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101. Pay rolls must be approved by administrative officers for the gross amount to be charged to appropriations. This gross amount is the amount to be paid directly to the employees, plus the amount of retirement fund deductions, plus other deductions made as a means of effecting collection of amounts due the United States. Deductions for stated amounts as the value of allowances furnished, for which no appropriation or fund is entitled to credit, are not to be included as making up the gross amount. Credit for the gross amount chargeable to each appropriation will be taken on the schedule of disbursements, thus eliminating the necessity for a separate entry thereon of the amounts of retirement fund deductions. Where payment is to be made by direct settlement of a claim through the General Accounting Office the claim should show the amount of the retirement deduction as having been taken up for payment into the fund, credit for the net amount payable by settlement to the employee or his estate not to be claimed or entered as an expenditure by the disbursing officer. (Sup. 2, G. A. O. Regs. 54.)

102. At the end of each month disbursing agents will remit the total amount of retirement deductions by check to the disbursing clerk, Bureau of Pensions, Washington, D. C., for deposit to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. (Gen. Regs. No. 54, G. A. O.) For information of the General Accounting Office each account must be accompanied by a statement showing by number the voucher, or vouchers, upon which retirement deductions are made, together with the number, date, and amount of check drawn in favor of the disbursing clerk, Bureau of Pensions. Such statements should be prepared in the form prescribed by the General Accounting Office in Supplement No. 2 to its General Regulations No. 54, copies of which were furnished with Indian Office Order No. 307. The amount of the check sent to the disbursing clerk, Bureau of Pensions, should always agree with the amounts deducted and collected as shown by the aforementioned statement. Disbursing officers' checks should be forwarded promptly, and if not mailed within 15 days from the end of the month covered by the pay rolls and vouchers, an explanation of the reason for the delay must be forwarded to the General Accounting Office, audit division. (Sup. 2, G. A. O. Gen. Regs. 54.) 103. Amounts collected from employees seeking retirement service credit, reinstatement, etc., should be taken up on schedule of collections as credits to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, and also entered on the list of retirement fund deductions, reference being made to the schedule of collections. The disbursing officer will deposit such collections to the credit of his checking account and include the amount thereof in his check to the order of the disbursing clerk, Bureau of Pensions. (Sup. 2, G. A. O. Regs. 54.)

104. To establish a uniform method of adjusting errors in retirement fund deductions and to simplify the procedure for disbursing officers in accounting for such deductions, the following procedure will be observed:

I. FOR EMPLOYEES CONTINUING TO BE PAID FROM THE SAME DISBURSING OFFICE

(a) When an erroneous amount has been deducted, due to error in stating the amount in the "Gross amount earned" column: Increase or decrease on the next pay roll the gross amount earned by the amount of the error in the prior roll and compute deductions for the current roll on the increased or decreased amount.

(b) When a wrong amount has been entered in the "Retirement deduction" column: Increase or decrease on the next pay roll the amount in the retirement deduction column by the amount of the error in the prior roll.

(c) When deduction has been made from the pay of an employee not subject thereto: The amount erroneously deducted should be entered on the next pay roll in the "Gross amount earned" column, and the amount of the erroneous deduction deducted from the total of the "Retirement deduction" column.

(d) If an employee is paid on a pay voucher rather than on a pay roll, similar treatment should be accorded the errors through increase or decrease on the next voucher. In the case of (c) a red-ink entry should be made on the list of retirement fund deductions for the month or period in which the deduction was refunded, the amount of the red-ink entry reducing the total of the deductions to be sent to the Bureau of Pensions.

II. FOR EMPLOYEES WHO BY REASON OF TRANSFER, DEATH, RESIGNATION, OR RETIREMENT ARE NO LONGER PAID FROM THE SAME DISBURSING OFFICE

(a) Errors of any nature in making retirement fund deductions from the pay of employees in these instances should be immediately reported to the Claims Division, General Accounting Office (through the Office of Indian Affairs), for adjustment of appropriations and the retirement fund. (Sup. 2, G. A. O. Regs. 54.)

105. All corrections and adjustments should be fully explained in the "Remarks" column, at the end of the pay roll or in the body of the individual pay voucher. The number of the voucher on which the error occurred and the name of the employee and appropriation involved should always be included in the explanation. (Sup. 2, G. A. O. Regs. 54.)

106. Care must be taken to increase or decrease the proper appropriations when making an adjustment, and to record the adjustment on the employee's retirement fund deduction card, Standard Form No. 1056. All cash transactions involved in adjustments must be taken up on the schedule of collections. (Sup. 2, G. A. O. Reg. 54.)

107. Refunds on account of separation from the service, by death or otherwise, will be made by the disbursing clerk for the Bureau of Pensions, upon applications on Form 3R6 submitted to the Indian Office.

FEES FOR WORK INCIDENT TO LAND SALES, ETC.

108. The act of February 14, 1920 (41 Stat., 415), provides:

"That hereafter in the sale of all Indian allotments, or in leases or assignment of leases covering tribal or allotted lands for mineral, farming, grazing, business, or other purposes, or in the sale of timber thereon, the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed under such regulations as he may prescribe, to charge a reasonable fee for the work incident to the sale, leasing, or assigning of such lands, or in the sale of the timber, or in the administration of Indian forests, to be paid by vendees, lessees, or assignees, or from the proceeds of sales, the amounts collected to be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts."

109. Fees collected in accordance with the proceding paragraph which accrue, without doubt, to the United States, will be taken into account as "Sundry receipts," but collections which are conditioned upon approval of sales or other administrative action will be taken up as "Special deposits," from which they will subsequently be returned to payors or transferred by journal voucher to "Sundry receipts," as appropriate.

110. When depositing such moneys to the credit of the United States, disbursing officers must describe them on Form 5-638 as "Fees under act February 14, 1920." They will thereupon, be covered into the general fund of the Treasury, and will not be available for expenditure except in consequence of appropriations by Congress.

111. Fees collected under these regulations must be shown as separate items on official receipts.

ACCOUNTS

112. The act of July 1, 1898 (30 Stat., 595), requires that Indian agents shall account for all funds coming into their hands as custodians from any source whatever, and be responsible therefor under their official bonds; and section 5491 of Revised Statutes prescribes a penalty

for failure to render accounts as provided by law. These statutes are construed to embrace funds of every nature which are received in their official capacities by disbursing agents and other employees.

113. Proceeds of entertainments, concerts, athletic meets, or funds belonging to clubs, societies, or associations composed of students or adult Indians, may be received and expended by the duly elected officers of the organizations, which may be white or Indian employees, without being carried in the accounts of a disbursing officer, provided that such funds do not come into the hands of the latter and he exercises no control over them except in an advisory capacity. Itemized accounts of receipts and disbursements shall be kept in the office of the disbursing officer, who shall audit them and keep them on file, subject to inspection by investigating officials.

114. Accounts will be rendered monthly and must be mailed or otherwise transmitted to the Indian Office within 10 days after the periods to which they relate, unless more time is specifically allowed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Failure to comply with this requirement may subject the delinquent official to serious embarrassment, as no further advances of public funds can be made to him until the delinquency is satisfactorily explained (act of July 31, 1894, 28 Stat. L., 209). All vouchers and other papers comprising accounts will be retained by disbursing officers until the accounts are completed and ready for transmission to the Indian Office. The complete accounts, with vouchers and other supporting papers, will then be arranged in proper order and forwarded to the Indian Office all together, except that, when specially authorized, individual Indian money vouchers will be furnished semiannually only, with the June and December accounts.

115. When a disbursing agent is relieved from duty on any except the first day of a month, he must render a complete account for the fractional month covering the period of his incumbency. Likewise, a fractional account is required of the incoming disbursing agent, covering the period from the date of his entrance upon duty to the end of the month.

116. Under United States Postal Regulations official packages weighing 4 pounds, or less, do not require postage, but may be mailed under frank. If sent by registered mail a registry fee of 15 cents is charged. Packages weighing more than 4 pounds and not over specified weights for the different zones may, likewise, be sent by registered mail upon payment of postage and the customary registry fees. Accounts, should, accordingly be sent by registered mail when possible (under frank when packages weigh not more than 4 pounds) and by express when unmailable because of, weight or size.

117. An account is not complete without the account current, schedule of disbursements and all vouchers and other papers necessary to a proper administrative examination and if any of these papers are not submitted within the time limit, the account is regarded as delinquent.

118. When disbursing officers are delinquent in transmitting their accounts, they should forward with them a letter stating specifically that they were prevented by physical difficulty from dispatching them within the time limit allowed, if such was the case, and setting forth briefly the conditions which caused such physical difficulty.

119. An unreasonable delay in rendering such accounts may result in a suit on the disbursing› officer's bond for the recovery of the public funds for which he is accountable.

120. Two memorandum copies must be made of the accounts and all vouchers pertaining. thereto, one set to be forwarded with the original to the Indian Office and the other to be retained by the disbursing officer. None but the "original" papers must be sworn to or certified. However, memorandum vouchers, official receipts, proposals, contracts, etc., where blanks are provided for this purpose, should be filled in to show that the original papers were dated, signed, etc, 121. All authorized obligations should be paid as promptly as possible after they become due and brought into account for the month in which payments are actually made.

122. The date of payment and not the date of purchase or period of service determines the month to which a voucher belongs. Hence, credit should not be claimed in an account for payments actually made after the expiration of the period to which they relate.

123. Cash accounts for agencies and schools will ordinarily embrace the following described papers, which must be made out in accordance with these regulations and the instructions printed on the blank forms; account current, official receipts, schedule of collections, a separate schedule of disbursements for each fund used, pay rolls of employees, vouchers for purchases, interunit transfers, miscellaneous expenses, travel, advertising, transportation, and annuity payments, with supporting papers such as cash receipts, subvouchers, local contracts signed by superintendents, proposals, bids, abstracts of proposals, and certificates of headmen covering annuity. payments. When properly prepared, accounts will require no suspensions or disallowances, but will be susceptible of rapid administrative examination by the Indian Office, and prompt settlement by the General Accounting Office, thereby relieving both offices of unnecessary labor, and the disbursing officers of avoidable worry and anxiety because of the unsettled condition of their accounts. All papers relating to accounts must be carefully reviewed before submission to the Indian Office.

124. Account current. The account current (Standard Form No. 1019) must show by appropriations and funds, the balances brought forward from previous accounts, all moneys received, whether by Treasury warrant or from miscellaneous sources as evidenced by the schedule of collections, the aggregate expenditures as shown in detail on the schedule of disbursements, all deposits to the credit of the United States, necessary adjustments including debits and credits to remove exceptions, and the balances remaining at the close of the period for which the account is rendered.

125. Provision has been made on the form for showing opposite each appropriation fund, or account title, the balance due from last account and receipts on the one hand, and payments and balance due the United States at close of period on the other, each of which should equal the same total, to be placed in the "Total" column between the two sides of the account. (G. A. O. Gen. Regs., 41.)

126. The total only of each accounting item indicated by the columnar headings will be placed opposite the proper appropriation or other title, as the "Analysis of account totals" on the reverse of the account current provides space for scheduling accountable warrants, Treasury deposits, and transfers of funds. No transfers should appear in "Analysis of account totals” except those from one disbursing agent to another or from an old to a new bond of the same disbursing agent. Separate detailed schedules of collections and disbursements must be furnished, only the totals thereof being included in the "Analysis of account totals." When more than one sheet is required the headings will be filled in with the notation "First sheet," "Second sheet," etc., placed on the forms just above the words "Account current" appearing thereon. The totals of the accounting items, the officer's certificates, and the information and certificates called for on the reverse of the account current will be shown on the final sheet. (G. A. O. Gen. Regs. 41.)

127. Account titles will be listed in the following order: Appropriations, trust funds, sundry receipts, special deposits not carried in individual money accounts, any miscellaneous funds not included in above classifications, and individual moneys. When an appropriation or fund is carried under two or more subtitles these also must be grouped together so that the combined transactions under each group may readily be ascertained.

128. The form has been designed primarily for flat filing or for binding in loose-leaf binding devices, but there has been provided on the reverse a suitable brief or space for such notations as may be needed where the vertical filing system is used; also for notations of inclosures which

should always be carefully made to enable the administrative office and the General Accounting Office to ascertain immediately upon receipt of the accounts whether the papers specified have been forwarded. Such notations should be concise but specify clearly the kind and number of papers; for example: Account Current, Schedule of Collections (2 sheets, 6 receipts), Schedule of Disbursements (10 sheets), vouchers 57 to 120, etc. (G. A. O. Gen. Regs., 41.)

129. Sundry receipts, as shown by the schedule of collections must be stated on single lines of the account current in the column "Appropriation, fund and account titles" and the total amount entered in the column for "Collections."

130. Collections of overpayments and disallowances will be entered in the "Collections" column, if covered by official receipts (see par. 142); otherwise, in the "Adjustments" column, opposite the fund to which they pertain, and itemized by appropriations on the reverse of the account current under "Analysis of account totals." Journal vouchers must be furnished in support of collections for which official receipts have not been issued, showing the date and number of certificate of settlement, appropriation, month, voucher, and amount of each item.

131. Symbol numbers are assigned to appropriations only for convenience in bookkeeping and are not intended to supplant the appropriation titles on accounting papers. Therefore, both symbol numbers and appropriation titles must be used on accounts current, schedules of disbursements, official receipts, vouchers and other accounting papers; also in answers to exceptions and correspondence with the General Accounting Office.

132. Blank columns on account current form under "Receipts" and "Payments" should be captioned "Transfers" and all transfers of funds should be shown therein, except that entries for cancelled checks and other adjustments will be shown in the "Adjustment" column.

133. All transfers and adjustments of funds shown on accounts current must be supported by copies of journal vouchers describing them in such manner that they may be fully understood and referring by number and date to authorities under which they are made, the essential parts of which should be quoted.

134. If the statement of disbursing officer's accounts from the Treasurer of the United States on Treasury Form 5215 has not been received at the time of mailing the account current to the Indian Office, the net balances must be computed from the check register. However, as soon as the statement from the Treasury has been received a corrected analysis of balances must be submitted to the General Accounting Office, if the net amounts previously reported in the account 'current are not correct. Whenever the net balance is computed from the check register, a statement to that effect must be made on the account current.

135. When any cash is on hand, received or disbursed during the month, a subsidiary cash account must be rendered as required by paragraph 15 of Treasury Circular No. 52, dated July 29, 1907. A form for this will be found on the reverse of the account current blank. All instruments of exchange, except the disbursing officer's own official checks, will be treated as cash for the purpose of this section. The subsidiary cash account must also show on the credit side all deposits to the credit of the disbursing agent or to the credit of the United States, giving date, number, and amount of the certificate of deposit.

136. Should a disbursing agent have no balance of funds on hand, receive no advances and make no collections or disbursements during an accounting period, he will prepare a report of no transactions on standard Form 1063 and forward it, in duplicate, to the Indian Office within the time prescribed for rendition of his accounts.

137. When postage stamps are purchased for use in making parcel-post shipments or paying insurance thereon, registering mail, or for any other legal purpose, they must be protected the same as cash, and whenever any stamps are on hand or are purchased reports on the form

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