CHAPTER 9 PDF - Provident Fund Accounts

CHAPTER IX PROVIDENT FUND ACCOUNTS Introductory. 901. Head of Account, 902. Accounting Procedure, 903. Credits and Debits to the Fund, 904. Subscriptions and Refunds of Withdrawals, 905. Posting of Ledger Accounts, 906. Provident Fund Journals, 908. Ledger Account...

CHAPTER IX PROVIDENT FUND ACCOUNTS Introductory. 901. Head of Account, 902. Accounting Procedure, 903. Credits and Debits to the Fund, 904. Subscriptions and Refunds of Withdrawals, 905. Posting of Ledger Accounts, 906. Provident Fund Journals, 908. Ledger Accounts, 909. Index Registers, 910. Opening of New Accounts, 911, Check Sheets. 912. Posting and Reconciliation.—Register of Debits and Credits, 913. Register of Unposted Items, 914. Register of Unposted Ledger Account, 915. Reconciliation with General Books, 916. Government Contribution, 917. Interest, 918. Annual Closing and Reconciliation with General Books, 921. Account Furnished to each Member, 923. Transfer of Provident Fund Accounts, 924. Closed Accounts, 925. List of Closed Accounts, 926. Special Contribution to Provident Fund, 929. CHAPTER IX PROVIDENT FUND ACCOUNTS A. INTRODUCTORY 901. The responsibility for the internal check of all transactions pertaining to, and the maintenance of the accounts of the State provident Funds to which the personnel of the railway subscriber devolves upon the Accounts officer. Internal check in connection with subscriptions by and withdrawals and payments from the various Funds should be conducted with reference to the rules of the provident Fund concerned. The Accounts Office deals with transaction of the following funds: - UNDER MAJOR HEAD 805-STATE PROVIDENT FUNDS A. Civil-General provident Fund C. Railways-State Railway Provident Fund -State Railway Provident Fund (Contributory) -State Railway Provident fund (Non-Contributory) -Transferred Railway Personnel Provident fund -Transferred Railway Personnel provident Fund (Contributory) -Transferred Railway Personnel Provident Fund (non-Contributory) D. Other Provident Funds.- Other miscellaneous Provident Funds (i) Ex-N.S. Railway Provident Funds(Contributory) (ii) Ex-N.S. Railway Provident Fund (non-Contributory) (iii) Ex-N. S. Railway Guaranteed Provident Fund (Contributory) (iv) Ex-N.S. Railway Guaranteed Provident Fund (non-Contributory) (v) Punjab (government Central Workshop) Contributory Provident Fund  UNDER MAJOR HEAD 837-k-DEPOSITS & ADVANCES -I.R.C. A. Employees Provident Fund -I.R.C.A. Employees Provident Fund (Contributory) -I.R.C.A. Employees Provident Fund (Non-Contributory) -I.R.C.A. Employees Provident Fund Investment Accounts (Contributory) -I.R.C.A. Employees Provident Fund Investment Accounts (Non- Contributory) The accounts of the funds should be maintained also in accordance with the rules of the funds which prescribe the more important books and accounts to the kept and the manner in which they should be posted. The rules of the State Railway provident funds will be found in the Indian Railway Establishment Code. The rules of other Provident Funds are published as separate pamphlets. Note.- The Fund Accounts of the Statutory Audit staff will be maintained by the Accountant General, Central Revenues, or the Accounts Officer of the railway in accordance with paragraph 1228 of Chapter XII. A. STATE RAILWAY PROVIDENT FUND 902. Head of Account.- The transaction of the State Railway Provident Fund will pass through the debt head “ State Railway Provident Fund Contributory/Non- Contributory” under C-Railways, under the major head “805- state Provident Funds” under “I-small Savings Provident Funds, etc.” (See Appendix IV). 903. Outline of Accounting Procedure.-in the Accounts Office, a ledger account should be kept for each individual subscriber to the fund. All transactions affecting the head "State Railway provident fund Contributory/Non-Contributory" should be posted in the ledger accounts of the subscriber concerned. In order to ensure that the postings have been correctly made, the entries in the ledger accounts should be abstracted in a statement, called the check sheet, and the totals of the check sheet reconciled monthly with the amounts credited and debited to the fund. The aggregate balance in the ledger accounts should represent the balance under the head "State Railway provident Fund Contributory/Non-Contributory" in the General books of the Railway. 904. the credits and debits to the head "State Railway provident Fund Contributory/Non-Contributory" comprise the following- CREDITS (a) Subscriptions from members. (b) Refund{ of temporary with drawals. (c) Half-yearly bonus (for S. R. P. F.-contributory only). (d) Interest. (e) Miscellaneous adjustments including transfers to and from other  Accounts Offices. DEBITS (a) Temporary withdrawals. (b) Payments to staff who have ceased to be members of the Fund. (c) Miscellaneous adjustments. 905. Subscriptions and refunds of temporary withdrawals by the members of the Fund are generally recovered through pay bills (pay sheets, in the case of workshop staff). The recoveries effected are shown in statements, called provident Fund journals which accompany the regular pay bills. The sections which are responsible for the internal check of the pay bills should check the correctness of the recoveries effected, compare the details shown in the provident Fund Journal with the recoveries made in the pay Bills and then pass on the provident fund journals to the provident fund Section for posting into the ledgers. In the case of staff whose subscriptions or refunds of temporary withdrawals are remitted in cash or are recovered outside India and passed on to India for adjustment, necessary Journals should be prepared in the Provident Fund Section from the Cash remittance notes or the extracts of schedules of miscellaneous remittances (see paragraph 503), as the case may be, for posting in the ledger accounts of the staff concerned. Credits on account of Government contribution and interest should be posted in the manner indicated in paragraphs 925 to 927. Postings necessitated by any adjustments should be made direct from the adjustment vouchers. 906. The postings in the ledger accounts of payments and debit adjustment should made from the relevant pay orders passed for payment and the adjustment vouchers respectively. All debit entries in the ledger accounts should be attested by the Accounts officer-in-charge of the section at the time of passing the pay order for payment. The opening balances carried forward from the previous year's ledger should be attested by the Section officer (Accounts) or sub-head in charge. A percentage (as may be fixed by the Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer) of the entries of opening balances should be checked and attested by the Accounts officer-incharge. 907. Account books to be in Sections or compartments.-For the convenience of positing and reconciliation and for localizing errors in posting, the ledger accounts, the check sheets, the Provident fund journals should all be in compartments or sections, i. e., by departments, districts or categories of state as may be decided by the Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts officer. 908. Form of Provident Fund journals.-the provident Fund journals showing the deductions made from pay bills on account of the State Railway Provident Fund should be in Form A. 908. Form A. 908 909. Form of Ledger Accounts.-The ledger account of each individual subscriber to the Fund should be in Form A. 909. This form should be printed on both sides of the paper. One sheet should be allotted to each subscriber so that the account for two consecutive years may be recorded in the same ledger book. Note.- In the case of non-contributory S. R. P. F. Accounts the columns under government contribution will not be printed. Form A. 909 910. Index Registers.- (1) A numerical index to the ledger in the order of entrants should be maintained in Form A. 910. Besides this an alphabetical index by each group or unit of accounts may be maintained to facilitate reference to the subscriber's accounts numbers. The index Register (A. 910), whether numerical or alphabetical, should shown the following particulars- (a) The month in which the account is opened. (b) Account number. (c) Name of the subscriber. (d) Designation and office or department and the staff or ticket number. (e) The month in which the account is closed. (f) Remarks. (2) Additional columns may be provided in the numerical index register to show:- (a) reference to the memorandum under which the account number is intimated in each case; and (b) date of receipt of provident fund Declaration from each subscriber, if no separate register for provident Fund Declarations is maintained. Note.- The Provident Fund Rules require that the Accounts officer should call upon every subscriber to declare, in the prescribed form. The person or persons entitled to receive the provident fund moneys due to him in the event of his death. The declaration forms submitted by the subscribes should, on receipt in the Accounts office be kept under lock and key in the personal custody of the Accounts officer. When a revised declaration is received from a subscriber, the old declaration form should be cancelled and returned to the subscriber. The dates of receipt of all declaration forms should be systematically noted in the index Register or the separate register kept for the purpose. Reference to the declaration forms submitted to the Accounts officer should also be quoted on top; of the individual subscriber's ledger accounts. 911. Opening of New Accounts.-When opening new accounts the following points should be attended to:-  (a) The member's full name, designation (and station) should be entered in the index Register (A.910) and the ledger (A. 909) in a clear hand. The name of a subscriber should be spelt according to the subscriber's own way and this spelling should be strictly followed in all accounts and statement. In the case of Anglo-Indians and Christians, the surname should be written first and after it the Christian name or names. (b) The staff or ticket number, where available, should be noted in the index registers and the ledger, so as to guard against errors in posting. (c) Separate blocks of numbers (e.g., 1001 to 2000, 2001 to 3000) should be alloted to separate departments or classes of employees; and within each such block the number assigned to the members accounts should be consecutive. A member's number should never be altered, nor should the numbers of closed accounts be given to new members. (d) If a Muslim member, on opening his account makes the express request that interest be not added to his deposit, a note to this effect should be made in the index register and the words "No interest" written on the top of the account in the ledger, Such a remark should be repeated whenever a new ledger is opened. (e) No accounts should be opened in the name of two or more persons jointly. 912. Check Sheets.-The check sheets referred to in paragraph 903 should be kept in two parts, one part for recording "Deposits of subscriptions and regular half yearly bonuses" and the other for "withdrawals and deposits of other than the regular half-yearly bonuses (e. g. Government Contribution allowed during the course of the half-year ; retrospective Government contribution; Government contribution transferred from or to other divisions or railways)". Both the parts should be posted from the ledger. Form A. 912 B. POSTING AND RECONCILIATION 913. Register of Debits and Credits to "State Railway Provident Fund Contributory/non-Contributory".-All Provident Fund journals received in the Provident Fund Section should, before distribution to the ledger-keepers for posting into the ledgers, be serially numbered and entered in a manuscript register called the Register of Debits and Credits to the State Railway Provident fund Contributory/non-Contributory (A. 913). This register should have separate Columns for the various compartments or sections of the ledgers. The total recovery shown in each journal should be posted under the appropriate column in the credit side of the register. The total of the Provident Fund journals relating to all the abstracts of Bills (Form A. 1107) of a particular date should be struck and agreed with the total credit to "S. R. P. F. C./N. C." for the date in the General Cash Book (A. 304). Similarly withdrawals should be posted from the pay orders passed for payment under the appropriate columns in the debit side of the register and the total for each date agreed with the debit to "S. R. P. F. C./N.C" in the General Cash Book. Miscellaneous adjustments of credit and debits should be posted separately and agreed with the totals in the journal (A.307). The register of Debits and Credits to "S.R.P.F. C/N.C." (A.913) will thus shown a complete analysis of the "S.R.P.F. C/N.C." transactions booked in the accounts of the railway by compartments or sections of Provident Fund ledgers and facilitate reconciliation of the postings in each section of ledger accounts with the General books of the railway. Form A. 913 914. Register of Unposted items.-If, while posting a Provident Fund Journal, a ledger account cannot be traced, the relevant recovery in the Provident fund journal should be posted in a "Register of unposted Items" (Form A. 914). Every attempt should be made to locate the ledger account and to post the item in the proper ledger before the monthly accounts are reconciled so that no unposted item is left in this register at the end of each month. See also paragraph 915. Form A. 914 REGISTER OF UNPOSTED ITEMS DURING ………….20. Compartment Name Account Page Amount Compartment Remarks of No. No. of or section of as to section of the P.F. ledger where transfer ledger Journal posted new number allotted, & c. Rs. 915. Register of Unposted Ledger Accounts.-After the journals pertaining to a compartment or section of the ledger accounts have been posted, it should be seen that entries for the month have been made in all the accounts of the compartment or section. If any ledger account remains unposted. It should be noted in the "Register of unposted ledger Accounts". A ledger account will remain unposted it no pay has been drawn for the employee concerned or if he is transferred to another compartment or section within the same accounts circle or to another accounts circle. In the case of a transfer within the same accounts circle, the register of unposted items (A. 914) will show the item to be posted. In the case of a transfer outside the accounts circle, steps should be taken to transfer the ledger account to the accounts circle concerned (see paragraph A. 932). In reconciling the monthly postings in the various compartments or sections of the ledger accounts, due allowance should be made for inter-compartmental or intersectional transfers within the same accounts circle. Form A. 915 REGISTER OF UNPOSTED LEDGER ACCOUNTS FOR…………20. Compartment or Account Name Compartment or section Amount Rema section where the No. From which recovery rks ledger account is posted is posted Compartment Page No. of Or section The P.F. Journal Rs. 916. Reconciliation with General Books.-After the postings for a month in the ledger accounts are complete, the check sheets (A. 912) should be posted from the ledger accounts and totalled. The register in Form A. 913 will show the amounts debited and credited during the month to the 'State Railway Provident Fund Contributory/Non- Contributory" by compartments or sections of ledger accounts the totals in the Check Sheets (A. 9120 should be reconciled with the totals under the relevant column in the register of debits and credits to State Railway Provident Fund Contributory/Non- Contributory (A. 913). In making this reconciliation due allowance should be made for inter-compartmental or intersectional transfers within the same accounts circle. The ground totals of debits and credits of the check sheets of the entire accounts circle should be agreed with the total debits and credits appearing in the General Books and in the monthly accounts of the circle under the head "State Railway Provident Fund Contributory/non-Contributory". 917. Government Contribution. -After the ledger postings of subscriptions for a half-year have been completed and reconciled through check sheets, the Government Contribution admissible under the rules should be credited to each account. The column for Government Contribution in the check sheet should thereafter be posted from the ledger accounts and totalled. The total of government Contribution allowed should be equal to the total subscriptions during the half-year, less total items not eligible for government contribution. The total Government contribution allowed at the end of the half-year should be adjusted by crediting "State Railway provident Fund/Contributory" and debiting the service heads concerned in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Indian Railway Financial Code in the accounts for the months of September and March (or October and April according to existing practice). 918. Interest. -The interest admissible under the rules on the balances a credit of members should be worked out and credited to the respective accounts at the close of each financial year. The interest on contributions during the year will be calculated by taking a single month's interest on the total of the minimum balances bearing interest between the close of the fourth day and the end of each month for a year or any shorter period for which it may become necessary to close the account. At the end of the year this column should be totalled up in each account. One month's interest on this total will represent the amount to be totaled up in each account. One month's interest on this total will represent the amount to be allowed as interest on monthly deposits. If the slab system of computing the interest is to be allowed as interest on monthly deposits. If the slab system of computing the interest is to be applied. The interest should be calculated at the appropriate rate on the average monthly balance for the year in the individual subscriber's account as explained below- The balance in a subscriber's State Railway Provident Fund/non- Contributory and subscriber's side of the State Railway Provident Fund/Contributory Account at the beginning of the financial year will consist of subscriber's own subscription including interest thereon upto the end of the preceding financial year. Subscriptions compulsory and voluntary refunds and withdrawals from the Fund will be taken into account for working out the minimum balance as shown in the illustration given below and then monthly average worked out at the end of the financial year or earlier if necessary to close the account. In the case of State Railway Provident Fund Contributory Account, with a view to arrive at the interest due on Government contribution, the minimum balance shall be worked out for Government Contribution side separately as explained below and interest worked at the appropriate rate applicable for the year. The differential rates of interest on S. R. P. F. Balances shall be applied separately to employee's own contribution and Government contribution. The interest on subscriptions and Government contribution should be posted separately in the ledger accounts. The interest figures in each account should be copied from the ledger into the appropriate columns of the Check Sheet (A. 912) and the totals of these columns should be adjusted in the General Books by debit to "Transfers Railway-Railway board". Vide paragraph 449. Illustration showing the Calculation for Working out the minimum Balance and Interest on S. R. P. F. Accounts.-Assuming the Rates of interest as 7.5% per annum for the first Rs. 25,000/- and 7% per annum for any sums in excess of Rs. 25,000/- Month Subscription C. S. Refu- With- Government Contribution Compul- Volun- P. nd drawal sory tary Depo- Minimum Deposi Minimum Depo-sit sit Balance t Balance bearing bearing interest Interest 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Opening Balance 24020 24000 April, 76 100 50 24170 24000 May 100 50 24320 24000 June 100 50 24470 24000 July 100 50 24620 24000 August 100 50 24770 24000 September 100 50 24920 600 24000 October 100 50 25070 24600 November 100 50 1200 24020 24600 December 100 50 24170 24600 January, 77 100 50 50 24370 24600 February 100 50 50 24570 24600 March 100 50 50 24770 600 24600 Total ÷12 294240 291600 ÷12 Average monthly balance-Rs. 24520-Rs. 24300 A. Interest on Subscription.- Monthly Average of column 6=Rs. 24520 Interest on 1st 2452027.5%=Rs. 1839 B. Interest on Government Contribution.- Monthly Average of column 8=Rs. 24300 Interest on 1st Rs. 24300 @ 7.5%=1822.50 or Rs. 1823. ABSTRACT FROM WHICH ANNUAL DEPOSIT ACCOUNT IS TO BE COPIED Subscription government contribution A. Opening Balance 24020 24000 B. Contribution during the 1800 1200 year C. Refunds 150 D. Interest 1839 1823 Total A+B+C+D 27809 27023 Less withdrawal 1200 …… Balance carried forward 26609 27023 Note.-(1) in cases where the rate of subscriptions to the Fund has been uniform throughout the year, the total minimum balance bearing interest may be obtained by applying the formula of Arithmetical Progression viz., [(n. s. (n plus I)] wherein 'n' is the number of months and 's' the rate of subscription. ² (2) When a temporary advance is granted from the State Railway Provident fund Contributory/Noncontributory, the outstanding balance in respect of a previous advance which is deducted therefrom and credited to the Subscriber's account should be included under the minimum balance bearing interest for that.. 919. Special measures should be taken towards the close of the year to make the interest calculations.-As no interest is allowed on deposit made after the close of the fourth day in any month, the monthly minimum balances bearing interest can be totalled immediately after the posting for March and the interest calculated and entered in pencil. In making repayment in March any of these calculations may if necessary be altered (see also paragraph 449). 920. Points to be noted in crediting subscriptions, govt. Contribution for contributory S. R. P. F. S and interest.-The following points should be noted in crediting subscriptions, government contribution and interest to ledger accounts. (i) In all cases in which the emoluments of staff are paid on the basis of the "accommodation month" i. e. wages period not coinciding with the calendar month), the Provident Fund recoveries made should be credited in the accounts on the 1st of the calendar month preceding the last day of the accommodation month. (ii) In case where subscription to the Provident Fund have been recovered in excess of those admissible under the rules the amounts of subscriptions and interest thereon credited in excess should be refunded to the subscribers and the amounts of Government Contribution and interest there on together with interest on subscriptions credited in excess should be written back as soon as the irregularity comes to notice. This rule should be applied in all cases of excess credits, whether due to wrong fixation of pay or irregular membership. In all such cases the F. A. & C. A. O.’s. are competent to sanction the payment of interest to the staff under them. For the purpose of calculation of interest on excess contributions the ledger accounts need not be recast. Simple interest at the prescribed rates on the total overpayments for half the period will yield fairly accurate results and this method should be adopted. (iii) In the case of a subscriber whose Government Contribution was forfeited because of his quitting service before the completion of five years and was credited to the Staff Benefit Fund under Rule 1205 (2) of the Indian Railway Establishment Code Vol. I the forfeited Government contribution should be re-employment be re-credited by writing back the amount from the Staff Benefit Fund to his Provident Fund account, provided the break in service between quitting the service and re-employment is duly condoned and the employee is permitted to refund the Provident fund money received by him. This adjustment will however he made after the recoveries on account of the arrears of the Provident Fund have been effected. Note.- (1) When the recovery of overpayments of emoluments is waived by the competent authority in cases of wrong fixation of pay recovery is waived only on such portion of overpayment as is not covered by the amount that is being refunded from the Provident Fund.  (2) The interest allowed on amounts irregularly credited to "S. R. P. F. C. / N. C." and subsequently written back should be credited to "146 Indian Railways/Commercial lines Revenue Receipts". (3) The Interest charges on retrospective Govt. Contribution 1312 (4) RI should be debited to the working expenses of the Railway (and not to "Transfers Railway-Railway Board"). 921. Annual Closing and Reconciliation with General Books.-The account of the State Railway Provident Fund including the accounts of members should be made up annually at the close of the financial year and reconciled with the general books (see paragraph 922). The Accounts Officer should certify that the balances have been reconciled with the General Books of the Railway and record the certificate in his Debt Head Report (see paragraph 748-A). 922. The reconciliation with the General Books should be made in the following manner.-After the postings for March are completed each account in the ledger should be closed. The opening and closing balances of 'subscriptions" and "govt. Contribution", the total deposits and withdrawals during the year and the interest in each account should be copied from the ledger in the check sheet under the appropriate columns the postings in the check sheet should them be totalled and agreed with the figures in the General Books. Reconciliation by each compartment or section of the ledger should be done with the help of the Register of Debits and credits to "State Railway Provident Fund Contributory/Noncontributory" (Form A. 913). 923. Account furnished to each member.-The annual statement of account furnished to each number after the close of each year should be in Form A. 923. Form A. 923 923. Distribution of Annual P. F. Statements.-It is essential that every employee gets his annual statement of P. F. Account regularly every year. For this purpose the F.A. & C. A. O. in consultation with the Chief Personnel Officer will work out a detailed scheme for distribution of the statements amongst the employees along with the disbursement of pay in accordance with a programme which should be notified to the employees in advance. 924. Transfers of Provident Fund Accounts.-A member, who is transferred without break of service, from one Railway or Office to another with the permission of the head of the Railway or Office concerned, should have his provident fund Account transferred to the new Railway or Office. Interest should not be credited to the member's account for a part of the year but should be credited at the end of the financial year and adjusted in the Books of the Railway or the Office to which the depositor is transferred. The transfer should be initiated by the Accounts Office of the Railway or circle to which the subscriber was attached by forwarding. - (a) an advice of transfer (A. 924);  (b) a copy of the ledger account showing the details of his deposits and withdrawals, and (c) his nomination form, if any, in original to the Accounts Officer of the Railway or circle to which the subscriber has been transferred. On receipt of the advice of transfer the latter Accounts Officer should issue a transfer certificate against the former for acceptance and return. In cases of temporary transfers where the period of transfer is likely to exceed on year, the Provident Fund Accounts may be transferred to the Accounts Officer of the Railway of office to which the subscriber has been transferred. In other cases the balances may continue to be kept by the parent Railway or Office of the Railway servant concerned. Note.-(1) In the case of a permanent transfer to another department of the Central Government or a State Government the current year's interest will be credited to the member's account up to the end of the month preceding that in which the account is transferred. The same procedure would be followed by other department of the Central Government and State Government in case of transfer to the Railway Department. (2) In order to ensure that the Accounts are transferred without delay, the Register of Last Pay Certificate maintained in the Establishment Section of the Accounts Office should be revised every minth and necessary action taken to transfer the S. R. P. F. Account. Form A.924 925 Closed Accounts.-(1) As soon as possible after the death of a subscriber, or after a subscriber quits service, prompt action should be taken by the Accounts Officer to close the account of the subscriber and to issue the requisite notice to the person or persons entitled to receive the provident Fund money specifying the balance at the credit of the account and tendering payment thereof. Note- When a subscriber quits the service or dies while in service, interest on the amount standing at his credit in the Fund accrues up to the date of tender of payment or up to the end of the sixth month after the month in which the subscriber quits the service or dies, whichever is earlier. (2) The Accounts Officer, shall, subject to the provisions of Rules 1339 and 1340 of the Indian Railway Establishment Code, Volume I, make prompt payment of that portion of the amount is the Fund in regard to which there is no dispute or doubt, the balance being adjusted as soon after as may be possible. (3) If the person to whom any amount is to be paid under the rules of the Provident Fund is a minor or lunatic for whose estate a guardian under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (VIII of 1890) or a manager under the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 (IV of 1912), as the case may be, has been appointed, the payment shall be made to such guardian or manager and if no such guardian or manager has been appointed, the payment shall be made to the person authorized by law to receive payment on behalf of the minor or lunatic. In cases where no natural guardian of minor or minors exists, the payment of the share of each minor, after deduction of Government dues, etc. of the Provident Fund money (including special contribution to Provident Fund) to the extent of Rs. 5,000 (or the first Rs. 5,000 where the amount payable exceeds Rs. 5,0000 may be made to the person considered fit by the Controlling Officer to receive payment on behalf of the minor or minors without requiring him/her to produce a guardianship certificate provided he/she executes a bond signed by two sureties agreeing to indemnify the railway against any subsequent claims which might arise. The person claiming payment on behalf of the minor or minors should also be required to produce an affidavit that he/she is in charge of the property of the minor or minors and is looking after it or that if the minor or minors has/have no property other than the Provident Fund money the minor or minors is/are in his/her custody and care. The balance is excess of Rs. 5,000 if any, would be payable in accordance with the normal rules, i. e., on production of certificate of guardianship. Note.- The power of the controlling officer under this rule may be exercised by a District officer or an Assistant officer in independent charge of a district. (4) If the existence, en venture de sa mere, of a child to the subscriber is brought to the notice of the Accounts Officer, he shall retain the amount which will be due to the child in the event of its being born alive, and distribute the balance. If subsequently no child is born or the child is still born, the amount retained shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of Rule 1340 of the Indian Railway Establishment Code Volume 1. 926. When an account is closed, it should be removed from the Provident Fund ledger to a separate list called the list of Closed Accounts (Form A. 926). The balance on such accounts closed during the year should not be removed from the books of the Railway Department, but should in accounts for march, be transferred to "Deposit". Any item so transferred, not exceeding unclaimed by the 31st March of the third succeeding year, will be credited to revenue. The list of "Closed Accounts" should be consulted when applications for refund are received by the Accounts Officer and the refund should be noted in the list to prevent a double payment. Form A. 926 927. If after an account is closed, a petty error in calculation is discovered, the correction of which leaves a small balance in the account, the Accounts Officer should, after having, if possible, informed the subscriber and after six months have elapsed, credit it in the Railway Account at "Z 650 other unclassified Receipts" making a note in the ledger (A. 909) of the transaction. Such an amount, may, at any time, be refunded. 928. There is no limitation of time to the legal liability to pay accumulations in the Provident Fund with interest already accrued. When legal ownership is contested and the amount involved in more than Rs. 5,000, earliest possible action should be taken to ascertain in whose favour the case has been decided by a Court of law and to issue the requisite notice tendering payment. 929. Special contribution to Provident Fund.-The Special Contribution to Fund sanctioned in favour of retired, etc, employees (see paragraph 1314-R) should be incorporated in the Ledger of State Railway Provident Fund Contributory Accounts and the payment of the Special contribution should also be recorded therein. *****