish between —
  1. (i) personnel expenditure,
  1. (ii) non-personnel recurrent expenditure showing operational expenditure for the Government Agency administering the expenditure vote distinct from funds to be paid to other entities or individuals, including in the form of transfers and subsidies or expenditure, and
  1. (iii) other information as the Minister considers necessary.

(2) An accounting officer shall submit to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance —
1. (a) estimates of proposed current expenditure to be incurred during the following financial year;
1. (b) estimates of proposed capital expenditure to be incurred during the following financial year;
1. (c) revised estimates of expenditure, capital and current, in respect of the current financial year;
1. (d) forecasts in respect of the 2 financial years succeeding the following financial year.

(3) In preparing the expenditure in the draft of the estimates, an accounting officer shall, by the required due date specified by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance —
1. (a) complete all the required sections of the budget forms;
1. (b) carefully scrutinise all items of expenditure to ensure that—
  1. (i) services which are no longer essential are eliminated,
  1. (ii) all necessary services are provided at a reasonable cost,
  1. (iii) new projects or programmes are analysed in detail giving —
    1. (A) the financial requirements for the financial years;
    1. (B) an operation plan covering material and other inputs and personnel required; and
  1. (iv) public funds are spent efficiently and effectively.

9. Inclusion of commitments in draft of the estimates

(1) An accounting officer shall include commitments in the expenditure of the draft of the estimates, including commitments arising out of —
1. (a) the implementation of a project or programme;
1. (b) a provisional liability.

(2) In this section, “provisional liability” means an interim decision on liability and allows for financial assistance to be provided whilst a claim is investigated and a decision on actual liability is made.

10. Supporting statements for draft of the estimates

Except where the Minister or a public officer authorized by him or her otherwise directs, an accounting officer shall forward with the draft of the estimates —

(a) a statement in support of each item of personal emoluments showing the name of the respective public officer;

(b) the date on which an increment, if any, accrues to a public officer;

(d) the salary provided for a public officer in the following financial year.

11. Inclusion of a new service or programme in draft of the estimates

(1) A new service or programme proposal, including any capital project, whether funded by domestic resources or external sources must be supported by the following documents —
1. (a) the objectives of the project and how the project promotes national policy;
1. (b) social and environmental impact of the investment and economic feasibility report, including socio-economic and environmental return on the investment;
1. (c) overall cost of the project and a comparative cost data for similar projects from either the private sector or other similar countries;
1. (d) climate resilience report to incorporate mitigation and or adaptation measures along with any gender responsive and disaster resilience indicators;
1. (e) the total expenditure in the medium term;
1. (f) the operational cost of the project;
1. (g) the impact of the project on budget deficit in the medium term and on the completion of the project.

(2) A budget allocation for a new service or programme must be considered when introduced in the draft of the estimates for a Government Agency.

12. Review of the budget

The Budget Technical Committee within the Ministry responsible for Finance shall review the budget and other economic imperatives and make a presentation and recommendations to the Minister.

13. Cabinet decision and notice of second budget circular

(1) The Minister shall, after considering the recommendations of the Budget Technical Committee under regulation 12, present to Cabinet the budget for its consideration and decision.

(2) On receipt of a decision from Cabinet under subregulation (1), the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance shall issue the second budget circular to each Government Agency.

(3) On receipt of the second budget circular under subregulation (1), a Government Agency shall make the necessary adjustments in the budget module to finalise the preparation of the Estimates.

14. Presentation of the Estimates to Parliament

The Estimates must be presented to Parliament in accordance with section 79 of the Constitution of Saint Lucia.

15. Approval of Appropriation law

On the approval of the estimates of revenue and expenditure by Parliament, the Appropriation law shall be laid in Parliament in accordance with section 79 of the Constitution of Saint Lucia.

16. Public medium for Estimates

Without prejudice to section 35 of the Act, the Estimates must be made publicly available on the website of the Ministry responsible for finance within two weeks of passing the Appropriation law.

PART 2
REVISED REVENUE PROJECTION, WARRANTS AND BUDGET REPORTS

17. Revised revenue projection

A Government Agency must submit to the Director of Finance a revised revenue projection no later than the 7^th day of each month.

18. Signing of warrants

(1) A General Warrant, Provisional Warrant or Conditional Fund Warrant must be signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance or the Minister.

(2) In the case of a Virement Warrant or Reallocation Warrant, an accounting officer shall sign a Virement Warrant or Reallocation Warrant for approval by the Minister.

(3) Notwithstanding subregulation (2), where an accounting officer is unable to sign a Virement Warrant or Reallocation Warrant, he or she shall give written authorization to a public officer or public official to vire or reallocate money within the limit specified under section 42 of the Act.

19. Issue of warrants

(1) A warrant must be —
1. (a) classified according to type; and
1. (b) numbered serially.

(2) A copy of a warrant issued under this regulation must be submitted to —
1. (a) the Accountant General;
1. (b) the Director of Audit;
1. (c) the Budget Director;
1. (d) the respective accounting officer.

(3) A General Warrant, Provisional Warrant, Conditional Fund Warrant, Virement Warrant or Reallocation Warrant must be in Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, Form 4, Form 5 or Form 6 as set out in the Schedule.

20. Quarterly budget report

A quarterly budget report must—

(a) contain—
1. (i) an analysis of revenue,
1. (ii) an analysis of and recommendations to deal with expenditure, unauthorized expenditure, if any, expenditures arising in the following months;

(b) be made publicly available on the website of the Ministry responsible for finance.

PART 3
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

21. Instructions for using the financial management system

In carrying out the functions under section (10)(2)(e) or the power under section 11(b) of the Act as it relates to the financial management system, the Accountant General shall provide instructions for the effective use of the financial management system.

22. AuthoriZation of users of the financial management system

(1) The Accountant General shall authorize a user of the financial management system for an activity or a data management purpose.

(2) The financial management system must be protected by a password which is encrypted and issued by the Accountant General.

23. Processing payments using the financial management system

(1) The financial management system must process a payment when the budget and cash are available for a payment request and a prior commitment has been entered in the financial management system.

(2) Notwithstanding subregulation (1), the Accountant General may, in an emergency, give written authorization to process a payment when the budget and cash are not available for a payment request and a prior commitment has not been entered in the financial management system.

(3) The financial management system must coincide with purchase orders and other relevant supporting documents to ensure that the correct goods have been delivered and the invoice is in order.

(4) The Accountant General shall —
1. (a) ensure the integrity of all journal entries in the general ledger of the financial management system through a periodic systems audit;
1. (b) ensure that all journal entries carried out manually are audited for accuracy;
1. (c) provide training to the users of the financial management system within a Government Agency.

PART 4
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

24. Standard operating procedures for financial management

(1) In carrying out the functions under section 10(1) of the Act, the Accountant General shall develop standard operating procedures for the collection, expenditure and accounting for public monies.

(2) The standard operating procedures for financial management includes —
1. (a) processing —
  1. (i) a payment after an invoice is received,
  1. (ii) compensation to an employee,
  1. (iii) a transfer and subsidy;
1. (b) verifying and certifying the source of a document;
1. (c) certifying and authorizing a payment;
1. (d) an expenditure on a capital asset.

25. Internal audit control system

In carrying out the functions under section 12(1)(c) and (h) of the Act, an accounting officer shall implement expenditure controls to ensure that —

(a) transactions are —
1. (i) implemented in accordance with standard operating procedures for financial management developed under regulation 24,
1. (ii) recorded —
  1. (A) in the correct amount and accounting period to which it relates;
  1. (B) in accordance with the correct budget classification and chart of accounts, whichever is applicable;

(b) a commitment register is maintained and updated on a fixed schedule prepared by the Accountant General or Director of Finance;

(d) an asset register is maintained;

(e) an accountable officer is held accountable for expenditure within his or her responsibility.

26. Approval of commitments and payments

(1) A public officer shall not spend or enter into a commitment to spend public monies, except with the express approval of an accounting officer or accountable officer.

(2) Before approving a commitment under subregulation (1), an accounting officer or accountable officer shall ensure that—
1. (a) a condition attached to the approval is complied with;
1. (b) the expenditure or commitment is in accordance with the purpose of the appropriate expenditure vote for the Government Agency;
1. (c) the commitment may be met within the budget, and it will not give rise to an unauthorized, irregular or wasted expenditure;
1. (d) the expenditure will contribute to achieving the relevant objective and goal; and
1. (e) the goods, services or works have been delivered in accordance with the order and payment is made to the correct beneficiary.

27. Assignment to accountable officer to approve cheques and electronic payments

(1) In carrying out the functions under section 12(1)(n) of the Act, an accounting officer may assign, in writing, authority to specific accountable officers to approve cheques and electronic payments.

(2) A list of the persons assigned under subregulation (1) together with a specimen signature for each person must be submitted to the Accountant General, Director of Audit and Director of Finance.

28. Lost, stolen or damaged negotiable instruments

(1) Where a negotiable instrument is lost, stolen or damaged, an accounting officer shall—
1. (a) issue instructions to the bank or financial institution to stop payments;
1. (b) give a written report to the Accountant General and Director of Finance specifying the negotiable instrument that is lost, stolen or damaged.

(2) On confirmation by a financial institution that a payment is stopped under subregulation (1), a new negotiable instrument may be issued and accounted for.

29. Payments within a specified period

The Accountant General must ensure that the financial management system has a system or manual procedure in place—

(a) to enable effective tracking of—
1. (i) an invoice received, and
1. (ii) an invoice that is being or has been processed;

(b) to provide information on the date an invoice is received and paid.

30. Monthly creditor analysis

(1) An accounting officer shall conduct a monthly creditor analysis in respect of a creditor's accounts for each Government Agency.

(2) After conducting a monthly creditor analysis under subregulation (1), an accounting officer shall submit to the Accountant General within 10 days of the end of the month, a written report of the monthly creditor analysis.

(3) A report under subregulation (2) must contain information on the number of invoices unpaid with the value of each invoice.

(4) This regulation applies to the inter-departmental provision of goods, services and works.

PART 5
COLLECTION, CUSTODY AND DEPOSIT OF PUBLIC MONIES

Division 1

Collection of Revenue

31. Collection of revenue

(1) In carrying out the functions under section 12(1)(j) of the Act, an accounting officer shall—
1. (a) collect revenue of a Government Agency for which he or she is responsible for;
1. (b) ensure that—
  1. (i) a person indebted to the Government is informed by written notice of a debt about to fall due or which is due,
  1. (ii) a person indebted to the Government is reminded—
    1. (A) by written notice of a debt which is due by a request or demand for payment; or
    1. (B) in the case of an annual or other periodic debt or licence fee, by adequate notice in the Gazette and a newspaper of general circulation in Saint Lucia or by notice on the radio or any other public medium,
  1. (iii) legal action is taken for the collection of a debt,
  1. (iv) cases referred to a court for prosecution are actively pursued and that a court order is executed,
  1. (v) where difficulty is experienced in the collection of monies due to the Government, a report is made to the Director of Finance and the Accountant General.

(2) A collector of revenue who deposits money into a bank must obtain from the bank a deposit receipt for the amount of the deposit in a form approved by the Accountant General.

32. Banking of public monies

(1) The collection and custody of public money, taxed and non-taxed, must be processed in accordance with the procedures established by the Accountant General.

(2) Public monies must be deposited in the Consolidated Fund within 24 hours of receipt of payment.

(3) An accounting officer of each Government Agency shall review non-taxed revenue, such as, rates, fees, and charges to ensure the efficiency of collection, its relevance, and submit a written proposal for any change to the Director of Finance.

33. Recordkeeping

(1) A record must be kept by an accounting officer in each Government Agency.

(2) In the case of a debt incurred by the Government, a record under subregulation (1) must include—
1. (a) the date of issue of a request or demand for payment of a debt which is due;
1. (b) the date of issue of a request or demand for payment of a debt that has become due;
1. (c) the date on which legal action was instituted for the recovery of an overdue debt.

34. Reports on arrears of revenue

(1) An accounting officer who is responsible for the collection of revenue shall submit to the Accountant General—
1. (a) a monthly report on return of arrears of revenue recovered no later than the 5^th day of each month in the financial year;
1. (b) a half-yearly report on the return of arrears of revenue recovered no later than the 10^th day of October of each financial year.

(2) A report on the recovery of arrears of revenue under subregulation (1), must be submitted in the form approved by the Accountant General.

(3) An annual return under subregulation (1) must be prepared and submitted to the Accountant General for each financial year ending on the 31^st day of March.

(4) An annual return, a half-yearly return, and a monthly report must be submitted by an accounting officer whether or not arrears have accrued, or recovery made.

35. Externally financed projects

(1) An accounting officer shall cause a claim in respect of expenditure against an externally financed project to be submitted to the Accountant General for reimbursement.

(2) A reimbursement under subregulation (1) must be correctly accounted for as revenue.

Division 2

Receipt of public monies

36. Receipt of public monies

(1) A receipt of public monies must be properly accounted for in a book or record of account as approved by the Accountant General.

(2) A receipt entry in the accounts shall be certified by an accounting officer in the form approved by the Accountant General.

37. Receipt form

(1) The Accountant General shall approve a document to be used in the collection of Government revenue.

(2) A document on which a payment is received must be issued from a receipt form that is capable of producing one or more duplicate copies or a counterfoil.

(3) A printed receipt form must be bound and serially pre-numbered.

(4) When a specially printed receipt form is approved by the Accountant General, a miscellaneous revenue receipt form must be used.

(5) Revenue receipt forms, that are obsolete, must be listed, and returned to the Accountant General and a copy of the list acknowledged by the Accountant General must be retained by the collector of revenue.

(6) In this regulation, “document” includes a licence, permit, ticket, certificate, passage order and an electronic device.

38. Issue of revenue receipt form

(1) A general revenue receipt form must not be issued to a person other than by a collector of revenue.

(2) The Accountant General shall make an order the printing of a general receipt form and approve the manufacture of plates, discs or other forms of articles especially for use on computerised systems used in the acknowledgement of receiving revenue.

(3) The Director of Audit must be advised of the issue of a general revenue receipt form printed by the National Printing Corporation.

39. Custody of revenue receipt form

(1) A revenue receipt form of whatever description must be secured in the custody of the collector of revenue or an officer authorized by an accounting officer.

(2) A person to whom a revenue receipt form is issued for use is responsible for the revenue receipt form until the revenue receipt form is returned to the collector of revenue.

40. Used revenue receipt form

(1) A used revenue receipt form must be retained by an accounting officer to collect revenue until the used revenue receipt form is audited by an officer from the Office of the Director of Audit.

(2) After a used revenue receipt form is audited under subregulation (1), the audited used revenue receipt form must be returned immediately to the Accountant General.

41. Checking revenue receipt form

(1) A revenue receipt form must be carefully checked on receipt and the public officer receiving a revenue receipt form must certify the receipt form to that effect.

(2) An error in the numbering or quantity of the receipt forms supplied must be reported immediately to the Accountant General and the Director of Audit.

42. Transfer of revenue receipt form

(1) A revenue receipt form must not be transferred from one public officer to another, without the written approval of the Accountant General.

(2) In the case of the handing over of responsibilities from one public officer to another, a transfer may be made after the signing of a handing over statement by the public officer receiving the revenue receipt forms and the public officer handing over.

43. Stock register of revenue receipt form

(1) The Accountant General shall maintain a stock register showing the receipt, issues and balances of each type of revenue receipt form.

(2) A collector of revenue holding stock of revenue receipt forms must maintain a stock register as approved by the Accountant General.

(3) Each bound book of revenue receipt forms received or issued for use must be entered on a separate line and a separate page must be reserved for each type of revenue receipt form.

44. Half-yearly return of revenue receipt form

(1) A collector of revenue with custody of revenue receipt forms, must submit a return to the Accountant General dated the 30^th day of September and 31^st day of March of each financial year, showing every revenue receipt form or book of forms, recorded in his or her stock register with an indication of whether the receipt form is —
1. (a) used, partly used or unused;
1. (b) audited or unaudited;
1. (c) returned to the Accountant General; or
1. (d) in the custody of the collector of revenue.

(2) A return under subregulation (1) must be checked by an accounting officer and any discrepancy must be investigated and reported immediately to the Director of Audit, the Director of Finance and the Accountant General.

45. Issue of receipt for collection of revenue

A collector of revenue responsible for the collection of public monies, whether forming part of the revenue of the Government, must issue a receipt for each sum received by him or her.

46. Signing receipts

(1) A receipt issued under regulation 45, must be signed by the collector of revenue.

(2) A facsimile signature stamp must not be used in signing receipts or any other revenue documents.

47. Payment of money and submission of deposit receipts

(1) A payment of money and submission of a deposit receipt issued by a collector of revenue must be paid to or submitted to the Accountant General.

(2) Notwithstanding subregulation (1), payment of money and submission of a deposit receipt by a collector of revenue must be paid to or submitted to the Accountant General.

(3) Where a collector of revenue collects revenue, he or she shall issue a receipt for the public money in a form approved by the Accountant General.

(4) A payment of money or submissions of deposit receipts under subregulations (1) and (2) must be supported by —
1. (a) a paying-in slip quoting the serial numbers of the receipt and —
  1. (i) the used receipt books from which the receipts were issued, or
  1. (ii) a certified statement showing details of all receipts issued;
1. (b) a report of the amount received and deposited to the Accountant General in a form approved by the Accountant General.

(5) A deposit receipt —
1. (a) under subregulation (1), must be submitted to the Accountant General by the 1^st work day, following the day the deposit was made;
1. (b) under subregulation (2), must be paid on the 1^st work day, following the day of receipt in a bank account designated by the Accountant General.

(6) Where a collector of revenue pays the revenues collected directly to the Accountant General an official receipt must be obtained for the amount transferred.

48. Verification of receipts

The Accountant General shall verify the serial numbers of the receipts appearing on the paying-in slip and enter the serial number of the paying-in slip on a treasury receipt issued by the accountable officer.

49. Alteration OF receipts

(1) Revenue receipts must be issued in serial number order and must not be altered without the approval of the Accountant General.

(2) A revenue receipt book must not be cut or divided and where an electronic system is in use, measures must be taken to secure the receipt-writing device.

(3) An alteration must not be made in the amounts shown as received on a receipt.

(4) An alteration in a paying-in slip must be initialled by the payer.

50. Cancellation of receipts

(1) When it is necessary to cancel a revenue receipt, all copies of the revenue receipt bearing the same serial number must be endorsed “Cancelled”, signed by an authorized officer and securely attached to the relevant revenue receipt book.

(2) Where an electronic system is in use for the collection of revenue, the cancellation of a receipt must be done in accordance with procedures approved by the Accountant General.

51. Public notice regarding receipts

An accounting officer must display in each office where money is collected, a notice stating that a printed receipt must be obtained by every person paying money.

52. Lost receipts

(1) Where an issued revenue receipt is lost and a person makes a request to an accounting officer for a copy of the receipt, an accounting officer within a Government Agency may provide—
1. (a) a certified copy of the receipt;
1. (b) in the case of a receipt issued from an electronic system, a reprint of the receipt.

(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1), a new receipt must not be issued from a receipt book.

(3) A duplicate copy of a receipt cannot be issued, except with the approval of the Accountant General.

53. Maintenance of cash account

(1) An accounting officer shall maintain a manual or electronic cash account in a form approved by the Accountant General.

(2) A revenue receipt issued for money received must be entered in serial number order in the cash account.

(3) An accounting officer shall submit to the Accountant General the cash accounts at intervals not exceeding one month for verification and certification of any amounts paid.

(4) The examination of a cash account by the Accountant General does not absolve an accounting officer from his or her responsibilities.

PART 6
PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS

54. Requirements of payment instruments

(1) A payment instrument must—
1. (a) contain the particulars of each service, such as, dates, numbers, quantities, distances, and rates to enable a payment instrument to be checked without reference to any other document;
1. (b) specify—
  1. (i) the amount of the payment in figures and words,
  1. (ii) the appropriate authority for expenditure or payment,
  1. (iii) in the case of non-appropriated items, the budget classification of the Estimates;
1. (c) except as provided in regulation 55, be written and signed;
1. (d) be supported by—
  1. (i) the required certificates and endorsement,
  1. (ii) a claim, an invoice, or other relevant document.

(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1)(c) —
1. (a) an electronic signature can be used to sign a payment instrument;
1. (b) except as authorized under regulation 55, a stamped facsimile signature cannot be used to sign a payment instrument.

(3) The original of each payment instrument must be signed by an accounting officer or his or her delegate.

(4) A copy of a payment instrument must be initialled by an accounting officer or his or her delegate and clearly marked “copy not for payment”.

55. Executing a payment instrument

(1) An accounting officer or a public officer delegated by an accounting officer shall approve a payment instrument.

(2) A payment instrument under subregulation (1) must be—
1. (a) made in favour of the person to whom payment is due;
1. (b) accompanied by supporting documents as approved by the Accountant General.

(3) In the case of an overseas procurement, the shipping documents must be provided.

(4) Where shipping documents are unavailable, a letter of guarantee of delivery from the supplier or any other relevant documents acceptable by the Accountant General may be provided.

(5) In executing a payment, the following payment instruments may be used—
1. (a) an electronic bank transfer;
1. (b) a cheque, as provided for in regulation [56];
1. (c) a journal;
1. (d) cash;
1. (e) Central Bank Digital Currency.

(6) An instruction that is transmitted electronically by a data communication network or recorded on an electronic device, is acceptable for use by the Accountant General.

(7) The Accountant General shall consult with the Director of Finance and the Director of Audit on the security of acceptable payment instruments.

56. Responsibility when signing

An accounting officer or a public officer authorized by him or her who signs or authorizes a payment instrument certifies the accuracy of every detail set out in the payment instrument and is responsible for ensuring—

(a) that the service specified in the payment instrument has been delivered;

(b) that the prices charged are according to the contract, approved scales or fair and reasonable according to current rates;

(d) that computation and costing have been verified and are arithmetically correct;

(e) that the person named in the payment instrument is entitled to receive payment; and

(f) that stores purchased have been correctly received and used or taken on charge.

57. Payment instrument to be certified

(1) A payment instrument must be certified by an accounting officer.

(2) An accounting officer or his or her delegate shall ensure that a certificate and supporting document that is signed by him or her is true and correct.

58. Delegation of power to sign or certify a payment instrument

(1) An accounting officer may delegate to a public officer, in writing, his or her power to sign or certify a payment instrument.

(2) An accounting officer must obtain specimen signatures of an officer to whom he or she has authorized to sign or certify a payment instrument, one copy of which must be sent to the Accountant General, Director of Finance, and Director of Audit and a copy to be retained by him or her.

59. Form of a payment certificate

(1) A payment certificate must be in a form that it cannot be duplicated by a person other than the person authorized by the accounting officer to certify the payment.

(2) Without prejudice to subregulation (1), a payment certificate must—
1. (a) clearly identify an accounting officer certifying the payment;
1. (b) use information which is personally generated at the time of the certification by an accounting officer and does not originate from a stored location as part of an automated process.

60. Payment instrument to be pre-audited

The Accountant General or a public officer authorized by him or her must, before a payment of settlement is made, pre-audit the payment instrument to ensure that—

(a) an item of expenditure is correctly charged according to the Estimates for the current financial year;

(b) the authority for the payment is correctly stated;

(d) the correct certificate is attached to the payment instrument;

(e) the amount and currency is correctly stated;

(f) the payment represents a fair charge against the Consolidated Fund;

(g) alterations on the face of the payment instrument or the particulars related to the alterations are correctly initialed by the accounting officer;

(h) the deductions due to be made from the payment are correctly made.

61. Payment to an individual or legal representative of an individual named in a payment instrument

(1) A payment must be made to an individual or the legal representative of the individual named in the payment instrument.

(2) Where payment is to be made to a legal representative of an individual named in a payment instrument, the supporting documents for the payment, including a Power of Attorney, Letters of Administration, an Order of the Court and other documents must be presented to the Accountant General.

(3) A copy of the documents presented under subregulation (2) must be retained by the Accountant General relating to the payment instrument.

62. Lost payment instrument

(1) Where an original payment instrument is lost by the vendor, a substitute payment instrument must contain an endorsement by the person issuing the payment instrument that the original payment instrument is lost.

(2) In the case of a double payment, a payee shall, when presenting a substitute payment instrument for payment, sign an indemnity to refund the full amount paid to him or her.

63. Payments to be made during financial year

Without prejudice to section 46(2) and (3) of the Act, an accounting officer shall cause a payment, in respect of a charge incurred during the financial year, to be made during that financial year.

64. Payments of a charge incurred in a previous financial year

On approval of the Budget Director, an accounting officer shall cause a payment, in respect of a charge incurred during the previous financial year, to be made during the current financial year.

65. Transfers and subsidies

An accounting officer shall cause a transfer and subsidy to be applied for the intended purpose.

66. Withholding a transfer or subsidy

(1) An accounting officer may withhold a transfer or subsidy, with the approval of the responsible Minister, if—
1. (a) he or she is satisfied that conditions attached to the transfer or subsidy have not been met;
1. (b) financial assistance is no longer needed;
1. (c) the agreed objectives have not been achieved;
1. (d) the transfer or subsidy does not provide value for money in relation to the objective.

(2) A Government Agency may not transfer funds to an entity outside the Government, other than in accordance with the Appropriation Act.

67. Recovery, disallowance and adjustment of payments

(1) Expenditure that is charged against a vote and recovered in the same financial year the payment was made, must be allocated to the same financial year in which it was paid and to the same vote that was originally debited.

(2) An amount recovered after the closing of books of a financial year must be paid to a revenue fund, if the funds have not been allocated to a suspense account in the financial year in which the payment was made.

68. Gift, donation or sponsorship

A Government Agency must not give a gift, donation or sponsorship that involves public monies without the prior approval of the Minister.

69. Irregular expenditure

(1) An accounting officer shall exercise all reasonable care to ensure that there is no irregular or wasteful expenditure.

(2) Without limiting the generality of subregulation (1), an accounting officer shall implement clear business processes as appropriate to his or her Government Agency, in accordance with the standard operating procedures of the Accountant General, and identify risks associated with these processes and institute effective internal controls to mitigate the risks, to ensure that the economy and efficiency is achieved with allocated resources.

(3) Where a public officer discovers irregular or wasteful expenditure, he or she shall report the irregular or wasteful expenditure immediately to an accounting officer.

(4) On receipt of a report under subregulation (3), an accounting officer shall immediately conduct an investigation and report his or her findings to the Director of Finance, Director of Audit and the Accountant General.

70. Unauthorized expenditure

(1) An accounting officer shall take reasonable steps to ensure that there is no unauthorized expenditure undertaken for the vote which he or she is the accountable officer.

(2) Where an investigation has revealed that there has been unauthorized expenditure, an accounting officer must inform the Director of Finance of the particulars of the unauthorized expenditure.

(3) The Director of Finance shall cause the compilation of a report consisting of such unauthorized expenditures in support of the Supplementary Estimate for onward submission to the Minister for approval.

(4) An approval required under subregulation (3) must be sought within the same financial year, as a part of the Supplementary Estimates, in which the expenditure was incurred.

(5) Supplementary Estimates shall be laid before Parliament in accordance with section 79 of the Constitution of Saint Lucia.

(6) On submission of the Supplementary Estimates under subregulation (5), Parliament may approve or decline an unauthorised expenditure.

(7) Where Parliament approves the unauthorised expenditure under subregulation (6), it must be treated as an additional charge against the budget head affected for the financial year.

(8) Where Parliament declines the unauthorised expenditure, under subregulation (6), the accounting officer shall take the necessary steps to recover the unauthorized expenditure.

(9) Where the Supplementary Estimates have been approved under subregulation (7), a supplementary Appropriation Bill shall be laid before Parliament in accordance with section 79 of the Constitution of Saint Lucia.

71. Internal controlS

(1) There must be a system of internal controls in each Government Agency.

(2) The system of internal controls under subregulation (1) includes —
1. (a) the functions for authorizing a payment;
1. (b) verifying the payment to ensure its propriety.

(3) An accounting officer shall ensure the integrity and proper functioning of all internal control systems, including, computerised payment and accounting systems, rules, and regulations, control over all financial commitments, and adhering to budget ceilings.

(4) An accounting officer —
1. (a) shall ensure that the delegation of authority is consistent with the Act;
1. (b) is accountable for complying with all instructions of the Ministry responsible for Finance.

72. Capturing the budget in the financial management system

The Accountant General shall capture the approved appropriation law in the financial management system before the start of the budget execution.

PART 7
SALARIES, WAGES, ALLOWANCES AND RETIRING BENEFITS

73. Payroll

(1) All salaries and allowances of public officers, and reimbursements to public officers included in a payroll, must be paid by the Accountant General to the public officer, in a bank or financial institution.

(2) For approving payment instruments to facilitate payments by the Government of goods and services under section 11(e) of the Act, the Accountant General shall make payments and issue guidelines for the payment of salaries, wages, and allowances.

(3) An accounting officer shall ensure that the number and positions of employees are consistent with the approved positions, the total cost related to the employee compensation and the payroll is consistent with the budget.

(4) Authorization of appointments, payments and recording of payments must be carried out by separate public officers.

(5) An accounting officer shall certify that all employees paid by the payroll are employed in his or her Government Agency.

74. Records to be kept

An accounting officer shall keep and maintain a record of persons paid from salaries and wages vote to determine at all times —

(a) the rate of salary, wage and any allowance payable;

(b) the authorized deductions to be made from each person's salary or wage;

(d) the leave due and taken;

(e) any other matter affecting the salaries and wages payable;

(f) the establishment position held and the station to which the person is posted.

75. Authority for payment of salaries, wages and allowances

Salaries, wages or allowances shall not be paid in respect of new appointments, acting appointments or changes in office or rates, except with the written authority of the person empowered by law to make an appointment or a change.

76 Unpaid salaries and wages

An accounting officer shall cause unpaid salaries and wages to be properly accounted for and secured and that the procedures that apply to a payment of salaries and wages are applied to the payment of the unpaid salaries and wages.

77. Salaries, wages and allowances unpaid for more than 3 months

(1) Salaries, wages and allowances unpaid for more than 3 months must be entered into a ledger account for unpaid salaries, wages and allowances.

(2) Where the person to whom money is paid or is to be paid makes a claim, the Accountant General shall cause a charge to be made to the account for the unpaid salaries, wages and allowances.

78. Daily paid workers

(1) A Government Agency employing daily paid workers must keep records of the days or hours worked by each worker for determining the amount of wages to be paid, gratuities, leave entitlements and other benefits due to the worker.

(2) The records under subregulation (1) must be—
1. (a) prepared daily; and
1. (b) open for inspection by an accountable officer.

79. Overtime

Whenever overtime is to be paid, the time records must clearly distinguish between the normal hours for work and overtime.

80. Computation of wages

(1) Where wages and allowances are paid by monthly installments of one twelfth of the annual rates, these payments must be final settlements for the periods to which the wages and allowances relate.

(2) The computation of wages for a part of a month must be
pro-rated with reference to the number of days in each month.

(3) Where wages and allowances are paid by quarterly installments of ¼ of the annual rate the computation for part of a month must be made with reference to the number of days in each quarter of the financial year.

81. Certification of salaries

(1) A payment instrument in respect of a claim for reimbursement or an allowance must be certified in the manner specified under subregulation (2) by the person filing the claim.

(2) A payment instrument under subregulation (1) may be certified as follows—
1. (a) in the case of an ordinary claim, “Certified Correct”;
1. (b) in the case of transport allowance, “I hereby certify that vehicle No. has been maintained in running order
  during the period for which allowance is claimed”;
1. (c) in the case of subsistence allowance, “I hereby certify that was travelling on duty on the days specified and I
  am satisfied that the amount claimed in respect of the distance travelled is fair and reasonable”;
1. (d) in the case of claims where supporting receipts or invoices are not obtainable, “I .... hereby certify that the following charges have been incurred solely on the public business, and that the receipts/invoices being unobtainable.

82. Delayed claims

The negligence or delay on the part of a public officer in presenting claims for reimbursement may result in the claims being totally or partially disallowed by the Accountant General.

83. Record of retiring benefits

The Accountant General shall maintain a record of all retiring benefits showing, in respect of each person who has retired, the following —

(a) the name and office held on the date of his or her retirement;

(b) the date of birth and date of retirement;

(d) the date from which pension is payable;

(e) the amount of gratuity;

(f) the rate of pension;

(g) the address of the person.

84. Notice of retirement

An accounting officer shall submit to the Director of Finance not later than 4 months before the end of each financial year the names and salaries of all public officers in his or her Government Agency who is retiring from the public service during the following financial year.

85. Deferred payments of retiring benefits

A failure on the part of a public officer to provide documents, to the accounting officer of the Government Agency in which he or she was employed, to facilitate the processing of his or her retirement from the public service may result in the deferment of the payment of any retiring benefits due to him or her in respect of his or her service with the Government for not more than one year after the payment is due.

PART 8
CASH MANAGEMENT, BANKING, DEPOSIT, REFUND, SET-OFF, WRITE-OFF AND INVESTMENT

Division 1

Treasury Single Account and Bank Accounts

86. Treasury Single Account

(1) The Accountant General shall establish a Treasury Single Account for all bank accounts in accordance with the Act.

(2) The Accountant General has the power to operate all bank accounts in the Treasury Single Account.

87. Notification of bank accounts

The Accountant General shall issue notification of all Government bank accounts in the Treasury Single Account to the Minister.

88. Selection of bank for transacting Government banking business

(1) In accordance with section 52(5)(a) of the Act, the Accountant General shall negotiate with a bank for a service.

(2) Due consideration must be given to the safety of the Government funds, the ability of the bank to provide required service, and the interest paid by the bank on all Government deposits.

(3) Where possible, the Accountant General shall consider the banking regulatory reports of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, and a bank that is certified as safe.

89. Reporting on bank accounts

(1) The Accountant General may seek information from a bank on a bank account held by a Government Agency.

(2) A Government Agency must provide the Accountant General, within 7 working days as at the 30^th day of September and the 31^st day of March of each financial year, with the following information for each bank account —
1. (a) the name of the bank and the branch where the account is held;
1. (b) the highest amount at any time in the bank account;
1. (c) the type of bank account;
1. (d) the bank account number;
1. (e) the date on which the bank account was opened;
1. (f) the signatures on each bank account.

(3) A Government Agency shall not own or maintain an unauthorized bank account.

(4) A Government Agency with an unauthorized bank account must close that account immediately and all funds held in the account shall be transferred by the Accountant General to the Treasury Operating Account.

90. Reconciliation of bank accounts

An accountable officer who operates a Government bank account under the authority of the Accountant General shall —

(a) at the end of each month in the financial year, reconcile the balance in the Government bank account as shown in the bank statement with the balance shown in the cash book for the Government bank account;

(b) prepare a reconciliation statement for the Government bank account; and

(c) submit a copy of the reconciliation statement for the Government bank account to the Accountant General within 7 days after the end of the month.

Division 2

Cash Management

91. Cash management functions

(1) The Government must establish a cash management function in the Ministry of Finance to be managed by the Director of Finance in collaboration with the Inland Revenue Department, Customs and Excise Department, Accountant General's Department and the Debt Unit of the Ministry responsible for finance.

(2) The cash management function under subregulation (1) must contain—
1. (a) a cash plan formulated to minimise borrowing costs and to effectively manage cash needs;
1. (b) a system for cash flow forecasting, both for inflows and outflows established by the Accountant General;
1. (c) outflow forecast provided monthly by each Government Agency with detailed instructions and approved forms issued by the Accountant General;
1. (d) the expenditure forecast provided by a Government Agency which forms the basis for cash allocation;
1. (e) a system of monthly and quarterly budget allocation to each Government Agency established by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance;
1. (f) an account by a Government Agency for any discrepancy between the forecast provided at the beginning of the financial year, and the actual collection for each quarter;
1. (g) a Government Agency must establish cash plan function to coordinate the total cash forecast for a Government Agency.

(3) Revenues must be collected when due and deposited daily in the designated Government bank account, except when specifically authorized by the Accountant General based on practicality and cost effectiveness.

(4) Payments, including transfers and subsidies, shall be made no earlier than necessary.

Division 3

Imprest

92. Purpose of imprest

(1) An imprest shall be made for the specific purpose for which the imprest is issued.

(2) The Accountant General shall issue an imprest as authorized in writing by the Minister.

93. Payments from imprest

An imprest shall not be used except where immediate payments are required to be made which for purposes of efficiency and the exigencies of the service cannot be made by the submission of payment vouchers to the Accountant General.

94. Accounting for imprest

(1) The Accountant General shall maintain an account for each imprest issued to an accounting officer.

(2) An accounting officer in receipt of an imprest shall keep a cash account to record a sum received on the issue of an imprest and a payment made out of the sum received.

95. Imprest cash account

An accounting officer shall keep a register in manual or electronic form to record each sum received into and disbursed from the imprest cash account.

96. Reimbursements of imprest payment

An accounting officer may obtain reimbursement for payments made out of an imprest by submitting to the Accountant General receipted claims and payment instruments in respect of such payments together with a signed journal voucher completed to debit the expenditure head to which the payment is charged and to credit the imprest cash account.

97. Retirement of imprest

(1) An imprest shall be retired by the date indicated in the warrant for imprest or before the end of the financial year, whichever is the earlier.

(2) Imprests shall be accounted for in full by the date stipulated in the warrant for imprest and—
1. (a) in the case of a cash imprest, all unexpended cash balances must be remitted to the Consolidated Fund;
1. (b) where the imprest is maintained in a bank account, submit a notarised bank declaration to the Accountant General.

(3) An accounting officer is not relieved of responsibility for the imprest until all payment instruments for and claims paid from the imprest are examined by the Accountant General and found to be correct.

98. Duration of responsibility for imprest

An accounting officer to whom an imprest is issued shall not be relieved of responsibility for an imprest until all payment instruments for and claims paid from the imprest have been examined by the Accountant General and found correct.

Division 4

Deposit Accounts and Chequing Account

99. Payment from deposit account or chequing account

(1) A payment from a deposit account or chequing account must be —
1. (a) for the purpose intended;
1. (b) authorized by an accounting officer responsible for the operation of the account or by a public officer who is delegated by him or her.

(2) An accounting officer shall ensure that payments made from a deposit account or chequing account is not in excess of the unspent balances of the deposit account or chequing account.

(3) In this regulation, “deposit account” means an account approved by the Accountant General, where monies, not being part of general revenue or a development programme fund, is received for a specific purpose.

Division 5

Recovery of Unauthorized or Incorrect Payments

100. Unauthorized or incorrect payment

When an unauthorized payment or overpayment is discovered, the person overpaid must be informed and the unauthorized or incorrect payment must be stopped immediately by an accounting officer.

101. Steps to recover unauthorized or incorrect payment

(1) Where an unauthorized or incorrect payment is made, an accounting officer shall take steps to—
1. (a) determine liability of the person responsible for the unauthorized or incorrect payment;
1. (b) report the circumstances to the Director of Finance and copy the report to the Accountant General and the Director of Audit;
1. (c) recover the unauthorized payment or the amount overpaid.

(2) In the case of an unauthorized or incorrect payment, an accounting officer may, with the written consent of the Director of Finance, accept proposals for the repayment by installments of an unauthorized or incorrect payment on terms and conditions as the Director of Finance determines.

(3) In fixing repayment terms, the Director of Finance shall take cognisance of a voluntary payment made by the person to whom an unauthorized or incorrect payment was made.

102. Crediting of recovered payments

(1) Receipts on account of unauthorized or incorrect payments recovered in respect of expenditure incurred in a previous financial year must be credited to an appropriate vote.

(2) Unauthorized payments or incorrect payments recovered in respect of expenditure incurred within the same financial year in which the unauthorized or incorrect payment was made must be credited to the expenditure vote to which the unauthorized or incorrect payment was charged.

Division 6

Cheques Drawn on a Bank Account using the
Financial Management System

103. Payment by cheque or other forms

In accordance with the instructions of the Accountant General, a payment from the Consolidated Fund, a deposit account or special fund may be made by cheque, electronically or by other forms approved by the Accountant General.

104. Ordering pre-printed cheque forms

The Accountant General shall order pre-printed cheque forms for printing cheques drawn on a bank account using the financial management system.

105. Printing of pre-printed cheques

(1) A cheque drawn on a bank account must be printed from the financial management system.

(2) Pre-printed cheque forms drawn on a Government bank account and designed to be printed on the financial management system must be printed in ascending order of its serial numbers.

106. Spoilt cheques printed from the financial management system

Where a cheque printed by the financial management system is spoilt, whether by the printing process or the discovery of an error in the cheque or otherwise, the Accountant General or his or her delegate shall—

(a) write or stamp across the face of the cheque the word “cancelled” in upper case letters;

(b) initial the face of the cheque; and

Division 7

Cheque Forms to be Drawn on a Bank Account Manually

107. Requirements of pre-printed cheque forms to be drawn manually

A pre-printed cheque form designed to be used to draw cheques manually on a bank account must—

(a) be numbered serially in ascending order at the time of printing;

(b) be drawn in ascending order of its serial numbers;

108. Ordering pre-printed cheque forms designed to be drawn manually

The Accountant General or an accountable officer authorized by the Accountant General to operate a bank account, shall order pre-printed cheque forms designed to be used to draw cheques manually on a bank account.

109. Cheque counterfoil

Where a pre-paid cheque form has a counterfoil, the person drawing the cheque shall enter particulars of the cheque on the counterfoil and initial the counterfoil.

110. Duplicate cheque copy

Where a pre-printed cheque form is capable of producing one or more duplicates, the person drawing the cheque shall ensure that the particulars of the cheque are legible on each duplicate and initial each duplicate.

111. Spoilt cheques drawn manually

Where a cheque drawn manually is spoilt, whether in the process of being drawn or by the discovery of an error in the cheque or otherwise, the accountable officer who has immediate responsibility for the drawing of the cheque shall—

(a) write or stamp across the face of the cheque the word “cancelled” in upper case letters;

(b) initial the front of the cheque; and

112. Taking books of pre-printed cheques apart

(1) Where pre-printed cheque forms designed to be drawn manually are bound in a book, a public officer shall not divide, take apart or otherwise disassemble the book before or after a cheque is issued.

(2) A public officer shall not divide, take apart or otherwise disassemble a book of pre-printed cheque forms designed to be drawn manually before or after a cheque is issued.

113. Retaining and checking counterfoils or duplicates in used pre-printed cheque books

An accountable officer shall—

(a) retain the counterfoil or duplicates remaining in a book of pre-printed cheques after the pre-printed cheques have been drawn manually, together with any spoilt cheques, until the counterfoil or duplicates are verified by the Director of Audit; and

(b) send the counterfoil or duplicates in a book of pre-printed cheques, together with any spoilt cheques, to the Accountant General immediately after the counterfoil or duplicates are verified by the Director of Audit.

114. Duplicate of lost cheques drawn on a bank account

(1) Where a cheque drawn on a bank account is alleged to have been lost, the person to whom the cheque was made payable may make a written request to the Accountant General for a duplicate of the cheque.

(2) Where the Accountant General receives a written request under subregulation (1), the Accountant General shall issue a duplicate of the cheque if the person to whom the cheque was made payable enters into an agreement, in the form approved by the Accountant General, to indemnify the Government against persons, in case the cheque alleged to have been lost is found.

115. Number of signatures on cheques

A cheque drawn on a bank account must be signed by at least two public officers.

116. Signing cheques

(1) The Accountant General or a public officer authorized in writing by the Accountant General must sign each cheque drawn on a bank account.

(2) The Accountant General may give written authorization to one or more public officers who may, in addition to the Accountant General, sign a cheque drawn on a bank account.

(3) The Accountant General may limit an authorization under subregulation (2) in relation to —
1. (a) the amount of a cheque which a public officer may sign;
1. (b) any other matter as the Accountant General determines.

(4) The signature of the Accountant General on a cheque drawn on a bank account may be an electronic reproduction of his or her signature.

(5) The Accountant General may approve an electronic reproduction of other signatures on a cheque.

117. Signing cheques on bank account operated by accountable officer

(1) Where an accounting officer is given written authorization by the Accountant General to open or operate a bank account—
1. (a) the accounting officer shall authorize, in writing, one or more public officers, to sign a cheque drawn on the bank account; and
1. (b) the accountable officer shall be one of the persons to sign a cheque drawn on the bank account.

(2) An accounting officer may limit an authorization under subregulation (1)(a) by the amount of a cheque on which the public officer signs.

118. Computerised cheques

(1) A cheque may be issued by the use of mechanical or electronic equipment.

(2) Adequate security measures must be taken to restrict entry to a mechanical or an electronic cheque-writing device to a person authorized by the Accountant General.

(3) The Accountant General may authorize the signing of a cheque by the use of mechanical or electronic equipment capable of reproducing facsimiles of signatures of a person authorized by him or her to sign a cheque.

119. Acceptance of cheque

(1) A cheque drawn on a bank account or bankers' cheque may be accepted in payment of revenue or for any other service.

(2) Where payment of revenue is to be made by a cheque, the Accountant General must be named as the person to whom the cheque is made payable.

(3) An accounting officer and a collector of revenue shall ensure that reasonable steps are taken to establish the validity of a cheque and the good standing of the account against which the cheque is to be drawn.

120. Cheques to be lodged

A cheque received by an accounting officer or a collector of revenue must be lodged immediately into the appropriate bank account or with the Accountant General.

121. Dishonoured cheques

(1) In the event that a cheque accepted in payment of revenue or for any other service is dishonoured on presentation, an accounting officer or collector of revenue accepting the cheque shall take appropriate action to recover the payment.

(2) Where a payment is made to the Government by cheque and is dishonoured, the Accountant General shall immediately write to the Government Agency to recover the value of the transaction that is dishonoured and other related bank charges.

122. Cheques not to be cashed

A collector of revenue or receiver of revenue shall not convert into cash a cheque received by him or her or cheques presented to him or her by any person whether that person is a public officer.

Division 8

Direct Deposits

123. Authorization for direct deposit

(1) The Accountant General may authorize a direct deposit to be made in a bank or other financial institution to the account of a person to whom a payment is due—
1. (a) where a payment is of a continuous or recurring nature;
1. (b) in compliance with the conditions of a contract or agreement;
1. (c) on the specific written instruction of the person to whom the cheque is made payable; or
1. (d) on a payment request as determined by the Accountant General.

(2) A person to whom a direct payment is made under subregulation (1) shall not provide any inaccurate information to the bank or financial institution or the account to which the payment is made.

124. Form of direct deposit

(1) A direct deposit must be made on electronic media and the deposit must be in the form approved by the Accountant General and contain the information as required by the Accountant General.

(2) The Accountant General shall ensure the security and safe keeping of media containing direct deposit instructions or transactions while in his or her custody and while the media are in transit to the bank or other financial institution into which the deposit is to be made.

125. Authentication of direct deposit

(1) Media containing direct deposit instructions or transactions must—
1. (a) contain internal labels or records indicating, with regard to each file of instructions or transactions—
  1. (i) the name and position of the creator of the file,
  1. (ii) the date the file was created,
  1. (iii) the creation sequence number of the file,
  1. (iv) the number and value of each credit transaction,
  1. (v) the number and value of each debit transaction,
  1. (vi) the number of credit transactions,
  1. (vii) the bank or other financial institution to which the medium is to be delivered for processing;
1. (b) when delivered to the bank or other financial institution for processing, be accompanied by a transmittal document signed by a public officer who is authorized by the Accountant General.

(2) The Accountant General shall notify the bank or other financial institution in which a direct deposit is to be made of the names and specimen signatures of the public officers who are authorized by him or her to sign a transmittal document.

126. Suspension and revocation of direct deposit

(1) An accounting officer shall notify the Accountant General that a direct deposit must be stopped, where—
1. (a) the service in respect of which payment is made is terminated;
1. (b) an instruction, from the person to whom the cheque is made payable, with regard to a direct deposit is withdrawn;
1. (c) a contract under which the direct deposit is made comes to an end;
1. (d) the payee dies or is otherwise ineligible for payment.

(2) Notwithstanding subregulation (1), where the Accountant General has reason to believe that there has been impropriety or a breach of security, the Accountant General may suspend or revoke instructions for a direct deposit.

Division 9

Custody of cash, stamps, receipt books, securities, keys

127. Security of cash

(1) A Government Agency must not keep cash, except float and petty cash.

(2) Cash received as payment of a tax or non-tax revenue must be deposited in the bank or other financial institution approved by the Accountant General on the same day the cash is received by a Government Agency.

(3) The Accountant General must make arrangements with the bank or other financial institution to receive cash after the close of business hours of the Government Agency.

(4) An accounting officer shall make arrangements to secure cash received on a non-working day or a holiday.

(5) Where no other arrangements exist and cash is collected on a non-working day or holiday, the revenue must be deposited on the 1^st working day subsequent to the non-working day or holiday.

128. Control and securing of bonds, securities and agreements

(1) Securities given into the hand of a public officer must be deposited within 3 business days with the Accountant General.

(2) On receipt of securities under subregulation (1), the Accountant General shall give an acquittance.

(3) Bonds, sureties, and agreements must be secured in a strong room or safe and must be recorded in a register kept for that purpose.

129. Security of financial instruments

Supplies of financial instruments received on behalf of Government must be secured in a strong room or safe and must not be removed, except on requisition by the Accountant General or a public officer delegated by the Accountant General.

130. Safekeeping of financial instruments

(1) An accounting officer and a collector of revenue shall ensure the safety of financial instruments in his or her possession or in the possession of a public officer in his or her Government Agency.

(2) A moveable safe must be further secured by attachment to the structure of the building in which the safe is kept.

(3) A strong room must be examined for security against unlawful entry or damage.

(4) An accounting officer shall keep proper inventory records of all safes and strong rooms in use in the Government Agency.

131. Issue of keys to a strong room or safe

(1) The keys to a strong room or safe must be issued by an accounting officer or collector of revenue.

(2) Where there are two or more locks, the key to each lock must be kept by at least two separate public officers.

132. Security of locks

Where a strong room or safe is not open for use, the locks of the strong room or safe must be secured.

133. Responsibility for safe custody of keys

A public officer to whom keys to a safe or strong room are issued under regulation [131] is responsible for the safe custody of the keys.

134. Joint liability for contents of a strong room or safe

The public officers to whom keys are issued under regulation [131] are jointly liable for the contents of the strong room or safe.

135. Lost keys

(1) Where the keys of a strong room, safe are lost, the public officer who is responsible for keeping the keys shall —
1. (a) report the loss to an accounting officer or collector of revenue with a detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding the loss;
1. (b) inform the other public officer who has keys for the same strong room or safe;
1. (c) seal the door to the strong room or safe and note the time of sealing the door to the strong room or safe.

(2) A duplicate key must not be used except for the removal of the contents of the strong room or safe in the presence of an accounting officer or a public officer designated by an accounting officer.

(3) The strong room or safe must not be used after a duplicate key is used, until the locks are replaced or altered and new keys are issued.

(4) A person who is responsible for losing a key to a strong room or safe may be required to meet the cost of replacing or altering the lock and providing new keys.

136. Repairs and alterations to safe, strong room and lock

The repairs and alterations to a safe, strong room and lock must be authorized by an accounting officer.

137. Replacement of keys

The replacement of a key to a safe, strong room and lock must be authorized by an accounting officer.

138. Private monies

(1) Private monies and effects must not be kept in a strong room or safe provided for the security of public money, stamps, securities and other financial instruments.

(2) Where private monies are found in a strong room or safe provided for Government use, it is liable to be confiscated by the accountable officer or accounting officer and deposited into the Consolidated Fund.

139. Handing over to another public officer

(1) Where cash, stamps, securities and other financial instruments, receipt books, cheque books and accounting records are handed over from one public officer to another, a handing over statement must be prepared and submitted to the Accountant General.

(2) A handing over statement must be endorsed by an accounting officer and must include information on the keys of a strong room and safe being handed over.

(3) Each item to be handed over must be checked in the presence of the public officer handing over and the public officer taking over.

(4) A copy of the orders, circular, books, regulations and instructions issued to the public officer handing over must be handed over to the public officer taking over.

(5) Cash registers, stamp registers and other accounting records must be balanced as at the date of the handing over and signed by the public officer handing over and the public officer taking over.

140. Absence of public officer handing over

(1) Where a public officer who is handing over is unable to attend due to illness or any other cause, an accounting officer shall appoint a committee of two public officers to check the stocks of cash, stamps, securities and other financial instruments, receipt forms, cheque books and any other items to be handed over, with the appropriate cash registers.

(2) A committee appointed under subregulation (1) shall prepare and submit a report and a handing over statement to the accounting officer.

(3) A copy of the report and handing over statement of a committee under subregulation (2) must be submitted by the accounting officer to the Accountant General.

Division 10

Shortages or Loss of Public Monies, Stamps, Securities, and Other Financial Instruments

141. Reporting shortages or loss

(1) A public officer who discovers any shortage in or loss of public monies shall make a report immediately to an accounting officer or receiver of revenue.

(2) An accounting officer or receiver of revenue to whom a report is made under subregulation (1) shall submit a report immediately to the Director of Finance, Accountant General and Director of Audit.

(3) An accounting officer or receiver of revenue shall not withhold a report from the Director of Finance, the Accountant General and the Director of Audit where theft, fraud or misuse of public funds is known or suspected, notwithstanding restitution may have been made or a report was deferred to enable restitution to be made.

(4) An accounting officer or receiver of revenue shall, if he or she has reasonable grounds for suspecting theft or any other irregularity, report the loss immediately to the police.

142. Loss or irregularity discovered by the Director of Audit

(1) Where a loss, shortage, or irregularity is discovered by the Director of Audit, the Director of Audit shall inform an accounting officer or receiver of revenue.

(2) The Director of Audit and an accounting officer or receiver of revenue, shall submit independent reports to the Director of Finance and the Accountant General.

143. Investigation and recommendations

(1) An accounting officer or receiver of revenue shall investigate every shortage in or loss of money, stamps, securities and other financial instruments discovered by or reported to him or her and shall submit a report of the investigation to the Director of Finance immediately after the investigation is completed.

(2) A report under subregulation (1) must include —
1. (a) the name of the Government Agency where the shortage or loss occurred;
1. (b) the date on which the shortage or loss occurred and the date on which it was discovered;
1. (c) where there has been a delay in discovering the loss, the reasons for the delay;
1. (d) details of the amounts of cash, stamps, securities or other financial instruments missing or lost;
1. (e) any amount of the shortage or loss recovered;
1. (f) the name and designation of the public officer responsible for the shortage or loss;
1. (g) a statement as to whether the shortage or loss was due to negligence on the part of a public officer;
1. (h) an assessment of the arrangements made for security, accounting and periodical checking;
1. (i) details of the last cheque made including the name of the public officer by whom such cheque was made;
1. (j) a statement on any grounds for suspicion of fraud or any other irregularity;
1. (k) the result of a police investigation, if applicable;
1. (l) recommendations for improved security or accounting arrangements; and
1. (m) recommendations for any action to be taken against the officer responsible for the shortage or loss.

144. Accounting for shortages and losses

Where a shortage or loss has been certified by an accounting officer or the receiver of revenue, the amount of the shortage or loss shall be accounted for against an advance account in the name of the public officer responsible for the shortage or loss.

145. .Write-off of losses

Losses on non-stamps, securities and other financial instruments shall be written-off under section 54 of the Act.

PART 9
ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, VOTE ACCOUNTING, FINANCIAL INFORMATION, REPORTING, AND AUDITING PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

146. Accounting standards

(1) The accounting rules and standards for public accounts under section 74 of the Act are based on the International Accounting Standards.

(2) The Accountant General, in consultation with the Director of Audit, must prepare and adopt accounting standards consistent with International Accounting Standards.

(3) For the purposes of subregulation (1) and (2), the Accountant General shall ensure that—
1. (a) a transaction is supported by authentic and verifiable source documents;
1. (b) a correct chart of accounts for revenue and expenditure is recorded.

(4) A transaction under subregulation (3)(a) must be reported and accounted for on a gross basis.

(5) The Accountant General shall certify, as a part of the annual financial statement that the financial treatment and disclosure of revenues, expenditures, assets, and liabilities are in accordance with the International Accounting Standards.

(6) In satisfying the accounting standards adopted under subregulation (2), the annual financial statements to be tabled in Parliament—
1. (a) must include all assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities of the Government;
1. (b) in the case of a statutory body, must include a similar consolidated asset, liability and contingent statement as referred to under paragraph (a).

147. Vote accounting

(1) Expenditure must be classified in strict compliance with the Estimates.

(2) An accounting officer shall—
1. (a) maintain control over expenditure of his or her Government Agency to ensure that the amounts provided in the approved Estimates are not exceeded;
1. (b) keep a vote account which must clearly show at all times in respect of each service—
  1. (i) the original amount approved by Parliament for the financial year,
  1. (ii) the supplementary amounts approved by Parliament, if any,
  1. (iii) the amount, if any, reserved by the Minister,
  1. (iv) reallocations,
  1. (v) virements,
  1. (vi) credits to the vote,
  1. (vii) transfers to be added or deducted,
  1. (viii) charges or payments made against the vote,
  1. (ix) expenditure to date,
  1. (x) actual balance on the vote,
  1. (xi) outstanding commitments,
  1. (xii) uncommitted balance on the vote.

(3) Vote accounts must be maintained in the following manner—
1. (a) where a voucher is authorized for payment, it must be entered in the vote account and the entry initialled by the accounting officer or public officer designated by him or her to do so;
1. (b) the accounting officer or the public officer designated by the accounting officer shall ensure that expenditure commitments in respect of goods, services or works invoiced and not yet paid for, and other commitments are noted in the commitments column of the vote account;
1. (c) at the end of each month the vote account must be reconciled item by item with the accounts of the Accountant General;
1. (d) liabilities, including outstanding commitments, incurred but not paid during the financial year must be charged to the appropriate vote account at the end of the financial year.

148. Charges incurred by a non-government agency

Where any charge is incurred by a non-government agency against any loan or grant in respect of which an appropriation has been made, the accounting officer shall cause the charge to be brought to account against the appropriate vote.

149. Sufficiency of votes

An accounting officer shall ensure that at all times the balance of votes are sufficient to meet all commitments against the vote for the remainder of the financial year.

150. Review of expenditure

An accounting officer shall undertake regular reviews of a vote accounts and report an unfavourable trend to the Director of Finance.

151. Use of vote balance

(1) The unexpended portion of any vote must not be used for the purpose of setting up a reserve to meet future payments and must not be carried to a deposit account or suspense account, except with the approval of the Director of Finance.

(2) Stores may not be drawn from unallocated stores or purchased for use before they are required so as to utilise balances in the vote account which would otherwise lapse at the end of the financial year.

(3) Expenditure properly chargeable to the account of a financial year must not be deferred or placed in suspense for the purpose of avoiding an excess in the vote account for that financial year.

152. Direct charges

(1) An accounting officer shall be notified by the Accountant General of any charges incurred through procurement agents against the votes under his or her control and such charges must be duly recorded in his or her vote accounts.

(2) A copy of the debit advice issued by the Accountant General must be returned to him or her endorsed by an accounting officer that the charges have been entered in his or her vote account.

(3) An Accountant General, on receipt of a monthly bill for repetitive payments may, after consultation with the responsible accounting officer, charge the expenditure to the appropriate account of the relevant Government Agency.

(4) Where a monthly amount is charged against the vote account, the Accountant General must issue a Debit Advise to an accounting officer within 5 working days of the charge.

153. Advance and suspense accounts

(1) The authorization of the Director of Finance is required for opening a personal advance account.

(2) The Accountant General may authorize temporary advance accounts incidental to the business of Government if such account is cleared by the end of the financial year.

(3) Where the classification of a transaction has not been resolved, it may be accounted for in a suspense account.

(4) An accounting officer shall ensure that the source of the transaction is identifiable and that the account is correctly allocated to the vote or account codes on a monthly basis.

(5) A suspense account may be opened when the incidence of a charge is not known and in such cases immediate action must be taken to determine the incidence of the charge and to remove the charge from the suspense account to the appropriate vote account.

(6) A monthly report of transactions must be prepared by an accounting officer and reviewed by the Accountant General.

154. Availability of financial information

(1) An accounting officer and the Accountant General shall retain audited financial information for 10 years after the financial year.

(2) After the period specified under subregulation (1), audited financial information may be retained in an electronic form for a further period as the Minister determines.

(3) When financial information is required as evidence in proceedings before a court, at Parliament or for an audit by the Director of Audit, the financial information must be secured, unless the financial information is no longer required.

(4) The Accountant General may amend or change an existing computerised system or establish a new computerised system that may affect financial management.

(5) The Director of Finance shall, in consultation with the Director of Audit, give approval to the Accountant General to change or amend a computerised system under subregulation (4).

155. Custody of accounting records

An accounting officer shall care and keep safe receipts, payment instruments and other accounting records in his or her custody and must retain accounting records until destroyed under regulation 156.

156. Destruction of accounting records

(1) A receipt, payment instrument or other accounting record may be destroyed with the approval of the Minister after the expiration of—
1. (a) in the case of a financial management system-based principal Treasury ledgers, cash registers and journals, 20 years;
1. (b) in the case of an abstract, a subsidiary journal, a cheque, a receipt form and counterfoil, a paper-based or computerised, 7 years;
1. (c) in the case of a payment instrument and a subsidiary record, 5 years;
1. (d) in the case of a special ledger and record such as a bank record, 20 years;
1. (e) in the case of a loan register, trust fund register after the closing of the last account.

(2) Where the Minister determines that a receipt, payment instrument or other accounting record is required for the purpose of any litigation, inquiry, investigation or other examination, he or she may direct the Accountant General or an accounting officer to delay the destruction of the receipt, payment instrument or other accounting record until it is no longer needed for that purpose.

157. Reporting

(1) An accounting officer shall, on a monthly basis and prior to the close of the month, provide the Accountant General with a certificate that—
1. (a) a transaction is supported by authentic and verifiable source document;
1. (b) a receipt is recorded and reconciled;
1. (c) an electronic fund transfer is accurate and recorded;
1. (d) a bank reconciliation has been done with an explanation for any unreconciled item;
1. (e) a list of all outstanding commitments which includes the date and amount for each commitment;
1. (f) a suspense account is cleared and correctly allocated to the relevant vote and accounting code together with a list of uncleared accounts, and the reasons for the accounts being uncleared.

(2) The Director of Finance shall prepare a consolidated monthly statement of all fiscal operations of the Government, with a brief analytical report on what it implies for the annual budget and fiscal position of the Government.

(3) The consolidated monthly statement under subregulation (2) must be submitted to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance and the Minister by the 15^th day of the following month.

(4) The Director of Finance shall consolidate a fiscal risk report based on the reports received from the Government Agency

(5) The consolidated fiscal risk report must be submitted to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry responsible for finance and the Minister together with a strategy to manage the risks.

(6) The Director of Finance shall review and approve the fiscal reporting procedure together with templates to assist decision making.

(7) After the end of each month, an accounting officer shall ensure that the expenditure and revenue vote accounts are reconciled with the accounts of the Accountant General.

158. Expenditure review and appropriate action

(1) An accounting officer shall—
1. (a) undertake a regular review of each expenditure vote account and each revenue account to which he or she is designated; and
1. (b) take appropriate action where it appears likely that there will be insufficient money on an expenditure vote account to meet anticipated expenditures for the remainder of the financial year.

(2) In the case of insufficient funds on an expenditure vote account, the following types of measures constitute appropriate action—
1. (a) measures to reduce expenditure;
1. (b) measures to identify sufficient money to meet the anticipated expenditures for the remainder of the financial year.

159. Financial year end survey of cash and stamps

(1) The Accountant General shall, after the close of business on the last working day of each financial year, or before the start of business on the 1^st day of a financial year, cause a survey of cash and stamps in the custody of the Accountant General and the Postmaster General for the preceding financial year.

(2) The Board of Survey established under the Finance Administration Regulations, is preserved to conduct a survey of cash and stamps under subregulation (1).

(3) The Board of Survey —
1. (a) must not have a direct responsibility for the cash and stamps and the Chairperson shall not be an officer of the Accountant General's Department;
1. (b) shall—
  1. (i) report immediately to the Director of Finance if he or she is unable to serve,
  1. (ii) count the cash and stamps on hand, including the contents of all strong rooms, safes and cash boxes,
  1. (iii) reconcile balances of cash and stamps counted with the balances shown in the cash register and bank statement and the stamp register,
  1. (iv) report the findings and any discrepancies to the Director of Finance and the Accountant General.

(4) The Chairperson of the Board of Survey shall arrange, with the other members, the time of sitting for the conduct of business.

160. Method of conducting a survey of cash and stamps

(1) Unless otherwise directed in a letter of appointment, a survey of stores must include a complete check of quantities of all stores on hand or in the process of conversion.

(2) The quantities found must be compared with the quantities shown in the stock ledger and bin cards and any discrepancies found shall be noted for inclusion in the survey report.

(3) Stores which appear to be unserviceable or obsolete shall be entered on the form prescribed for that purpose with recommendations for their condemnation or disposal.

(4) Stores which are found to be in excess of the balances shown in the stores ledger shall be brought to account on a stores receipt voucher.

(5) The Board of Survey shall sit at least once each financial year on the main stock of postage stamps held by the Accountant General and the Postmaster General to determine validity and to make recommendations for the destruction of obsolete stamps.

161. Attendance of accounting officer during a survey of cash and stamps

An accounting officer or a public officer delegated by him or her shall be present while a survey is being held on cash or stamps in his or her charge.

162. Suspension of business during a survey of cash and stamps

A cash transaction shall not take place between the close of business at the end of the financial year and the completion of the survey except with the approval of the chairperson of the Board of Survey.

163. Survey of cash and stamps exceeding one day

(1) Where the verification of stock of cash and stamps extends beyond the day appointed for the survey, the strong room or safe containing the verified portion of the stock shall be sealed by the members of the Board of Survey at the end of each day while the survey continues.

(2) The seal shall not be broken except in the presence of the members of the Board of Survey.

164. Report on survey of cash and stamps

(1) The Chairperson of a Board of Survey shall, immediately after the completion of a survey, submit a report on the survey signed by him or her and the other members of the Board of Survey to the Director of Finance, Accountant General, Director of Audit and the accounting officer.

(2) The report of the Board of Survey must include the following—
1. (a) the opinion of the board on the condition and adequacy of storage and storage facilities;
1. (b) the opinion of the board on the effectiveness of security arrangements and safeguards against fire and deterioration;
1. (c) a statement on any difficulties experienced by the board in carrying out its duties;
1. (d) a list of unexplained surpluses and shortages together with any comments or remarks thereon which the board may consider necessary;
1. (e) a list of stores which, in the opinion of the board, are unserviceable or obsolete;
1. (f) contain the date and hour of the commencement and completion of the survey and
1. (g) a certificate that the method specified under regulation 160 has been followed.

(3) Where the Board of Survey discovers a shortage in cash or stamps, it shall report the shortage at once to a senior officer as may appear to be the proper person to take immediate action.

(4) The Director of Finance may, after considering the recommendations of the Board of Survey, issue such directions as he or she considers necessary.

(5) Within 3 months of any direction given by the Director of Finance, an accounting officer shall report to the Director of Finance the actions taken under such directions.

165. Preparation of annual financial statements

The Accountant General shall establish a process for the preparation of the annual financial statements that includes—

(a) transactions that are included and verified for accuracy;

(b) annual asset and inventory count and an updated asset register;

(d) liabilities;

(e) reconciliation of a suspense account, including bank accounts;

(f) identification of a transaction that requires disclosure;

(g) review by management and internal audit;

(h) process for correcting errors identified during the process;

(i) a review of how the report of the Director of Audit for the previous year has been addressed.

166. Closure of monthly accounts

(1) Each month in the financial year must be closed within 14 work days of the end of the month.

(2) Prior to the closure of the accounts, the Accountant General must ensure that all transactions have been entered, and bank reconciliation has been completed and errors found in the process have been addressed.

(3) The Accountant General shall maintain a check list of all unreconciled items and ensure that these are reconciled no later than within 30 days of the end of the month to which the transaction applies.

167. Review of budget classification during budget execution

(1) The Accountant General shall carry out a review of the budget classification to ensure that it captures transactions of the Government, and provide information on budget implementation, and is consistent with the accounting standards established by the Accountant General.

(2) A deliberate accounting misclassification of expenditure or revenue that results in under or over reporting of expenditure constitutes a violation of the Appropriation Act.

168. Accounting in Government Agency

(1) An accounting officer shall maintain control over expenditure of his or her Government Agency to ensure that the amounts provided in the Estimates are not exceeded.

(2) The financial management system provides to a Government Agency information on —
1. (a) the original amount approved by Parliament in the Appropriation Act for the year;
1. (b) the supplementary amount approved by Parliament;
1. (c) the amount reserved by the Minister, if any;
1. (d) a reallocation made by the Minister;
1. (e) a virement approved by the Director of Finance;
1. (f) a credit to the vote;
1. (g) a transfer to be added or deleted;
1. (h) a charge or payment made against the vote;
1. (i) expenditure to date;
1. (j) the actual balance on the vote;
1. (k) the actual balance in each line item;
1. (l) a cash ceiling against each line item;
1. (m) the actual balance against cash ceiling in each line item;
1. (n) any outstanding commitments;
1. (o) a balance on the vote.

(3) An accounting officer or a public officer authorized by him or her shall ensure that expenditure commitments in respect of goods invoiced and not paid for, and other commitments are recorded as commitments in the financial management system.

(4) At the end of every month the vote account must be reconciled item by item with the accounts of the Accountant General.

(5) All liabilities, including outstanding commitments, incurred but not paid during the financial year must be charged to the appropriate vote account at the end of the financial year.

(6) Where a charge is incurred by a non-government agency or agency against a loan or grant in respect of which an appropriation has been made, it is the duty of the accounting officer to ensure that the charge is brought to account against the appropriate vote.

(7) An accounting officer shall ensure that at all times, the balance of votes are sufficient to meet all commitments against the vote for the remainder of the financial year.

(8) An accounting officer shall undertake regular reviews of the vote accounts and report any unfavourable trends to the Director of Finance by the 15^th day of the following month.

169. Commitments before the end of financial year

A commitment incurred before the end of a financial year for goods, services or works or an amounts due or owing under a contract that remains unpaid at the end of the financial year must be recorded as a charge against the appropriation to which it relates.

170. Payments from deposit account

(1) A payment may be made from a deposit account for the purpose of settling a commitment recorded as a charge against the vote.

(2) A payment made in respect of a commitment that is in excess of the amount charged under subregulation (1) must be —
1. (a) charged against the appropriate vote in the financial year in which the payment is made; and
1. (b) a reduction of the amount available for spending under the vote.

171. Use of vote balance

(1) The unexpended portion of any vote must lapse to the Consolidated Fund at the end of the financial year.

(2) Goods, services and works must not be procured before they are required to utilise balances in the vote account which lapses at the end of the financial year.

(3) Expenditure properly chargeable to the account of a financial year must not be deferred or placed in a suspense account for the purpose of avoiding an excess in the vote account for that financial year.

172. Security of financial management system

(1) Adequate measures must be taken to secure the financial management system against unauthorized entry and ensure that no unauthorized override of the financial management system takes place.

(2) An unauthorized override and intervention is punishable under the Act or any other law.

PART 10
MONITORING AND REPORTING

173. Monitoring of performance targets

(1) The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance shall ensure quarterly monitoring of performance targets for each programme operated and administered by a Government Agency.

(2) The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance shall approve a template for monitoring reports.

(3) A monitoring report must be submitted by each Government Agency to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for finance not later than 15 days from the end of each quarter of the financial year.

174. Inspection of accounts

(1) The Accountant General may, without giving notice, inspect accounts of a Government Agency.

(2) The Director of Finance shall be informed of an irregularity in connection with an account of a Government Agency that may have been discovered during an inspection under subregulation (1).

PART 11
AUDIT REPORTS

175. Reporting to the Director of Audit

(1) An accounting officer shall respond to the reports of the Director of Audit in writing within a period of 14 days from the receipt of the report accompanied by an action plan with milestones proposed to address the deficiencies in the report.

(2) A copy of the report under subregulation (1) must be submitted to the Accountant General and the Director of Finance.

(3) A challenge to a report based on factual reasons must be made by an accounting officer within 30 days of the receipt of the report of the Director of Audit.

PART 12
STRATEGIC PLAN AND OPERATIONAL PLAN OF STATUTORY BODY

176. Preparation of strategic plan

(1) Without prejudice to section 82 of the Act, the strategic plan of a statutory body must include—
1. (a) the strategic objectives and outcomes as agreed between the Ministry and the statutory body;
1. (b) key performance indicators and objectives in delivering the plan;
1. (c) the main business initiatives in the business plan for the financial year;
1. (d) an explanatory note for a deviation from the strategic plan, and the medium-term expenditure framework;
1. (e) the risks to delivering the outputs, and the strategy to manage the risks;
1. (f) risk mitigation measures, including fraud prevention;
1. (g) a projection of revenues, expenditures and financing;
1. (h) asset and liability management;
1. (i) a cash flow projection;
1. (j) a capital expenditure plan;
1. (k) an indication of fiscal risks;
1. (l) debt guaranteed by the Government, and plans for debt service;
1. (m) the contingent liabilities;
1. (n) a dividend policy.

177. Preparation of operational plan

(1) In preparing an operational plan under section 82 of the Act, an accounting officer shall—
1. (a) take reasonable steps to ensure that the operational plan complies with the fiscal policy;
1. (b) update the operational plan to reflect the budget.

(2) An operational plan under subregulation (1) must contain—
1. (a) a quantified analysis of the main deliverables of a Government Agency during the financial year;
1. (b) the quantified performance indicators for each deliverable;
1. (c) the changes to the deliverables from the previous financial year, and the reasons for the changes;
1. (d) the risks to each of the deliverables and the strategy of the statutory body to deal with the risks;
1. (e) the supply or budget requirement to deliver this output within the aggregate expenditure ceiling for the statutory body in the medium term;
1. (f) an analysis of capital projects and the targeted output for capital projects during the financial year, including, ongoing recurrent costs;
1. (g) the annual cash flow plan presented by quarters;
1. (h) an asset management plan;
1. (i) a medium-term projection of the main outputs or deliverables;
1. (j) an analysis of each public-private partnership managed by a statutory body, and where the implementation by the public-private partnership is on target, any possible reason for a deviation from the targeted output, the fiscal risks to the Government from a public-private partnership project, and the statutory body's strategy to deal with the risks;
1. (k) any deviation from the annual deliverable must be explained with the proposed strategy for meeting the targets;
1. (l) an analysis of external grants received by a statutory body, and if there are any likely changes to the grant during the financial year, and the strategy of the statutory body to deal with the changes.

PART 13
MISCELLANEOUS

178. Revocation

The Financial Regulations, S.I. 36/1997, are revoked.

Schedule

FORM 1

(Regulation 19)

GENERAL WARRANT

20 _ /20 _

Minister of Finance

(Insert address)

Date:

TO : ACCOUNTANT GENERAL

You are hereby authorized and required to withdraw from the Consolidated Fund sums not exceeding $ . total as shown in

the Schedule to the Appropriation Act, No. … of 20_, in such quarterly amounts as the Minister of Finance considers appropriate, and to make payments as they become due in respect of the various services specified in the Estimates in accordance with the laws and instructions of the Government.

And so doing, this, together with the Accounts, Certificates and Acquittances prescribed in the said laws and instructions shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge.

NAME
MINISTER OF FINANCE

I hereby certify that this Warrant has been issued under the Public Finance Management Act.

NAME
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

FORM 2

(Regulation 19)

PROVISIONAL GENERAL WARRANT

20 _ /20 _

Minister for Finance

(Insert address)

Date:

TO : ACCOUNTANT GENERAL

You are hereby authorized and required to pay the sum of $ .

representative of 3 months (April to June 20_) Allocation, during the year 20 _/20 _, for the Personal Emoluments, Pension Allowances, other Recurrent charges and Ongoing Capital Project related expenses as they become due, in accordance with laws and standing instructions of the Government.

And for so doing, this together with the accounts certificates and acquaintances prescribed in the said laws and instructions shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge.

NAME
MINISTER OF FINANCE

I hereby certify that this warrant has been issued under the Public Finance Management Act.

NAME
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

FORM 3

(Regulation 19)

SAINT LUCIA

ADVANCE WARRANT

					No.

				Day		Month	Year
ADVANCE WARRANT
for Minister of Finance
To: THE ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL
Person
You are hereby authorized and required to advance to the described
in the
Account
subjoined schedule the amount of $1237,39, such sum to be accounted for in the manner and according to the date or dates specified.
SCHEDULE
Person or Account
Nature of Advance
Amount			Code
Authority G.O. No.	Prime Minister
Details of Repayment
Security

Signature of Applicant		Counter Signature of Head of Department
(necessary only in respect of Personal Advances)

				Day		Month	Year
Advance Warrants will be prepared in Triplicate and copies will be filed in the Ministry of Finance, the Treasury and Audit Office

FORM 4

(Regulation 19)

SAINT LUCIA

APPLICATION FOR VIREMENT WARRANT

					No. of
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
I beg to make application for a Virement Warrant for the service described below
Date
				Permanent Secretary/Head of Department
A
			Code			Description
Department
Division
Cost Centre
Programme
Sub-Programme
Econ Class
Project No.
Fund
B. Amount provided in the Estimate 20 _/ 20 _ . $
C. Amount provided by virement warrant
Reallocation Warrant or Contingencies Fund Warrant
No.								$
No.								$
No.								$
No.								$
No.								$
No.								$
Total amount provided for period 20_ /20 _								$
D. Total Expenditure incurred including outstanding
Liabilities to date of this application
E. Amount required for the remainder of then Total required for the year
								$
Amount now required by this Virement warrant Difference between B and C								$
F. State why the amount provided has proved insufficient and compare present requirements submitted with your draft Estimates.


A separate statement in explanation should be attached.

G. Saving are available under -

Department	Division	Cost Centre					Programme		Sub-Programme

Econ Class	Fund/Project
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Approved
Date
					Director of Finance
(To be prepared in quintuplicate)

FORM 5

(Regulation 19)

SAINT LUCIA

CONTINGENCY FUND WARRANT

No. of 20
TO: THE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL
WHEREAS it has become necessary in the interest of the Public Service to incur certain expenditure in advance of a grant of an appropriation by Parliament, I hereby authorize you under the powers conferred on me by section 19(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, to pay from the Contingencies Fund a sum not exceeding that set out in the Section below for the purposes specified therein.
And for so doing, this together with proper Accounts, Certificates and Acquaintances shall be your sufficient warrant and discharge.

Date			Minister of Finance
A. MINISTER OF FINANCE,
I beg to make an application for an advance from the Contingencies Fund for the purposes described below.

			Accounting Officer

Date			Ministry/Department Government Agency

Ministry/Department	Division	Cost Centre			Sub Programme Programme
Source of Funds
B. Amount provided in the Estimates				$
Add: Supplementary Provision:
Supplementary Estimates				$
Reallocation Warrants				$
Virement Warrants				$
Total				$
Less: Warrants				$
C. Total provided for year				$
D. Total expenditure incurred, including Outstanding liabilities to date of this application				$
E. Amount required for remainder of the year				$
F. Total required for the year				$
G. Amount now required by Contingency Fund Advance				$
H. Explain why the advance is necessary and why it is considered urgent and unavoidable and cannot be postponed?
I. Explain why the provision was unforeseen at the time of the budget?
J. Permanent Secretary (Finance),
Submitted, I certify that the expenditure proposed cannot without injury to the public service be postponed until adequate provision is made by Parliament.

Date			Permanent Secretary/ Head of Department
	Department/Ministry of
K. Minister of Finance,
Warrant is hereby submitted as being in order for your signature, please.

Date			Permanent Secretary (Finance)
(These authorities must be prepared in quintuplicate and numbered as a series in ascending numerical order).
Distribution of copies as detailed in Public Financial Management Act.

FORM 6

(Regulation 19)

SAINT LUCIA

APPLICATION FOR REALLOCATION WARRANT

No. of 20

A. THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

I beg to make and application for the services described below

Date:

Accounting Officer of the Government Agency
Ministry of Finance

Department

Division

Cost Centre

Programme

Sub-Programme

Econ Class

Project No.

Funds

B. Amount provided in the Estimates 20_ /20

Amount provided by Virement, Reallocation or Contingency Fund Warrant.

No.

Total amount provided for in 20 _/ 20 _

C. Expenses incurred

Amount required for the remainder of the year, including outstanding liabilities to date of this application.

Total required for the year

D. Amount required by reallocation warrant.

(Difference between B and C)

E. State why the amount so far provided had proved insufficient and compare present requirements with those submitted with your draft estimates. A separate statement in explanation should be attached, if necessary.

E.g., Major rehabilitation works for Primary and Secondary schools exceeded original estimates and therefore had to be undertaken due to the urgent nature.

F. State why the proposed additional expenditure was not anticipated and why it cannot be postponed until the reallocation is approved by Parliament.

E.g., Schools require urgent works to deal with maintenance issues and rehabilitation of their building which could nor have been postponed.

G. (To be completed by the Accounting Officer under whose expenditure heading saving are available).

I hereby confirm the availability of a surplus under the following items of expenditure to be applied in aid of the item specified in Section A above.

Department

Division

Cost Centre

Programme

Sub-Programme

Econ Class

Project No.

Funds

Amount

Date:

Accounting Officer of the Government Agency
Ministry of Finance

H. THE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL

Whereas it has become necessary, in the interest of the Public Service, to incur certain expenditure not provided for in the Estimate;

You are hereby authorized, in anticipation of the approval of Parliament, to exercise the reallocation of funds between the items of expenditure as shown in the schedule below.

ITEM NUMBER

INCREASE

Department

Division

Cost Centre

Programme

Sub-Programme

Econ Class

Project No.

Funds

Amount

DECREASE