RBI/2015-16/343
DGBA.GAD.No.2968/42.01.029/2015-16

March 17, 2016

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer
All Agency Banks

Dear Sir / Madam,

Please refer to Circular DGBA.GAD.No.4285/42.01.029/2014-15 dated March 25, 2015 advising the procedure to be followed for reporting and accounting of collection of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Indirect Taxes (CBEC) and transactions of Departmentalized Ministries at the Receiving/Nodal/Focal Point branches of your bank for the Financial Year 2014-15.

2. The Government of India has decided that the date of closure of Residual Transactions for the month of March 2016 be fixed as April 10, 2016 for the Financial Year 2015-16.

3. In view of the ensuing closing of government accounts for the financial year 2015-16, please reiterate the instructions to your branches regarding introduction of special messenger arrangements at your receiving branches. Receiving branches not situated locally should also adopt special arrangements such as courier service etc. for passing on challans/scrolls etc. to the Nodal/Focal Point branches so that all payments and collections made on behalf of government towards the end of March are accounted for in the same financial year.

4. As regards reporting of March 2016 transactions by Nodal/Focal Point branches in April, the branches may be advised to follow the procedure as outlined in the Annex. To sum up, the Nodal/Focal Point branches will be required to prepare separate sets of scrolls, one pertaining to March Residual Transactions and another for April Transactions during the first 10 days of April 2016. The Nodal/Focal Point branches should also ensure that the accounts for all transactions (revenues/tax collections/payments) are effected at the receiving branches upto March 31, 2016 in the accounts for the current financial year itself and are not mixed up with the transactions of April 2016. Also, while reporting transactions pertaining to March 2016 upto April 10, 2016, the transactions of April 2016 should not be mixed up with “March Residual Transactions."

5. The procedure now followed for reporting and accounting of transactions of Non-Civil Ministries viz. Defence, Posts, Railways and Telecommunications (which was revised with effect from October 1, 1993), is similar to the procedure for reporting and accounting of transactions of Departmentalised Ministries. The special arrangements for reporting March transactions by receiving branches to Nodal/Focal Point branches and the procedure for reporting March 2016 transactions in April 2016 by Nodal/Focal Point branches as indicated in paragraphs 3 and 4 above are also applicable to the reporting of transactions of Non-Civil Ministries. The branches of your bank handling the Non-Civil Ministries transactions, if any, may, therefore, be advised to follow the above procedure.

6. Kindly issue necessary instructions in the matter to your branches concerned immediately.

Yours faithfully

(Manish Parashar)
Deputy General Manager

Encl: As above

ANNEX

Reporting of March Transactions

Beginning from April 1, 2016, the Nodal/Focal Point branches will segregate on a daily basis all scrolls/challans pertaining to March 2016 received from the receiving branches concerned and prepare separate main scrolls for:

scrolls for transactions of March 2016 or earlier period (i.e. effected during the previous financial year 2015-16) and

scrolls pertaining to current transactions (i.e. those effected from April 1, 2016 onwards).

2. The main scrolls for March 2016 transactions prepared from April 1 to April 10, 2016 are to be distinctly marked as March Residual - 1, March Residual - 2 and so on upto April 10, 2016. In other words, serial number should be allotted in consecutive order for each main scroll of March 2016 transactions sent from April 1 to April 10, 2016. These scrolls alongwith the copies of daily summary of Receipts and Payments prepared separately for March 2016 transactions will be forwarded to the Departmental Officials concerned (i.e. Zonal Accounts Officers/Pay and Accounts Officers and Designated Officers) in the usual way. The Nodal/Focal Point branches will also be required to report the above transactions to the Link Cell through separate Daily Memos. These advices must be sent to enable the Link Cell of each bank at Nagpur, to make daily settlement with Reserve Bank of India, Central Accounts Section (CAS) Nagpur. On receipt of advices from the Nodal/Focal Point branches, the Link Cell should segregate the advices for the March Residual transactions and forward them separately to Reserve Bank of India, CAS, Nagpur. This procedure should continue upto and inclusive of April 10, 2016 only. All transactions reported thereafter by the receiving branches will be reported and accounted for in the usual manner in the accounts of the month of report irrespective of the date of transaction. Following the special arrangements for March 2016 transactions, it is necessary for the Nodal/Focal Point branches to prepare two sets of DMS to be submitted to Zonal Accounts Officers/Pay and Accounts Officers for March 2016 transactions - one for transactions upto March 31, 2016 and another for March Residual Transactions adjusted by Nodal/Focal Point branches with Reserve Bank of India, Central Accounts Section, Nagpur, during April 1 to April 10, 2016.

Since the Nodal/Focal Point branch will also be reporting the April 2016 transactions pertaining to year 2016-17 in addition to March Residual transactions, monthly statement for April transactions should be compiled and furnished to Zonal Accounts Officers/Pay and Accounts Officers in the usual way. In order to distinguish the April 2016 (year 2016-17) and March Residual Transactions, the statement pertaining to March Residual Transactions should be clearly marked as "March Residual Account".

Note: As advised in our circular GA.NB.No.376/42.01.001/1995-96 dated May 22, 1996 all the cheques/amounts realized on or before March 31, 2016 should be treated as transactions relating to the current financial year as "March 2016 or March Residual Transactions", the reporting of which may take place during the month of April (upto April 10, 2016). But if any cheque is tendered on or before March 31, 2016 and realized on or after April 1, 2016, it will be treated as transaction for the next financial year as "April Transactions". Accordingly, the banks will prepare separate scrolls for March 2016 and April 2016 (year 2016-17) transactions.

March residual transactions reporting: segregate and separately account year end receipts to ensure correct fiscal year posting. Banks must adopt special transmission arrangements so that transactions effected up to the financial year end are recorded in that year. Nodal/focal point branches will segregate March Residual transactions from April transactions, prepare distinct consecutively numbered main scrolls for March Residual items reported during the first ten days of April, forward daily summaries and Daily Memos for separate settlement with the Central Accounts Section, and label March Residual statements distinctly to avoid commingling.