United States, for passenger, Pullman, freight, and express service, by rail or water, shall be settled by the General Accounting Office. 2. Excepting those payable from special deposit and postal funds and those of the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation and the District of Columbia, which will be settled as heretofore, settlement will be made direct to carriers and the certificate of settlement and notice to claimant shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury for issuing of warrant and transmission to the Treasurer of the United States, who shall make payment by check of the amount allowed. A copy of the certificate shall be sent under the usual procedure to the administrative office. The Treasurer shall stamp as paid the original certificate, noting the date, number, and amount of the check making payment, and shall return the same to the General Accounting Office, Transportation Division. The notice of settlement shall be inclosed with the check to the payee. The procedure herein directed will permit a carrier to accept payment of the amount allowed without prejudice to a review of the settlement, but applications for review will be considered only where claimant clearly indicates the error alleged in the settlement involved. 3. The claims and demands of the carriers should be stated on forms of the United States as heretofore, being generally the forms prescribed by Treasury Department Circular No. 49 of June 19, 1915, and should be transmitted as heretofore to the administrative office concerned. 4. Upon receipt of the bills on proper forms the administrative office will examine into the correctness thereof (except as to classification and tariff), make the proper certificate accordingly, and promptly forward same with such report as may be deemed advisable to the General Accounting Office, Transportation Division, for settlement. Administrative action should be limited to certification as to the services performed; that the services were properly authorized, and necessary in the public service; and that the amount thereof has not been paid and is payable from the appropriation designated. The full and exact title of the appropriation, with fiscal year, if any, must be stated. Bills must be stamped with the date of receipt by the particular administrative office, and the administrative examination shall be completed and the bills with supporting papers forwarded not later than ten days after their actual receipt, the intent being that there shall be no accumulation of carriers' bills in the administrative office but that they shall be forwarded immediately upon completion of the administrative examination, so that wherever possible there shall be daily forwardings to the General Accounting Office. 5. The loss of or damage to property by a carrier should be recorded on the bill of lading by the accomplishing officer, and the administrative office should report, with the bill for transportation charges, the money value of the loss or damage and submit recommendations as to the adjustment thereof. 6. The administrative office should furnish information in each instance of any amount collected and deposited on account of accommodations or service furnished in excess of authorized allowance, and for travel of members of the military branches of the Government at expense of traveler or other persons, noting on the bill the collection and deposit thereof or the fact of proper notice to the responsible officer as to the cost to be charged. 7. When carrier is supporting charges on a certificate in lieu of a lost bill of lading, the administrative office should attach the memorandum bill of lading, or, if that is impracticable, a true copy thereof should accompany the bill. 8. Payments by disbursing officers and agents on account of transportation by common carrier, as described above, will be discontinued at the close of business on December 31, 1922. J. R. MCCARL, Comptroller General. TRANSPORTATION SETTLEMENT NUMBERS. [General Regulations No. 14.] DECEMBER 23, 1922. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) INITIALING. [General Regulations No. 15.] DECEMBER 30, 1922. (Relating to employees of the General Accounting Office and not of general information.) AMENDMENT TO GENERAL REGULATIONS NO. 1. [General Regulations No. 16.] DECEMBER 30, 1922 (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) PAYMENT OF SALARIES. [General Regulations No. 17.] JANUARY 4, 1923. (Relating to employees of the General Accounting Office and not of general information.) OF ACCOUNTING FOR FUNDS PERTAINING TO THE DISTRICT OF [General Regulations No. 18.] FEBRUARY 5, 1923. 1. Effective with the accounts for the period beginning January 1, 1923, every officer of the United States, other than those subject to the jurisdiction of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who receives or disburses funds for account of the District of Columbia, shall render accounts for such funds separate and distinct from accounts for any other public funds which may be in his possession. 2. All accounts pertaining to funds of the District of Columbia, after receiving proper administrative approval as now provided, shall be forwarded to the General Accounting Office. State and Other Departments Division. The accounts current of such accounts shall be forwarded in duplicate, one copy being for the auditor of the District of Columbia. 3. Hereafter all requisitions for funds with which to pay expenses of the Government of the District of Columbia, including all expenses for which appropriations are made in the District of Columbia appropriation act, shall be submitted to the General Accounting Office through the auditor of the District of Columbia. 4. All certificates of settlement pertaining to the revenues and expenses of the District of Columbia shall be issued by the General Accounting Office, State and Other Department Division,' under a separate series of numbers, to which shall be affixed the initials, "D. C." One copy of each certificate of settlement shall be furnished the administrative officer having jurisdiction of the accounts and another copy furnished to the auditor of the District of Columbia. 5. At the earliest practicable date, any balances in appropriation or revenue accounts of the District of Columbia which are not now carried by the Bookkeeping and Warrants Division of the Treasury Department in ledgers pertain ing solely to the District of Columbia, shall be transferred to ledgers pertaining solely to the District of Columbia. J. R. MOCARL Comptroller General. 1 Now Civil Division. UNEXPENDABLE PUBLIC PROPERTY-ANNUAL INVENTORY. [General Regulations No. 19.] FEBRUARY 16, 1923. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) TRANSPORTATION SETTLEMENT NUMBERS DISTRICT OF [General Regulations No. 20.] MARCH 6, 1923. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) PAYMENTS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. [General Regulations No. 21.] MARCH 10, 1923. 1. Hereafter payment of vouchers for services rendered or supplies furnished by one department, establishment, bureau, or office to another department, establishment, bureau, or office of the United States shall be made by disbursing officer's check, and the procedure directed by Treasury Department Circular No. 54, dated August 14, 1907 (14 Comp. Dec. 966), of sending such vouchers to the proper accounting officer for settlement, is discontinued. 2. The officer to whom the check is made payable shall schedule all such checks and in the next account rendered by him take up the amounts thereof under proper account headings, with supporting information. 3. The paying disbursing officer shall forward to the General Accounting Office with his next account the original paid voucher and a memorandum copy thereof, which memorandum shall show thereon the date, name of payee, number and amount of check issued in payment. 4. The respective auditing divisions of the General 'Accounting Office will withdraw the memorandum copies from the disbursing account and promptly transmit them to the proper auditing divisions, where they will be checked against the account of the officer to whom payment was made and proper action taken as to account headings to which entitled to be credited. J. R. MCCARL, Comptroller General. CONSOLIDATION OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT DIVISION, INTERIOR DEPARTMENT DIVISION, AND THE STATE AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS DIVISION INTO THE CIVIL DIVISION OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE. [General Regulations No. 22.] MARCH 28, 1923. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) ESTABLISHING A CHECK ACCOUNTING DIVISION OF THE [General Regulations No. 23.] MARCH 28, 1923. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) SAFEGUARDING ACCOUNTS, RECORDS, INFORMATION, ETC. [General Regulations No. 24.] APRIL 11, 1923. 1. Hereafter no account, voucher, document, or paper of any kind forming a part of the records of the General Accounting Office, except certificates of discharge from the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps, shall be withdrawn or removed from the possession of the General Accounting Office, by return or surrender to the submitting office, officer, or individual, or otherwise, or in any manner be permitted to be removed from the custody of the officer or employee intrusted therewith, except upon the written authority of the Comptroller General or pursuant to existing regulations of the General Accounting Office. 2. No persons other than officials and employees of the General Accounting Office and others authorized by law, in the regular discharge of their duties, shall be allowed access to the files, records, accounts, claims, documents, or other papers of the General Accounting Office without the previous written authority of the Comptroller General, except that claimants and accountable officers, or their duly authorized attorneys or legal representatives, may be permitted to examine their particular claims or accounts, upon a satisfactory showing as to the reasons therefor and under proper supervision, but no alterations, erasures, withdrawals, etc.. of records and papers shall be permitted. Any additional papers, etc., which may be regarded as necessary to explain, supplement, or correct the records may be presented and filed. 3. Copies of records, accounts, vouchers, documents, or other papers on file in the General Accounting Office will be furnished only upon the submission of a written statement, addressed to the Comptroller General, satisfactorily showing the purpose and necessity therefor; and where such copies are desired by or on behalf of parties to a suit, whether in a court of the United States or any other court, such copies shall be furnished to the court only upon a rule on the Comptroller General requesting such copies. Exceptions hereto may be made only on the written order of the Comptroller General. 4. No information in regard to transactions in the General Accounting Office of an official character shall be communicated to any one not authorized to receive same, and in no case shall information be given that may be made the basis of a claim against the United States. Information in regard to claims and accounts may be furnished only to authorized officials, members of Congress, claimants, accountable officers, or their duly authorized or legal rep resentatives, except on the written authority of the Comptroller General. J. R. MCCARL Comptroller General. LOST CHECK SETTLEMENTS. [General Regulations No. 25.] APRIL 11, 1923. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) CONSOLIDATION OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT DIVISION AND THE NAVY DEPARTMENT DIVISION INTO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE. [General Regulations No. 26.] MAY 12, 1923. (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXAMINATION OF POST- [General Regulations No. 27.] (Relating to office procedure and not of general information.) MAY 28, 1923. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW SERIES SETTLEMENT NUMBERS FOR FISCAL OFFICERS' ACCOUNTS AND A NEW LIST OF SYMBOLS INDICATING THE DIVISIONS OF THIS OFFICE. [General Regulations No. 28.] JUNE 30, 1923. Effective July 1, -923, the present series of settlement numbers of fiscal officers' accounts used in the Military and Civil Divisions will be discontinued, excepting the series assigned to District of Columbia accounts. All other accounts for each of the two divisions will be carried in one of two series, each beginning with No. 1; one series for regular accounts and one series for special deposit accounts. On the statement of account and certificate of settlement the name of the department or establishment to which the account applies will be written in the space provided therefor. The number of each certificate shall include as a prefix a letter designating the division from which issued, which prefix shall also be used in conjunction with numbers assigned claim and direct settlement certificates and on all correspondence, viz: C-Civil Division. Ck-Check Accounting Division. M-Military Division. P-Post Office Department Division. All other instructions assigning symbol letters to divisions are rescinded. The numbers assigned settlement certificates, both of fiscal officers' accounts and claims, shall also contain a suffix which will indicate the department or establishment and bookkeeping register to which they apply, except that claims certificate numbers pertaining to the Interior and Treasury Departments shall carry the general departmental symbol only, viz: The present register of settlements of fiscal officers' accounts maintained in the Military and Civil Divisions will be discontinued. In lieu thereof, there will be prepared daily, numerical lists in duplicate of the settlements made, giving the same information as is now contained in the register, namely: The date of settlement, number, name of officer, station, period covered, the date of return to the Auditing Division of the statement of account and certificate of settlement. The lists of settlements will be written double spaced, in duplicate, on forms 8 by 122; the duplicate with the certificates of settlement to be forwarded daily to the bookkeeping section, the original securely fastened in convenient sized folders to be retained in the Auditing Division as its record of certificates issued. Upon receipt of the lists of certificates in the Bookkeeping Section the certificates will be checked off, separated by registers and posted. J. R. MCCARL, Comptroller General. |