IRCM VOL-2, CHAPTER-26 PDF

11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT CHAPTER XXVI OUT-AGENCIES, CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OTHER ANCILLARY SERVICES 2601. Out-agency.—An out-agency is...

11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT CHAPTER XXVI OUT-AGENCIES, CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OTHER ANCILLARY SERVICES 2601. Out-agency.—An out-agency is an office, opened in places situated away from the railway station, in order to facilitate the booking of traffic directly to or from such places in conjunction with the railway over which such traffic is to be carried. 2602. List of out-agencies —A list of the out-agencies on the railway indicating the names of railway stations via which these are served, is published in the local tariffs of each railway administration. The rates and fares leviable, the free allowance of luggage permissible on the road portion, conditions in regard to availability of passenger tickets, details of the outward and inward goods/parcels traffic for which each such agency is open and the name of the contractor, if any, working the agency are also indicated for each out-agency in the tariffs. 2603. Working of out-agencies—(a) Out-agencies are usually worked through contractors appointed for the purpose under a contract with the railways. They arrange to provide the necessary road transport also. Where the out-agency office is worked departmentally, the road transport is arranged through a contractor. A copy of the agreement entered into with the contractor, incorporating the terms and conditions under which the out-agency is to be worked, will be supplied to the serving station through the Divisional Railway Manager. The Station Master at the serving station should get the relevant provisions of the agreement noted from the station staff connected with the working of the out-agencies. (b) Except where otherwise notified, the instructions contained in this Manual or separately notified from time to time by the railway administration concerned, in regard to commercial working of the stations, will also apply to the commercial working at the out-agencies. 2604. Booking of traffic from the out-agency.— Subject to the conditions laid down by the railway administration and exceptions in force from time to time, all passengers, luggage, parcels and goods traffic offered for dispatch at the out-agency should be booked direct to destination stations including out-agencies open for receipt of such traffic. No traffic should, however, be booked from an out-agency to it serving station or to an out-agency worked via the same serving station. 2605. The tickets, way-bills, invoices and other money value books and forms prescribed for use at the railway stations should be used by the cut-agencies also. All the rules laid down for the indent, examination, custody, issue and use of such tickets, books, forms, etc., in this Manual or notified separately to the staff will equally apply to the out-agencies. 2606. The booking of traffic from the out-agencies should be carried out as if the out-agency constituted a railway station in accordance with the rules laid down by the railway administration in their manuals, tariffs, circulars and other publications, a copy each of which will be obtained by the out-agent from the Divisional Office, if not already supplied. 2607. Booking of traffic to oat-agencies.—The booking of traffic from railway stations to out- agencies will be done on luggage tickets, parcel way-bills, invoices, etc., in the same way as laid down for similar traffic booked to railway stations. No traffic will, however, be booked from a railway station to an out-agency served by it. 2608. Transfer of consignments from out-agency to the serving station.—All outward luggage, parcels and goods booked from the out-agency together with the connected booking documents, viz., luggage tickets, way-bills, invoices, etc., should be made over to the concerned railway staff at the serving station along-with a list, in duplicate, of such packages in the pro forma appearing at Appendix XXVI/A. The station staff receiving the packages from the out- agency should compare the entries in the list with the packages and the booking documents, and return one copy of the list to the out-agent after indicating thereon the total number of the packages received over full signature, in ink, of the staff receiving the packages. Remarks regarding defective condition of the packages, if any, must be legibly recorded on both https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 1/7 11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT copies of the list and should be countersigned both by the station staff and the out-agent or his authorized representative. 2609. The station staff receiving the packages from the out-agent should enter the same in a transshipment register to be maintained for this purpose in Form Com.|T-27, and arrange to despatch the packages to their proper destination stations in the same way as the packages booked at the serving station, quoting the particulars of the despatch in the relevant columns of the transhipment register. 2610. Transfer of consignments from serving station to out-agency.—All luggage, parcels and goods booked to the out-agency received at the serving station should be entered in a transhipment register to be maintained for this purpose in Form Com.| T-27, and stacked separately from those booked to the serving station. All such inward packages, together with the connected booking documents, should be made over to the out-agent or his authorized representative at the serving station along with a list, in duplicate, of such packages in the pro forma appearing at Appendix XXVI/B. The out-agent or his representative receiving the packages should compare the entries in the list with the packages made over to him and the connected booking documents, if available, and return one copy of the list indicating thereon the total number of packages received over his full signature in ink. The signature of the contractor or his authorized representative should also be obtained in the transshipment register against the individual entries of packages made over to him. Remarks regarding defective condition of the packages, if any, must be legibly recorded on both copies of the list and should be countersigned both by the station staff and the out-agent or his authorized representative. 2611. (a) The out-agent or his authorized representative will also receive from the station staff such consignments as are marked for the out-agency but for which the connected luggage tickets, waybills or invoices are not received. These should also be entered in Appendix XXVI/B in the same way as regular packages for which booking documents are available. (b) Similarly, all luggage tickets, way-bills or invoices issued for traffic booked to the out-agency will also be received by the out-agent or his authorized representative even though the connected packages have not been received. These documents will also be separately listed with remarks 'Packages not received', and the signature of the out-agent obtained specifically against them. 2612. Out-agency charges.—The out-agency charges levied for transport of luggage, parcels or goods to and from the out-agency should be shown separately on the luggage tickets, way- bills and invoices, and in the initial books and returns. 2613. Collection of wharfage charges.—The out-agent will be responsible for collection of wharfage charges due at the rates prescribed in the local tariffs on all luggage, parcels and goods delivered at the out-agency after the expiry of the prescribed free time. 2614. Acconntal of traffic booked to and from out-agencies.—The traffic booked to or from an out-agency should be accounted for in the same manner and in the same books and forms as laid down in this Manual or notified separately by the railway administration for railway stations. 2615. Responsibility of the out-agents for fare, freight and other charges.—The out- agent will be responsible for the correct collection of passenger fares and freight and other charges on luggage, parcels and goods traffic in accordance with the rules applicable for similar traffic at railway stations. 2616. Remittance of cash and vouchers.—(a) The entire collection of the day represented coins and/or currency notes must invariably be remitted to the cash office or to the Treasury/Post Office/Reserve Bank/State Bank of India in accordance with the procedure approved by the Railway Administration and laid down in the agreement. (b) All credit notes, pay orders and other vouchers received at the out-agency together with the second foil of the treasury remittance note, if any, should be sent to cash office, duly entered on https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 2/7 11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT the back of the cash remittance note as laid down in Chapter XXIV. 2617. Grant of refunds at the out-agency.—Out-agents are not authorized to refund any freight of part thereof except those allowed at the time of delivery vide para 2158. All other claims for refund, if received by the out-agent, should be forwarded to and dealt with by the Chief Commercial Superintendent. 2618. Submission of returns, tickets, etc.—(a) The out-agent should prepare all periodical and monthly returns relating to passenger, lassoes. parcels and goods traffic dealt with at the out-agency and also the balance sheets in connection therewith in the manner laid down for stations in this Manual or notified separately by the railway administration. All the returns and other documents required to be submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office duly sealed in separate bundles for (i) local coaching, (ii) local goods, (iii) through coaching and (iv) through goods, should be handed over to the Station Master of the serving station and his signature obtained in the record foils of the transmit mema. The Station Master should arrange to send these bundles to the Traffic Accounts Office along with the returns of the serving station. (b) The tickets from inward passengers at the out-agency should be examined as to their correctness and dealt with in the same manner as for other stations. The collected tickets along with the Ticket Collectors' report should be made over in a sealed bundle to the Station Master of the serving station for onward transmission to Traffic Accounts Office along with tile. collected tickets of the serving station. The payment of the out-agency charges for the road journey will be made only on the tickets correctly collected by the out-agent and submitted to the Accounts Office. Undercharges, if any, will be debited against the out-agent likewise. 2619. In addition to the returns referred to in para 2618, the out-agents should also prepare and submit the returns in connection with the following traffic, as detailed in paras 1313 and 2620 to 2624, to enable the Traffic Accounts Office to check the connected out-agency bills referred to in para 2625 (i) paid parcels received from Government railways; (ii) goods forwarded to Government railways; and (iii) goods received from Government railways. 2620. Abstracts of goods forwarded to Government railways (local/through).—All invoices, whether 'Paid' or 'To Pay's issued from the out-agency to stations on 'Government railways should be posted daily in the abstracts of goods forwarded in Form Com.| G-2 & 4 Rev., separately for local and through traffic. The traffic booked to each station, via each route, on each terminal railway, should be posted on a separate sheet to arrive at the total traffic booked to each such station separately. Full particulars as required by the form should be carefully filled in and at the close of the month, the total traffic booked to each station should be carried into the relevant summary of goods forwarded to Government railways. 2621. Summary of goods forwarded to Government railways (local/through).—(a) A summary of goods forwarded to Government railways should be prepared in Form Com./G-11 Rev. separately for local and through traffic. It should be posted fn duplicate, by carbon process, from the relevant abstracts and should bring out the totals of the booking to each station, via each route, on each railway as grouped in the abstracts. Before posting the summary, the abstracts should be sorted out in the alphabetical order so that the names of the stations appear in the summary in the same order. (b) The summary for through traffic should be prepared in two parts : summary Part I or 'via summary' showing the traffic to each terminal railway, station by station, via each route; summary Part II or 'general summary' being based on Part I and indicating the total traffic booked to each railway via., all routes and the grand total of the traffic booked to all railways. (c) The pencil copy of the summary duly stitched with the relevant abstracts on the top left https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 3/7 11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT corner should be submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office and the carbon copy kept in skeleton files for record at the out-agency (see also para 2624). 2622. Abstracts of goods received from Government railways (local/through).—The abstracts of goods received from Government railways should be posted daily in Form Com.G-2 & 4 Rev., from the inward invoices or copies thereof, separately for local and through traffic, in the same manner as abstracts of goods forwarded to Government railways vide para 2620. These abstracts will, however, be kept open till the 18th of the month following in which they relate, when the goods delivery books will be closed as laid down in Chapter XX. 2623. Summary of goods received from Government railways (local/through).—A summary of goods received from Government railways should be prepared separately for local and through traffic and submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office in the same way and in the same form as the summary of goods forwarded to Government railways vide para 2621. 2624. Verification of totals of summaries.—'Forwarded' and 'received' summaries referred to in pares 2621 and 2623 should, before despatch to the Traffic Accounts Office, be checked with the relevant totals in the goods outward books and delivery books respectively, both in respect of weight and freight charges, including undercharges. The total of 'paid' column in the forwarded summary should also be checked with the correspon-marry should also be checked with the corresponding figures in the goods cash book. 2625. Out-agency bills- In case the agreement with the contractor provides for the submission of bills for the cartage charges due to him. the out agent should submit monthly to the Traffic Accounts Office separate bills as indicated below— Description of traffic" Form No. 1. And Passengers Com O—1 Rev 2. Inward luggage/parcels/goods. Com./O-2 Rev. 3. Wharfage on parcels/goods. Com./O-3 Rev. 4. Outward passengers Com./O-4 Rev 5. Outward luggage/parcels/goods. Com./O-5 Rev. Separate bills should be prepared for each kind of traffic. vie luggage, apical and goods traffic 2626. (a) The bills should be prepared in ink separately for local and through traffic, the total of the bill for through traffic, being carried over to that for local traffic and grand total struck both for local and through traffic. (b) Both the copies of the bill, each marked or stamped "original' and "duplicate' respectively, should be submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office. The bills in respect of passenger traffic, both inward, should be submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office direct the bills in respect of other traffic, viz., luggage, parcels and goods' traffic, should, however, be submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office through the Station Master of the serving station. 2627. (a) On receipt of the bills for luggage, parcels and goods traffic, both inward and outward, the Station Master at the serving station should check the same with the relevant record at his station and transmit both the copies of the bills to the Traffic Accounts Office after appending a certificate over his signature and station stamp, certifying that the consignments referred to in the bill had actually been dealt with at his station. (b) The total, amount of penalty charges, if any, leviable on the contractor as per his agreement, for detention to inward and/or outward consignments, should be indicated on the relevant bills and a detailed statement of such charges submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office along with the bill. If no penalty charges have accrued during a month in respect of a particular category of traffic, the fact should be recorded on the relevant bill. https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 4/7 11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT 2628. Wharfage charges realized on consignments while in the custody of out-agent will be retained by the railway administration except where the agreement provides to the contrary. If the wharfage charges are payable to the contractor, he should prepare monthly bills for wharfage charges actually collected in duplicate in Form Com. 10-3 Rev., incorporating the charges on both local and through traffic in one bill, separate bills being prepared for goods and parcels traffic including luggage traffic. Any refunds made by the railway administration to a consignee or consignor should be deducted from the total amount of the bill before submitting it to the Frame Accounts Office. The overcharges in the recovery of wharfage detected in internal check will be retained by the railway administrations, the contractor being entitled to the wharfage charges correctly recoverable. Both the copies of bill each marked 'original' and 'duplicate' respectively should be submitted by the out-agent direct to the Traffic Accounts Office. 2629. The Traffic Accounts Office after necessary check of the bills will arrange payment of amount due to the contractor. The original copy of each bill will be retained in the Traffic Accounts Office and the 'duplicate' returned to the out-agent after indicating thereon the amount passed for payment and the reasons for disallowances, if any. 2630. Out-Agency Division Sheets.—Where the arrangement with the out-agent does not require the submission of bills, Traffic Accounts Office will prepare monthly Division Sheets, indicating the out-agency charges due to the contractor against each ticket way-bill luggage ticket invoice, and send it to the out-agent for his record. The monthly payments due to the out- agent will be arranged by the Traffic Accounts Office on the basis of these Division Shells. 2631. City booking offices and city booking agencies. A city booking office or agency is an office situated in the city or town so as to facilitate the booking of traffic directly to and from the city or town. Road transport is generally not provided for the passenger traffic from the city booking office or agency to the railway station, nor the city booking offices are open for inward passenger traffic. 2632. (a) A list of city booking offices agencies on a railway indicating the traffic for which each such office/agency is open together with the additional charges leviable for parcels and goods traffic booked to or from the city booking office/agency is published in the local tariffs issued by individual railway administrations. (b) If a contractor is appointed to work a city booking agency of for carting of consignments from and to city booking office, an agreement incorporating the terms and conditions under which the city booking office/agency is to be worked will be executed by the contractor. A copy of the agreement will be sup-plied to the serving station through the Divisional Railway Manager. The Station Master at the serving station should get the relevant provisions of the agreement noted from the station staff connected with the working of the city booking office /agency. 2633. The instructions in regard to the booking arrangements, remittance of cash of bills and additional returns on therewith, as detailed in the preceding paragraphs for out-agencies will also apply to city booking offices/agencies. 2634. Inspection of out-agencies/city booking agencies—(a) The books and accounts of the out-agency city booking agency shall at all proper times and places be open to the inspection and internal check by the officials of the Commercial, Accounts and Audit departments and of such other departments as are authorized by the railway administration in the same manner as is customary in the Case of the books and accounts maintained at railway stations. (b) At these inspections, the inspecting officials should inter alia ensure that the out-agents/city booking agents provide an efficient service, observe the rules and regulations laid down by the railway administration for the booking, delivery, remittance of the charges, etc., of traffic and fully comply with all other conditions laid down in the agreement for the working of the out- agency/city booking agency. (c) The Station Master of the station by which the out-agency/city booking agency is served https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 5/7 11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT should also ensure that an efficient service is provided by the out-agent/city booking agent and the rules, regulations and conditions are correctly observed by him. 2635. Collection services.—Under this system, packages for outward booking by goods and or passenger trains are collected from the consignor's premises (residences, godowns or places of business) within the Municipal limits of the city as notified by the railway administration, and conveyed to the respective serving stations for booking and onward despatch. These services are operated by the contractors duly authorized for this purpose for a nominal charge in addition to the railway freight. A copy of the agreement with the contractor incorporating the terms and conditions under which the collection service is to be operated, will be supplied to the Station Master of the serving station for getting the relevant provisions noted from the concerned staff. 2636. At stations where collection services are in vogue, the contractor should consult the Station Master every morning to ascertain the restrictions in force for booking of traffic on that day as also the quantity of traffic upto which the goods (parcels may be accepted by the contractor for booking. In case the contractor has erroneously accepted any package, the booking of which is restricted, the Station Master should not accept such a package, the contractor being responsible for any dispute arising there from. 2637. The contractor will grant a provisional receipt in the prescribed form for the parcels goods delivered to him by the senders. These provisional receipts should be serially machine numbered, in set of two foils, each marked 'receipt' and 'record' respectively, to be written by carbon process, indicating the sender's name, destination station, description of goods, number of packages, private marks and the weight declared by the senders. The receipt foil will be made over to the sender and the record foil retained by the contractor. 2638. The consignments collected by the contractor should be made over at the railway station along with the relevant forwarding notes duly executed by the senders to the satisfaction of the concerned station staff, who will examine the consignment and the forwarding note and issue the railway receipt in the same manner as other consignments tendered by the senders at the railway station. The railway receipt will be made over to the contractor for arranging delivery to the sender in exchange for the provisional receipt referred to in para 2637 above. The provisional receipts so collected will be made over by the contractor to the station staff for pasting with the record foil of the relevant railway receipts. To ensure that the contractor has made over the railway receipts to the senders, the Station Master should keep a watch over the return of provisional receipts collected by the contractor from the senders, any emission being reported to the Divisional Commercial Superintendent for necessary action. 2639. (a) In the case of consignments required to be booked 'Paid', the contractor will collect the freight and other charges from the senders and make over the same along with the cartage charges to the station staff. If the consignor demands a receipt for the amount paid, it should be granted by the contractor on behalf of the railway in form Com./M-2, supplied by the administration. (b) Separate Cash Books should be maintained for consignments booked under the 'collection service' scheme. 2640. (a) The cartage charges for the collection service at the rates notified by the railway administration may either be included in the relevant invoices |way-bills under the head 'other charges' or collected in cash by the contractor, as notified by the railway administration. (b) In cases where the collection charges are in-voided, these will automatically be collected and accounted for as part of the total freight chares. In such cases, the contractor shall prefer a bill for his dues in the same manner as laid down for out-agencies vide paras 2625 to 2627 above. (c) Where on the other hand, such charges are not invoiced, the contractor will collect the actual amount due as per the rates notified, without rounding off, and retain the same in lieu of the services rendered by him. In such cases, the question of preparation of bills would not arise. 2641.Street delivery services.—Under this system, inward goods|parcels received at the station for "street delivery' are delivered at the premises (residence, godown or place, of https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 6/7 11/22/24, 2:10 PM CHAPTER XXVI OUT business) of the consignee within the Municipal limits of the city as notified by the railway administration, provided the packages bear full and correct address of the address of the consignee. These services are operated by contractors duly authorized for this purpose for a nominal charge in addition to the railway freight. A copy of the agreement with the contractor incorporating the terms and conditions under which the delivery service is to be operated, will be supplied to the Stations Master of the serving station for getting relevant provisions noted from the concerned stall. 2642. At stations where the 'street delivery system" is in vogue, the contractors appointed for the purpose will arrange to receive at the station all such consignments as are required to be delivered at the premises of the consignees in accordance with the addresses shown on the consignments. The contractor will arrange to cart and deliver such consignments to the consignees in the same condition as received by him, from the station staff. 2643. If a consignment cannot be delivered due to absence of the consignee/endorses or the premises being locked or due to any other cause, the contractor will convey the consignment back to the railway station advising the reasons for non-delivery to the station staff concerned. In such cases, the Station Master should communicate with the consignee/endorsee by post, seeking further instructions from the latter. The consignee endorsee may take delivery at the station under normal rules and procedure or if he so desires, the consignment may be, sent again for delivery at his premises, provided he agrees to pay the additional cartage charges involved due to second road trip. 2644. At the time of delivery of consignments, the contractor should collect the original railway receipt together with the freight and other charges due before the packages are actually made over to the consignee endorsee. The acknowledgement of the con-soignée/endorsee should be obtained in the prescribed form for the packages delivered to him. Such acknowledgement should be serially numbered in manuscript, commencing from No. 1 on the first day of each month. In case the railway receipt is not forthcoming, the delivery may be given on execution of an indemnity note in accordance with the rules in force. 2645. The invoiced freight and undercharges, if any, collected by the contractor will be made over by him daily to the station staff concerned along with a 'statement of account'. The collected railway receipts and the acknowledgements obtained from the consignees will also be made over daily to the station staff concerned along with the cash. 2646. The station staff should maintain separate delivery books, cash books and gate pass books (where gate pass system h in force) for the traffic received at the station under this scheme When the cash and railway receipts are received by the station staff, the particulars of delivery will be entered in the delivery book and the serial number at which the acknowledgement of the consignee | endorsee has been filed will be recorded in the delivery book over the signatures of the contractor in the column headed 'signature of the consignee/endorsee'. 2647. The street delivery charges, at the rates notified by the railway administrations may either be invoiced or collected separately by the contractor, as notified by the railway administration. The procedure " regarding the accountal and billing of street delivery charges, where necessary, will be the same as bid down for collection service charges vide para 2640 above. https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/CommManual-II/commercialmanualIIch26_data.htm#2601 7/7