Central Government Account (Receipts & Payments) Rules, 1983

• ✂️Cheques/drafts must be crossed by the drawer before tendering. Until cleared, the Government cannot admit payment is received — only the receipt of the cheque is acknowledged ("Received cheque/draft no. … for Rs … drawn on …"); a formal receipt follows only after clearance.
• 🚫On dishonour, the fact is reported at once to the tenderer with a demand for cash; the dishonoured instrument is returned on surrender of the preliminary acknowledgement; the Government accepts no liability for delay in intimation. The accompanying challan is retained and destroyed, not returned.
• ⏳For dues payable by a fixed date, the bank may refuse cheques tendered on the last day (and the departmental office, on the last two working days), or instruments needing inter-bank clearing if the clearing house is disrupted.

A cheque marked "not payable before a certain date" is treated as paid only on that date. "Working day" means a day when both the departmental office and the bank are open.

• 🧾Rule 21: the Head of Office gives the payer a signed receipt only after satisfying himself the amount is entered in the cash book. Receipts are written in figures and in words over the "Cash Received / Received Payment" stamp. Where money is realised by deduction from a bill, a receipt is given only if specially desired.
• 📖Rule 22: receipt books are in machine-numbered Form GAR 6 (from the Central Forms Store, Calcutta), kept under lock and key in the personal custody of the signing officer; forms are counted before use.
• ❌Rule 23: no duplicate or copy of a receipt may be issued on the plea that the original is lost — only a certificate that "on a specified day a certain sum on a certain account was received from a certain person" may be given.

Fees for UPSC / Staff Selection Commission examinations in India are remitted to the respective Commission's Secretary by crossed Indian Postal Orders (or other notified negotiable instruments). For candidates residing outside India, the fees may be received by the Missions abroad.

Rule 28: no money is withdrawn except by presenting a bill in support of the claim. A bill is a statement of a claim against the Government; it becomes a voucher only when receipted and stamped "PAID." Rule 29: bills are duly receipted; separate stamped receipts are furnished where required. Rule 30: a non-Government claimant (work/service/supply) submits claims through the responsible Government officer; payments to contractors may be made to their banks given a valid power of attorney and the contractor's acceptance.

• ✏️Rule 33: bills are filled in and signed in ink (ball-point allowed if clear); amounts in words and figures, with "only" after whole rupees and no space left for interpolation. Debt-head items are drawn on separate forms printed in red ink on white paper; charges under two or more major heads are not combined in one bill; blank spaces are struck with oblique lines; the full account classification (voted/charged) is recorded.
• ❗Erasures and over-writing are absolutely forbidden — cancel in red ink, insert the correct entry, and authenticate with full dated signature.
• 📋Rule 34: a Bill Register (GAR 9) is reviewed monthly; a Bill Transit Register (GAR 10) is reviewed bi-weekly to prevent fraudulent bills.
• 🧾Rule 35: no payment on a bill signed by a clerk or with a stamp; a Head of Office may authorise a Gazetted Officer to sign (communicating the specimen signature) but stays responsible. Bills needing prior counter-signature are not presented before it.
• 💷Rule 37: receipts for sums exceeding Rs 20 must be stamped (Indian Stamp Act 1899) — applied to the net amount payable, not the gross claim.

• 📝Rule 38: cheque books are supplied by the Accounts Officer / cheque-drawing DDO — not obtained from the bank. Defence, Railways and P&T arrange their own; machine-perforated cheque forms come from the Central Stamp Stores, Nasik Road.
• 📱Rule 39: the branch bank is told the number of each cheque book brought into use; Rule 41: loss of a cheque book/blank form is notified promptly to the branch.
• 🔐Rule 40: cheque books are examined on receipt (count certified on the flyleaf), kept under lock and key; unused books are surrendered and partly-used ones destroyed by incineration.
• 🔢Rule 42: a sum "a little in excess" is written across the cheque in words at right angles (e.g. "under rupees thirty only" = Rs 20–30). No abbreviations; written in indelible ink; there is no bar on cheques below Rs 10 (but Postal Section minimum is Rs 100). Rule 43: corrections are attested over full signature.

• 📅Rule 49 — date of payment (order cheque): the date the cheque is handed to the payee (or the bank's next working day after the cheque date), or the superscribed "payable on or after" date, or, if posted, the date the cover is posted — whichever is later. Money-order payments count from the date the post office issues the receipt.
• 💰Rs 1 crore and above to a PSU / Government-aided institution is authorised by the PAO at New Delhi through the RBI, New Delhi; the date of payment is the date in the RBI payment scroll.
• 💳Rule 50 — Letters of Credit: a quarterly assignment is communicated to the bank; the bank ensures cumulative drawals never exceed the progressive assignment; unspent balance does not carry to the next year. The DDO must not draw the whole amount to park it elsewhere or to show the grant as fully utilised.
• ✍️Rules 51–53: officers send specimen signatures to the Accounts Officer/bank; signatures are compared before payment; documents bearing erasures are refused; payment authorities between Accounts Offices carry a special seal.
• 📮Rule 54: the cost of a postal money order is borne by the payee; unclaimed money up to Rs 100 (uncollected within a month) may be remitted by money order even without a request.

• 🧾Rule 56: every payment must have a voucher with an acknowledgement taken at the time of payment; a single stamped receipt can acknowledge several payments. Rule 57: where a payee's receipt is impossible, a certificate of payment signed by the disbursing officer and counter-signed by his superior is placed on record.
• 🔥Rule 59: every voucher bears a pay order in words and figures; paid vouchers and the stamps on them are cancelled so they cannot be reused. Rule 60: vouchers not sent to the Accounts Office are filed and retained until destroyed under competent orders.
• ⚖️Rule 61 — overcharges: responsibility rests primarily with the drawer of the bill; recovery from the controlling officer or Accounts Officer is considered only on culpable negligence.
• 🔍Rule 62 — audit objections: objections must be attended to promptly; a disallowed payment must be recovered without listening to protest and not paid again until re-authorised. Recovery ordinarily must not exceed one-third of pay (unless the excess was drawn against orders or an advance was misused).

• 📝Rule 66: pay, fixed allowances & leave salary are drawn in Form GAR 13 (Bradma-machine offices use GAR 13A); TA other than fixed in GAR 14 (with 14A/14B/14C). The President, Vice-President, Ministers and Presidential appointees use GAR 15 (pay) and GAR 16 (TA). A Pay Bill Register (GAR 17) and Abstract (GAR 18) are kept; a Bill Check Register (GAR 19) supports acquittance.
• 👤Names omitted from the pay bill for Central Services Group D and head constables/constables — with a certificate that all such persons were actually employed.
• 📋Rule 67: an Absentee Statement (GAR 20) supports the bill for long leave/vacancy spells. Rule 68: an Increment Certificate (GAR 21) is appended to the first bill drawing an increment; crossing an efficiency bar needs a fitness declaration. Rule 69: HRA and other fixed allowances are supported by prescribed certificates.

• 💸Rule 70 (Fund deductions): the drawer notes PF/other-fund deductions, with no discretion to disobey an Accounts Officer's order. Rule 71: income tax is deducted strictly per the Income-tax Act 1961.
• 🏠Rule 72 (Licence fee): the DDO recovers building licence fee per the demand statement; for General Pool accommodation under the Directorate of Estates, deductions follow standing demand statements with a supporting schedule.
• ♻️Rule 73: sums disallowed by the Accounts Officer are recovered strictly per his instructions — from the next pay bill, or for a TA disallowance from the next TA payment / cash / next pay bill if no TA bill is presented within a month.

• ⚖️Rule 75: a second attachment is honoured only within the maximum limit; if it would exceed the limit, the new order is returned to the court with particulars of existing attachments. Rule 76: PF subscriptions, income tax, co-operative dues and Government debts are recovered from the non-attachable portion.
• 📮Rule 78: the cost of remittance to the court is deducted from the realised amount. Rule 79: profession tax and co-operative society dues are recovered where a statutory obligation exists, or on the servant's written authorisation.

• 🎓Rule 80: a first-time name in a pay bill is supported by a Last Pay Certificate (GAR 2); a fresh appointee needs a medical fitness certificate (drawal up to 2 months without it if so authorised, with a certificate). Rule 81: on transfer/deputation/foreign service the old DDO sends a copy of the LPC (and service book) to the new DDO.
• 📍Rule 82: pay/leave salary is ordinarily payable only where the DDO is stationed; for an officer on tour the dues are remitted by bank draft at par or money order (charged to office contingencies). Rule 83: arrears for a previously-held post are drawn by the present DDO on a verified "Due and Drawn Statement." Rule 84: a servant absent from India must arrange to receive his dues in India.
• 🤝Rule 85: pay/leave salary is paid only on the servant's personal claim and receipt, save by special authority; a banker/agent must hold a legally valid power of attorney. Rule 86: agents give the Government a bond of indemnity against over-payment; scheduled banks may execute a general bond in Form GAR 47.

• 🏖️Rule 87: leave salary is drawn from the office that paid the pay before leave; a Group D servant on leave over a month gets the net leave salary by money order at Government expense on request. Terminal/refused leave is paid in lump sum (excluding CCA & HRA).
• ⏳Rule 88: every overtime-allowance bill carries the Head of Office's certificate that OTA was actually earned, checked, at sanctioned rates and counted for income tax. Rule 89: arrears are drawn on a separate bill, each month's claim itemised, with a note in the Pay Bill Register to avoid a second claim.
• 🚌Rule 90: TA bills (GAR 14 + 14A/B/C) carry a certificate that earlier bills were disbursed; tour TA bills are presented at convenient intervals or on return, ideally before 31 March. Rule 91: medical reimbursement is drawn in Form GAR 23 with proper receipts.
• 🧾Rule 92: the Head of Office is personally responsible for amounts drawn until paid with a legal quittance in an Acquittance Roll (GAR 24). Undisbursed pay is refunded by short-drawing the next bill — or retained at most three months if safe custody is assured (recorded in a GAR 25 register). It may never be parked in a deposit account.

Rule 98 divides contingent charges into five types — and they are not mutually exclusive (a charge may fall under two types, in which case each applicable procedure applies):

1. Contract contingencies — a lump sum placed annually at the disposal of the disbursing officer, spent without further sanction; for charges whose annual incidence can be averaged.
2. Scale-regulated contingencies — regulated by scales laid down by competent authority (e.g. rewards for destroying wild animals).
3. Special contingencies — recurring or non-recurring, which cannot be incurred without the prior sanction of superior authority.
4. Countersigned contingencies — needing the approval (countersignature) of a controlling authority, usually after payment on a detailed bill to the PAO.
5. Fully vouched contingencies — needing neither special sanction nor countersignature; incurred by the Head of Office on his own authority, passed on fully vouched bills.

Rule 103: contingent items bought through the Directorate General, Supplies & Disposals (DGS&D) follow Rule 127.

• 👁️Rule 107: the drawing officer exercises the same vigilance as a person of ordinary prudence over his own money, ensuring money is for immediate disbursement / already paid from imprest, and within appropriation. Rule 108: the countersigning officer checks that items are of obvious necessity, at fair rates, with sanctions/vouchers, correct calculations, and that grants are not exceeded.
• 📙Rule 109: sub-vouchers are not destroyed for three years; those not sent on are cancelled by stamp/red-ink endorsement; sub-vouchers required by the Accounts Officer must NOT be cancelled by the drawing/controlling officer.
• 📊Rule 110: a Contingent Register in Form GAR 27 is kept in each office, initialled against each item's payment date, with a progressive monthly total per detailed head to watch expenditure against appropriation.

Rule 111: when money must be drawn, a red-ink line is ruled across the register, totals are posted into separate bills per class of charge, and entries scrutinised against sub-vouchers. Unless the CGA (on the CAG's advice) directs otherwise, sub-vouchers above Rs 500 each are submitted to the Accounts Office for charges under Rules 114–115; petty items up to Rs 500 are listed in Form GAR 28. Rule 112: where a payee's name (e.g. an informer) cannot be disclosed, the disbursing officer's hand-written certificate of payment substitutes for the receipt.

Rule 120, Note 4: the detailed bill, duly countersigned, is sent to the Accounts Officer within a month of receipt. Rule 121: a disallowance by the countersigning officer is refunded by short-drawing the next contingent bill; if later withdrawn, it is re-drawn. The Rs 50 / Rs 200 limits are alterable by the CGA on the CAG's advice.

Rule 124: "Stores" means all articles & materials for the public service, budgeted under heads like works, tools & plant, machinery, equipment, materials. Rule 126: as a general rule payment is not made until stores are received and surveyed; advance payment (before quality/quantity verification) is exceptional and needs adequate safeguards, drawn on an Abstract Bill (GAR 30) and later adjusted by a Detailed Bill (GAR 29) after actual verification.

• 🔨Rule 130–131: Rules 130–138 cover works of public utility (by PWD/MES or the using department); petty construction/repairs treated as contingent expenditure follow Section III, with the work's name, sanction number and sanctioned-estimate amount entered in the bill, and the detailed bill (GAR 31 "Not Payable") sent to the Accounts Officer within a month.
• 📝Rule 132–133: wages of departmental labourers are drawn on muster rolls recording names, days worked and amount due; payment is made or witnessed by the officer of highest standing available, and unpaid items are carried forward muster-roll to muster-roll.
• 👷Rule 134: work-charged establishment wages are drawn on the regular pay-bill form (GAR 13), grouped by work, with a duty certificate. Rule 135: payment to suppliers/contractors is on the basis of measurements recorded in measurement books, with quantities, rates and quality accepted and calculations checked.
• 🤝Rule 136: works through a local authority are treated like a contractor's work. Rule 137: no payment to a contractor except for work actually done or supplies actually received; advances are recovered before final payment, which is never made without detailed measurement.

Rule 143: refund of UPSC/SSC examination fees (paid by postal order, lump-sum deposit, or Central Recruitment Fee Stamps) is made by the Commission's Secretary through a GAR 33 bill, the PAO issuing a "Government Account" cheque to the post office for money-order remittance. Rule 144: refunds of income tax, corporation tax (and mutatis mutandis estate duty, wealth tax, etc.) follow special CBDT rules; refund orders drawn on the bank are negotiable instruments.

• 💵Rule 151: interest on Government securities follows the Government Securities Manual. Rule 152: bills payable to the RBI (loan flotation / public-debt management) are countersigned by an officer of M/o Finance before payment.
• 🎁Rule 153 — discretionary grants: sanction must state the object, amount (non-recurring) and person in charge; an account is rendered to the Accounts Officer monthly, and in any case up to 31 March each year.
• 🏭Rule 154: Defence-related land/crop compensation by UT administrations is vouched by bills and receipts. Rule 155: compensation for land taken for public purposes follows special orders.
• 💷Rule 156: discount on stamps allowed by deduction is shown in a monthly GAR 31 bill ("Not for payment") for countersignature. Rule 157: commission to registrars is drawn on bills exhibiting the fees, with a certificate of the District Registrar.

Rule 159: loans & advances are drawn on a simple receipt (form similar to GAR 34), supported by a copy of the sanction. Rule 160: on repayment, the original date and amount of the loan are quoted, and interest is separately specified from principal; repayment by parties other than State/UT/foreign Governments follows Appendix III (payment at a specified New Delhi PSB branch, separate cheques/challans for principal and interest).

• 🌾Rule 161–162 (Revenue advances): includes takavi advances and advances under the Land Improvement Acts. Drawn direct (on payees' receipts) or in lump sum on Abstract Bills (GAR 30); a second abstract bill is not allowed until a detailed bill accounts for the last advance (not delayed beyond the month following drawal); a plus and minus memorandum is maintained, with interest and principal credited separately.
• 💼Rule 163–164: advances under special laws follow the relevant Acts; departmental advances are drawn on the officer's responsibility and receipt, adjusted by detailed accounts/vouchers or refund.
• 👤Rule 165 (personal advances): long-term advances on Form GAR 36, short-term on Form GAR 37; recoveries supported by a schedule (GAR 38) or monthly abstract (GAR 39). Rule 166: other loans/advances follow general orders.

• 💸Rule 171: PF subscriptions are recovered by deduction from pay bills; responsibility for correct deduction rests on the bill drawer. Rule 172: Post Office Insurance Fund premia are recovered by deduction (schedule GAR 40) or paid in cash at Post Offices.
• 📋Rule 173: GPF/CPF subscription & advance repayments are entered in a schedule (GAR 41) attached to the pay bill. Rule 174: on transfer, the Last Pay Certificate (GAR 2) notes the monthly subscription, fund account number and any policy financed.

• 💰Rule 177: the additional amount under the Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1977 is authorised by the same authority that makes PF final payment. Rule 179: amounts under the CG Employees' Insurance Scheme, 1977 are authorised by the Head of Office (claim on GAR 42); in the absence of a valid nomination, paid in equal shares to all legal heirs.
• 🛡️Rule 180: under the CG Employees' Group Insurance Scheme, 1980 (and the All-India Services Group Insurance Rules 1981), monthly subscriptions are deducted from pay bills; disbursements use Form GAR 44 or 45. Rule 181: funds not under Government management are withdrawn only per orders of the Ministry in consultation with the CGA.

1. Pay, pension or allowances — never placed in deposit on the ground of the payee's absence or any other reason.
2. Fines — not deposited because an appeal is pending; credited to Government at once and refunded on the Appellate Court's order. (Compensation fines / costs due to an injured party, not Government, may be kept in deposit until they lapse.)
3. Refunds — under Rule 139(3), no refund is drawn to be lodged in deposit pending the payee's demand.
4. Jewels or property received for custody and restoration in kind — never brought on the deposit account, even if a money value is stated.
5. Government Promissory Notes / non-cash security deposits — on no account credited as deposits.

Rule 184, Notes 2–3: prisoners' money is paid into Government account at convenient intervals (not held long); the Police Department keeps no deposits except security & earnest money under major head "843 Civil Deposits." Rule 185: deposits are paid in through departmental officers or the accredited bank with the appropriate challan (GAR 7 unless a special form is prescribed); for earnest money of intending tenderers (creditable as revenue deposits), the depositor indicates the designation of the officer in whose accounts the deposit enters.

• 🧾Rule 186: deposits are refunded only on the receipt of the person entitled, using an Application-cum-Bill in Form GAR 43. Where a departmental officer keeps the detailed accounts, he draws the amount on his own receipt (scoring out "Claimants' signature") and pays the party, certifying that the conditions are fulfilled and a note kept to prevent a second claim. The bill is supported by the original challan and departmental receipt; the Accounts Officer verifies the balance from the Deposit Register before paying.
• 💰Rule 187: earnest money deposits of Civil Departments & Defence Services are refunded under an order endorsed by the departmental officer on the original deposit receipt; no part payment can ever be made.
• ➡️Rule 188: if the departmental officer wants an earnest-money item carried to the credit of Government in the Consolidated Fund instead of refunded, he records the fact on the deposit receipt and asks the Accounts Officer to adjust the accounts.

Rule 190: a lapsed deposit is repaid only after pre-check by the Accounts Officer, on an Application-cum-Bill in Form GAR 46 (with the original departmental receipt). The Accounts Officer confirms the item was reported lapsed and credited to Government, was not previously paid, and that the claimant's identity and title are certified by the officer signing the application. The repayment is recorded in the deposit register to guard against a second payment; once the Register of Receipts is destroyed, the signing authority bears responsibility for verifying title.

• 🏦Rule 193: moneys for a PDA are received at the specified branch of the accredited bank from the administrator, with the appropriate challan; individual item details need not be attached.
• 🖋️Rule 194: withdrawals are allowed only on cheques signed by the responsible administrator, who must ensure an adequate credit balance for each cheque. The bank may on no account let withdrawals exceed the balance; the payment scroll to the Accounts Office is supported by the original paid cheques.

• 🏗️Rule 195: payments by District Boards, Municipalities & Local Authorities for the cost of land acquired on their behalf (Land Acquisition Act) are credited to Government Account; the award statement's number/date and the credit date are noted on all orders, bills and vouchers. Deposits for works done on behalf of local authorities/parties are dealt with by PWD and other departments per authorised regulations.
• ⚖️Rule 196 (deposit of fees): fees from non-Government bodies for work by a Government servant — if he is permitted to retain the whole fee, he collects it himself and Government is not concerned; if the fee is divisible, the Government's share is credited as a miscellaneous receipt (when the amount is known beforehand), or the whole fee is first credited to the deposit head pending final settlement (when known only approximately), the servant's share then drawn on an ordinary pay-bill form.
• 📦Rule 197: moneys in special deposit accounts not falling under any separate class in this Part are paid in or drawn out per general/special Government directions.
• 🛠️Rule 198 (Power to remove difficulties): if any difficulty arises in giving effect to these rules, the Government may — subject to such restrictions/conditions as it thinks fit — dispense with or relax any of these rules.
• 📘Rule 199 (Interpretation): where any doubt arises on the interpretation of these rules, the matter is referred to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure — Controller General of Accounts) for its decision.

Every claim under these Rules travels on a numbered Government Accounting Rules (GAR) form. Hover any chip for what it carries.