Carriage Bills and Accounts Office Procedures

The amount of fares and freight collected by stations, represented by vouchers sent to the Accounts Office for payment, is called Carriage Bills.

Carriage Bills are created from two sources:

1. Warrants and Credit Notes: These are received daily from stations along with cash remittance notes.
2. Advices and Statements: These are received from various departments.

Credit notes from stations are compared to the corresponding ticket, waybill, or invoice in the return documents (including machine-prepared abstracts and paid statements from the machine section for goods traffic). This ensures both sides match. If demurrage or wharfage charges are included, they are verified against the relevant returns.

Before accepting a credit note, the Accounts Office personnel confirm the following:

• It is an original document and in the correct format.
• It's signed by the issuing department.
• It has the issuing office's stamp.
• There are no erasures or alterations, and any alterations are verified by the issuing officer.
• The certificate at the bottom is completed and signed by the Station Master or CBS/CGS, as appropriate, with an official stamp.

Credit Notes are important because they represent the revenue generated by stations, which the Accounts Office needs to track and collect for the railway system.

The process of checking credit notes, preparing carriage bills, and collecting the money from the relevant firms or departments is essential for the railway's financial management.

Stations, Departments, and the Accounts Office work together through the process of issuing credit notes and preparing carriage bills. This interconnected system helps the railway track its revenue and manage its finances effectively.

A document showing the total freight due for each department, firm or person with attached vouchers.

A register maintained to track credit notes that cannot be billed for a specific month.

A fee charged by the railways for issuing warrants and credit notes.

The fees charged for using warrants and credit notes are determined by the Board.

The fee for a military warrant for travel in 2nd class or sleeper class is set by the Board.

The commission charges must be included in the bill along with the warrants and credit note charges.

Credit notes should be included in the carriage bill for the corresponding month.

Credit notes that cannot be billed immediately due to specific reasons are entered in the register of pending notes.

The commission charges may be charged at different rates from time to time as defined by the Board.

Requisition forms for high-ranking government officials reserving railway accommodation are not subject to commission charges.

Railway orders for the President's transport are treated like those for high officials, with no commission charges applied.

Emergency Police Passes and mail dispatch vouchers from the Posts and Telegraphs Department are exempt from commission charges.

Bills for engine and wagon hire, interest on postal vehicle costs, regular mail conveyance charges, and postal vehicle haulage charges are examples of miscellaneous bills.

Bills for regular daily mail conveyance and postal vehicle haulage are prepared using half-yearly statements provided by Divisional Superintendents.

Bills for services not covered by statements are prepared using information from departmental or other officers, ensuring charges are accurate according to rules and regulations.

Inter-railway adjustments follow detailed instructions. However, certain transactions, regardless of amount, require separate adjustments.

Debits against Joint station staff, through traffic transactions (except those specified in paragraph 2920), and hire charges on goods vehicles are examples of transactions that require separate adjustment.

Public claims refunds, overcharges related to clearing outstanding station charges, duplicate entries, and withdrawn debits are examples of through traffic transactions that are not adjusted between Indian Railways.

The Indian Railways do not adjust through traffic transactions involving public claims refunds, overcharges, duplicate entries, or withdrawn debits.

The process of adjusting debits in the Accounts Office Balance Sheet by either collecting cash or transferring credit entries between departments.

A register used to record direct cash receipts and other miscellaneous earnings not previously accounted for.

A summary report that combines the two sections (A and B) of the Accounts Office Balance Sheet. Separate summaries are prepared for Coaching and Goods accounts.

Transfer acceptances are used to adjust credit entries between General and Traffic books, signifying the transfer of funds between departments.

These are credit entries that are adjusted through journal entries, transferring the credit to the appropriate account in either the General or Traffic books, depending on which department is responsible for the credit.

Adjustment made to accounts when a railway mistakenly accounted for items, and the amount involved falls below Rs. 50 upon correction.

Before issuing Carriage Bills, they are serially numbered and assigned code letters to distinguish different bill types.

The Accounts Office Balance Sheet (AOB) tracks the issuance and realization of Carriage Bills, and other revenue sources besides station cash.

Separate AOBs should be maintained for coaching (passenger) and goods transactions to track revenue separately.

Debit entries in the AOB include the opening balance, current month's Carriage Bills, and pending vouchers for the current and previous months.

Credit entries in the AOB represent cash receipts from various sources, such as payments from firms, cash transfers, and revenue not collected through stations.

The AOB can be considered a counterpart to the Bills Receivable Account in commercial bookkeeping, helping monitor outstanding payments.

Station vouchers are documents that accompany Carriage Bills and include details of the collected fares or freight.

The Accounts Office meticulously checks credit notes from stations, matching them with corresponding documents like tickets, waybills, and invoices.

Credit notes are important for tracking revenue generated by stations, which the accounts office needs to collect for the railway system.

When there's a single credit note for several transactions at one time and place, you need to record all those transactions in the credit note. Think of it like a detailed receipt for multiple purchases.

When a credit note is issued for a number of transactions payable at one time and place, full particulars of all such transactions are recorded in the credit note.

The check of freight charges on credit notes related to parcels traffic involving freight value less than Rs. 30 should be conducted to the extent of 10%, under the same conditions as used for checking parcels waybills.

The Accounts Office personnel check credit notes from stations against the corresponding passenger ticket, waybill, or invoice in the returns.

A document used to record the amount of freight due from a station, including details of the warrant or credit note, the date, and the amount of charges.

A type of Carriage Bill specifically prepared for bills against the Controller of Defence Accounts, following a specific format.

The Accounts Office must check the authenticity and accuracy of Credit Notes before adding them to a Carriage Bill to ensure revenue is accurately recorded.

The Accounts Office Balance Sheet is used to track the issuance and collection of Carriage Bills, monitoring the financial status of the railway.

Separate Accounts Office Balance Sheets are maintained for coaching (passenger) and goods operations to track revenue from different services separately.

Credit entries in the Accounts Office Balance Sheet represent cash collected from various sources, including payments from firms, cash transfers, and revenue not collected through stations.

Requisition forms for railway accommodation used by high-ranking government officials are not subject to commission charges.

Railway orders for the President's transport are treated like those for high officials, with no commission charges applied.

Emergency Police Passes and mail dispatch vouchers from the Posts and Telegraphs Department are exempt from commission charges.

Bills for engine and wagon hire, interest on postal vehicle costs, regular mail conveyance charges, and postal vehicle haulage charges are examples of miscellaneous bills.

Bills for regular daily mail conveyance and postal vehicle haulage are prepared using half-yearly statements provided by Divisional Superintendents.

Bills for services not covered by statements are prepared using information from departmental or other officers, ensuring charges are accurate according to rules and regulations.

Inter-railway adjustments follow detailed instructions. However, certain transactions, regardless of amount, require separate adjustments.

Debits against Joint station staff, through traffic transactions (except those specified in paragraph 2920), and hire charges on goods vehicles are examples of transactions that require separate adjustment.

Public claims refunds, overcharges related to clearing outstanding station charges, duplicate entries, and withdrawn debits are examples of through traffic transactions that are not adjusted between Indian Railways.

The Indian Railways do not adjust through traffic transactions involving public claims refunds, overcharges, duplicate entries, or withdrawn debits.

A minor adjustment made to railway accounts when an incorrect railway was initially noted for an item, and upon correction, the amount involved is less than Rs. 50 in each case.

A balance sheet maintained by the Accounts Office to track the issuance and realization of Carriage Bills, as well as other revenue sources besides station cash.

Bills that are issued serially and assigned unique code letters to identify the type of bill (e.g., passenger, goods).

Debit entries in the AOB include the opening balance, current month's Carriage Bills, and pending vouchers from the current and previous months.

Transactions that are adjusted between railways, including debits against Joint Station staff, through traffic (except those specified in paragraph 2920), and hire charges on goods vehicles.

Credit entries in the AOB represent cash receipts from various sources, including payments from firms, cash transfers, and revenue not collected through stations.

Separate AOBs are kept for coaching (passenger) and goods transactions to track revenue separately.

The Accounts Office Balance Sheet (AOB) is a document used by the Indian Railways to track the issuance and realization of Carriage Bills and other revenue sources. It acts like a ledger, keeping track of money owed to the railway and money received by the railway in various forms.

The AOB is divided into two sections: 'A' and 'B'. These sections are used to categorize the different types of bills that are being tracked. Section 'A' is for bills payable in cash while Section 'B' is for bills that are adjusted through transfers or book entries.

The AOB is used to monitor the collection of Carriage Bills, which are documents showing the total freight due from each department, firm, or person. These bills are accompanied by vouchers, which provide details of the collected fares or freight.

The AOB is crucial for the railway's financial management, as it provides a clear picture of the revenue owed to the railway and the revenue that has been collected. This helps to ensure that the railway's finances are in good order.

Credit entries in the AOB reflect the revenue collected by the railway. This includes cash receipts, transfers between departments, and revenue collected through sources other than stations.