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Public Finance Management and Accountability Act

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Public Finance Act
PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND
(ACCOUNTABILITY) ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
SECTION
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART 2
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
3. Development of economic policy and advice by the Minister
4. Reporting of economic and fiscal information, performance and projections to the Legislative Assembly
PART 3
CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC FINANCE
5. Supervision, control and management of public finances
6. Instructions and directives
7. Powers of the Financial Secretary
8. Designation, powers and duties of the Accountant General
9. Designation and duties of accounting officers
10. Internal Audit
PART 4
PUBLIC FUNDS
11. Consolidated Fund
12. Payments made in or out of Consolidated Fund
13. Development Fund
14. Special Fund and Trust Fund
15. Contingencies
16. Investment of and advances from the Consolidated Fund
17. Withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund
18. Virement

PART 5
AUTHORISATION OF EXPENDITURE
19. Estimates of revenue and expenditure
20. Supplementary estimates
21. Excess expenditure
22. Provision if Appropriation Act not in force
23. Duration of appropriations and warrants
PART 6
PAYMENTS
24. Authority for payment
25. General Warrant
26. Advance Warrant
27. Imprest Warrants
28. Departmental Warrant
29. Warrant to lapse
PART 7
LOANS, GUARANTEES AND GRANTS
30. Authority to raise loans
31. Moneys borrowed to be paid into the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund
32. Raising of loans
33. Repayment, conversion and consolidation of loans
34. Expenses of loans
35. Authority to guarantee loans
36. Beneficiary to reimburse all costs
37. Receipt of grants
38. Amounts due on loans or guarantees to be charged on Consolidated Fund
39. Minister to specify particulars in annual estimates
40. Delegation by Minister
PART 8
PREPARATION OF ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS
41. Annual accounts
42. Annual and other reports


PART 9
CONTROL OF THE FINANCES OF STATUTORY BODIES
43. Interpretation
44. Estimates of expenditures by statutory bodies
45. Control of accounts of public organisations
PART 10
SURCHARGE
46. Power to surcharge
47. Circumstances of action
48. Notification of surcharge
49. Appeal against surcharge
50. Withdrawal of surcharge
51. Recovery of surcharge
52. Penalties and surcharge
PART 11
MISCELLANEOUS
53. Bank accounts
54. Abandonment of claims etc. and write off of public money and stores
55. Gift of stores and other property
56. Annulment by the Legislative Assembly of regulations
57. Amendment of Schedule
58. Regulations
59. Repeals and savings
60. Transitional provisions
61. Precedence of this Act
SCHEDULE: Provisions for Submission of Accounts



CHAPTER 17.07
PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND
(ACCOUNTABILITY) ACT
(Acts 7 of 2008 and 9 of 2011)
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ECONOMIC AND FISCAL
POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR MONTSERRAT; THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF
THE GOVERNMENT; THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF PERSONS ENTRUSTED WITH
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN THE GOVERNMENT; THE TRANSPARENT AND
EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF THE FINANCES OF MONTSERRAT; THE CONTROL
OF FINANCES OF STATUTORY BODIES AND OTHER AUTHORITIES AND TO
PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO.
Commencement
[1 April 2009]
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Public Finance (Management and Accountability) Act.
Interpretation
2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Accountant General” means the person designated under section 8;
“accounting officer” means a person designated under section 9 as accounting officer;
“Appropriation Act” means any Act applying a sum of money out of the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund for the service and development programme for a financial year;
“Auditor General” means the person appointed or deemed to have been appointed Auditor General under section 101 of the Constitution; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“bill” means a Treasury bill issued under Treasury Bills Act;
“bond” means a bond issued under the Development Bonds Act;
“chief executive” means the person who has responsibility for managing the affairs of a public organisation;

“commitment” means a contract or other legal commitment that results in expenditure;
“Consolidated Fund” means the Consolidated Fund of Montserrat;
“Development Fund” means the Development Fund established under section 13;
“expenditure vote” means a group of estimates for which an appropriation is made by an Appropriation Act or Supplementary Appropriation Act;
“financial year” means a period of twelve months ending on 31 March;
“generally accepted accounting practice” means accounting practices and procedures recognised by the accounting profession in Montserrat and approved by the Accountant General as appropriate for reporting financial information relating to Government, a Ministry or department, a fund, an agency or other reporting unit, and which are consistent with this Act and any relevant Appropriation Act;
“Government” means the Government of Montserrat;
“indicators” means measures such as numerical ceilings and proportions to gross domestic product for the purpose of evaluation of the state of the economy of Montserrat or the fiscal position of government;
“information” includes accounts;
“internal audit” means a process to measure, evaluate and report to the management of an entity on the efficacy of the system of internal control used to ensure the validity of financial and other information;
“internal control” means a set of systems to ensure that financial and other records are reliable and complete and which ensure adherence to the entity’s management policies, the orderly and efficient conduct of the entity, and the proper recording and safeguarding of assets and resources;
“loan” means any loan raised by the Government;
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for finance;
“outputs” means goods produced or services provided;
“programme” means a collection of activities funded by an appropriation with the aim of creating the impact or impacts set forth in the programmes stated in the economic and fiscal management plan;
“propriety” means the requirement that expenditure and receipts must be dealt with in accordance with the intentions of the Legislative Assembly and, in particular, those expressed through an appropriate Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“Public Accounts Committee” means a Standing Committee appointed by the Speaker pursuant to the provisions of the Legislative Assembly Standing Orders; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)

“public moneys” and “public funds” means money that is—
(a) received or receivable by an agency;
(b) raised by an instrument that is issued from an agency from which it can be reasonably inferred that the Government accepts liability in the case of default;
(c) spent by an agency;
(d) distributed by an agency to a person for a public purpose.
In this definition “agency” includes ministries, departments, statutory bodies, public organisation and government companies.
“public officer” means a person holding or acting in an office in the public service;
“public organisation” means an enterprise, authority, body or entity to which section 45(7) applies;
“public property” means resources owned by the Government or in the custody or care of the Government;
“regularity” means the requirement for all items of expenditure and receipts to be dealt with in accordance with the legislation authorising them, including this Act and any applicable delegated authority, regulations, directives and instructions issued under this Act;
“resources” includes moneys, stores, property, assets, loans and investments;
“Statutory body” means any corporation, company, board, commission, fund or other entity which is established by an Act of the Legislature, fully or substantially funded by public funds and accountable to the Legislative Assembly; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“statutory expenditure” means expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund by the Constitution or an Act of the Legislative Assembly, including this Act, but does not include the expenditure of moneys appropriated or granted by an Appropriation Act or Supplementary Appropriation Act; and (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“Supplementary Appropriation Act” means any Act, the purpose of which is to supplement the appropriation already granted by an Appropriation Act.
(2) In this Act a reference to any provision of the Constitution of Montserrat includes a reference to a re-enactment of that provision.


PART 2
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Development of economic policy and advice by the Minister
3. (1) The Minister shall develop and implement a national macro- economic and fiscal policy framework for Montserrat for a period of not less than three years and for this purpose shall—
(a) advise Government on the total of resources to be allocated to the public sector and the appropriate level of resources to be allocated to individual programmes within that sector;
(b) advise on the state of the economy for current and projected period;
(c) supervise and monitor the public finances of Montserrat; and
(d) co-ordinate the international and inter-governmental economic and fiscal relations of Montserrat.
(2) In pursuing his policy objectives the Minister shall adhere to the principles of prudent fiscal management and seek to manage financial risks accordingly having regard to economic circumstances including the maintaining of public debt at prudent levels.
(3) As soon as possible after the commencement of this Act, the Minister shall lay before the Legislative Assembly a statement setting out the key principles of prudent financial management he will adhere to and shall keep the Legislative Assembly fully informed of any significant changes thereto through the submission of further statements. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Reporting of economic and fiscal information, performance and
projections to the Legislative Assembly
4. (1) The Minister shall on or before 31 January prepare and lay before the Legislative Assembly an economic and fiscal management plan. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) An economic and fiscal management plan prepared under subsection (1) must identify—
(a) the period considered by the Minister to be appropriate for both the short term and the long term planning;
(b) the macro-economic, fiscal policies and broad programmes to be pursued under section 3(1) for the periods identified in paragraph (a);
(c) indicators which the Minister considers will enable an accurate overall assessment to be made of the state of the economy of Montserrat;

(d) indicators which the Minister considers will enable an accurate overall assessment to be made of the state of the finances of government including indicators in respect of—
(i) revenues;
(ii) current and capital expenditures;
(iii) borrowing and debt servicing;
(iv) contingent liabilities; and
(v) such other assets and liabilities that may be considered appropriate by the Minister;
(e) any significant policy changes made since the previous economic and fiscal management plan.
(3) The Minister in the economic and fiscal management plan prepared under subsection (1), shall—
(a) assess the current and projected finances of the Government;
(b) assess the current and projected state of the economy of Montserrat;
(c) identify the total of resources to be allocated to the public sector and the appropriate level of resources to be allocated to individual programmes within that sector for the periods identified in subsection (2)(a);
(d) set targets for the indicators in subsection (2)(c) and subsection (2)(d)(i) to (v) for the current year and the periods determined by the Minister under subsection (2)(a);
(e) compare the projected outcome of the indicators for the current year with the targets set in previous years and indicate the reasons for any significant differences.
(4) The Auditor General shall, in respect of the plan of macro-economic and fiscal policies and programmes prepared under subsection (1), examine and report to the Legislative Assembly whether in his opinion—
(a) the conventions and assumptions underlying its preparation comply with the principles of prudent financial management established by the Minister under section 3(3);
(b) the information supplied in subsection (3)(e) is sufficiently accurate and that any reasons given are fair and reasonable having regard to the circumstances;
(c) the objects and activities are consistent with the approved overall macro-economic and fiscal policy.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(5) A report by the Auditor General under subsection (4) must be made at the same time as, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, the laying

before the Legislative Assembly of the economic and fiscal management plan. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(6) The Minister shall provide the Legislative Assembly with such additional reports and information as may be reasonable during the financial year that ensure the Legislative Assembly is kept fully informed of the state of the economy of Montserrat and the finances of the government. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
PART 3
CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC FINANCE
Supervision, control and management of public finances
5. (1) The Minister shall—
(a) ensure that systems are established throughout Government for planning, allocating, and budgeting for the use of resources in order to improve the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of Government;
(b) consider all requests for the issue of moneys from the Consolidated Fund and, where the Minister considers it appropriate, approve their inclusion in estimates of expenditure for submission to the Legislative Assembly in accordance with section 19; and (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(c) enhance the control of the Legislative Assembly over public resources and public moneys by maintaining transparent systems which—
(i) provide a full account to the Legislative Assembly of the use of resources and public moneys;
(ii) ensure the exercise of regularity and propriety in the handling and expenditure of resources and public money and, in particular, that goods or services are procured in a transparent, fair, equitable, competitive and cost-effective manner; and
(iii) ensure the efficient and cost-effective cash management of the Consolidated Fund, any other fund established under this Act and other public moneys;
(d) be responsible for any statutory body for which he is responsible by virtue of being a Minister of Finance responsible for that statutory body.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)


(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the Minister shall, subject to this Act, be responsible for the management of the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund and the supervision and control of all matters relating to the financial affairs of the Government.
Instructions and directives
6. (1) The Minister may give instructions or directives that may appear to the Minister necessary and expedient for the proper carrying out of the intent and purposes of the Legislative Assembly, and for the safety, economy and advantage of the public revenue and public property. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) The Minister shall take all proper steps to ensure that any directives or instructions given under this section are brought to the notice of persons directly affected by them, but it shall not be necessary to publish the directives and instructions in the Gazette.
(3) An accounting officer and a public officer to whom this section applies shall comply with any regulations issued under this Act, any directives or instructions given under them and all instructions that may from time to time be given by the Financial Secretary under section 7(5) or by the Accountant General under section 8(2).
(4) Nothing in this Act or any regulations issued under it or any instruction or directive issued by the Minister, the Financial Secretary or Accountant General shall be construed as requiring any person to do anything in respect of any moneys held on trust, which contravenes or is inconsistent with the terms of that trust.
Powers of the Financial Secretary
7. (1) The Financial Secretary may, from time to time, require an accounting officer, or the chief executive of any public organisation or any entity that manages an asset or liability of the Government, to supply any information that the Financial Secretary considers necessary for the purpose of section 3.
(2) Any requirement under subsection (1)—
(a) shall be in writing; and
(b) may specify the date by which and the manner in which the information required is to be provided, but where a date is specified, that date shall be reasonable, having regard to the information required.
(3) The Financial Secretary is responsible to the Minister for the effective application of this Act and any regulations, directives or instructions issued under this Act.
(4) The Financial Secretary shall bring to the immediate attention of the Minister any defect in the application of this Act and any regulations, directives or instructions issued under this Act that may result in a diminution of control over the resources and finances of the Government.

(5) Subject to this Act and any regulations, directives or instructions issued by the Minister under section 6, the Financial Secretary may give directives and instructions he considers necessary for the effective and efficient discharge of the intents and purposes of this Act.
(6) The Financial Secretary and any public officer authorised by him, may inspect all offices affected by this Act, and shall be—
(a) given access at all times to those offices; and
(b) given all available information he may require with regard to the moneys and records regulated by this Act for the purpose of compliance with section 4 and subsection (3).
(7) (a) The Financial Secretary may by notice in writing direct any bank or financial institution to furnish any information that he may require for the purposes of this Act or any regulations made thereunder and the Manager of such bank or financial institution shall comply with such direction.
(b) A disclosure to which paragraph (a) applies does not constitute a breach of any duty of confidentiality owed by the person making the disclosure to any other person;
(c) No civil claim or action of any kind shall lie, in respect of a disclosure to which paragraph (a) applies against the—
(i) person making that disclosure; or
(ii) persons’ principal or employer,
by reason only of that disclosure.
Designation, powers and duties of the Accountant General
8. (1) There shall be an Accountant General who shall be subject to the terms and conditions governing the Public Service.
(2) Subject to this Act, the Accountant General shall be responsible for the—
(a) compilation and management of the accounts of Government;
(b) custody and safety of public money; and
(c) resources of the Government, and
for that purpose, the Accountant General may give general instructions to accounting officers which are consistent with this Act, or any regulations, directives or instructions issued under it.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), the Accountant General shall—
(a) specify for every Government Ministry, department, fund, agency or other reporting unit required to produce accounts under section 41—
(i) the basis of the accounting to be adopted; and

(ii) the classification system to be used;
(b) ensure that an appropriate system of accounting is established in each Government Ministry, department, fund, agency, or reporting unit which is compatible with the requirements of section 41 and which ensures that all money received and paid by the Government is brought promptly and properly to account;
(c) ensure that the system of internal control in every Government Ministry, department, fund, agency, or other reporting unit required to produce accounts under section 41 is appropriate to the needs of the organisations concerned and conforms to internationally recognised standards;
(d) ensure that the internal audit function in each Government Ministry, department, fund, agency, or other reporting unit required to produce accounts under section 41 is appropriate to the needs of the organisation concerned and conforms to internationally recognised standards in respect of its status and procedures;
(e) refuse payment on any voucher which is wrong or deficient in content, or that contravenes the provisions of the Constitution or this Act or any regulations, directives or instructions properly made or given under this or any other law for the management of public money, or that is in any way unacceptable in support of a charge on public funds;
(f) report to the Financial Secretary in writing any apparent defect in departmental control of revenue, expenditure, cash, stores and other property of the Government and any breach or non- observance of any regulations, directives or instructions which may come or be brought to his notice;
(g) ensure, as far as practicable, that adequate provisions exist for the safe custody of public money, property, securities and accountable documents; and
(h) take precautions, by the maintenance of efficient checks, including surprise inspections, against the occurrence of fraud, embezzlement or mismanagement.
(4) Notwithstanding any authorisation by the Financial Secretary under section 7(6), the Accountant General may inspect all offices of Government and shall be given—
(a) access at all times to those offices; and
(b) given all available information he may require or consider necessary for the purpose of enforcing compliance with subsections (3)(a), (b), (c), (d), (g) and (h).

(5) The Accountant General shall report annually to the Financial Secretary on the discharge of his duties under this Act, and in the reports required under section 41 shall identify—
(a) the basis of the standards required by subsection (3)(b) and (c); and
(b) any defect, shortcoming or other factor which in his opinion has affected materially the Minister's responsibility under section 5(1)(c).
(6) A copy of any report issued under subsection (5) shall be sent to the Auditor General.
Designation and duties of accounting officers
9. (1) The Financial Secretary shall, with the prior approval of the Minister, designate an accounting officer by name and in writing.
(2) An accounting officer shall control and be personally accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the Public Accounts Committee or such other Committee as may be established by the Legislative Assembly for the regularity and propriety of the expenditure of money applied by an expenditure vote or any other provision to any Ministry, department, fund, agency or other entity funded wholly through the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund, and for all resources received, held or disposed of, by or on account of that Ministry, department, fund, agency or other entity. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) An accounting officer shall—
(a) whenever the necessity arises, consult the Financial Secretary on the applicability of this Act, any regulations, directives or instructions issued under this Act; and
(b) bring to the immediate attention of the Financial Secretary any defect in the application of this Act and any regulations, directives or instructions made under this Act that may result in a diminution of control over the resources and finances of Government.
(4) In the exercise of his duties under subsection (2), an accounting officer shall ensure in particular—
(a) that adequate control is exercised over the incurring of commitments;
(b) that effective systems of internal control and internal audit are in place in respect of all transactions and resources under his control; and
(c) in respect of paragraphs (a) and (b), that he complies with any instructions issued under this Act.



(5) An accounting officer shall submit to the Minister—
(a) report on programmes for which he is responsible as an accounting officer and that would be identified in the economic and fiscal management plan to be laid before the Legislative Assembly; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(b) within six months of the end of the financial year, an annual performance report on the programmes under each head or part of a head of expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund by law and identified in the main or Supplementary Appropriation that will be laid before the Legislative Assembly by the Minister,
in such form as the Minister may direct. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(6) An accounting officer shall, if so required by any regulations, directives or instructions issued under this Act, state in writing the extent to which the powers conferred and duties imposed on him, may be exercised or performed on his behalf by any public officer under his control, and shall give such directives as may be necessary to ensure the proper exercise or performance of those powers and duties.
(7) Any delegation of the powers and duties of the accounting officer under subsection (6) shall not affect the personal accountability of the accounting officer.
(8) An accounting officer shall, if so required by the Minister, establish and maintain an audit committee which shall have such constitution, powers and duties as may be determined by the Minister.
Internal Audit
10. (1) The Financial Secretary shall establish an internal audit to review the financial management systems operated by Ministries, Departments, statutory bodies and public organisations.
(2) The internal audit unit shall have the right—
(a) of access to all information held by any Ministry, Department, statutory body or public organisation;
(b) to take copies of any information referred to in paragraph (a);
(c) to require explanations from officers and employees of entities subject to review; and
(d) of access to all premises occupied by any Ministry, Department, statutory body or public organisation.


PART 4
PUBLIC FUNDS
Consolidated Fund
11. There shall be a Consolidated Fund in and for Montserrat.
Payments made in or out of Consolidated Fund
12. (1) Subject to the Constitution, and except as otherwise provided in this Act or any other enactment, public funds other than moneys that are payable by or under any law into some other fund established for a specific purpose, shall be paid into and form part of the Consolidated Fund.
(2) No moneys shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund except in the manner prescribed by this Act.
Development Fund
13. (1) There shall be a Development Fund into which shall be paid—
(a) money appropriated for the purpose of the Development Fund by the Legislature;
(b) the proceeds of a loan raised for the purpose of the Development Fund by the Government;
(c) any grant made for a development purpose by a government or an agency of a government or by a regional or international organisation.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt, any reference to moneys raised or received by the Government, does not include moneys received on deposit or moneys held on trust by or under the control of any court, officer of a court, the Public Trustee, the Attorney General or any sums of money held on trust by any other officer for purposes other than the purposes of the Government.
Special Fund and Trust Fund
14. (1) The Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet may, by regulations, establish special funds or trust funds which shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund, and the receipts, earnings and accruals of those funds at the end of the financial year, shall not be repaid to the Consolidated Fund but, shall be retained by the funds for the purposes for which they were established. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) The Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet may make regulations and issue directives for the management and control of any fund established under subsection (1). (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) Any regulation made under subsection (1) shall—
(a) state the purposes for which the special funds and trust funds is being established; and

(b) identify the accounting officer responsible for its operations.
(4) No expenditure shall be incurred by a special fund or trust fund except under the authority of a warrant signed by the Minister and addressed to the responsible accounting officer.
(5) A warrant mentioned in subsection (4) shall not be issued in respect of any financial year unless estimates of the income and expenditure of the special fund or trust fund for that financial year, prepared in accordance with instructions issued by the Financial Secretary and approved by the Minister, have been laid before the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(6) Where the Legislative Assembly is dissolved under the provisions of section 67 of the Constitution less than three months before the commencement of any financial year, the estimates for that year may be laid before the Legislative Assembly as soon as practicable after the commencement of that year and section 22 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the authorisation of withdrawals from the fund. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(7) Where the Minister is satisfied that either—
(a) the moneys forming part of any special fund or trust fund are exhausted and no legal provision exists for any further moneys to be paid into the fund; or
(b) that it is in the public interest to wind up a special fund or trust fund,
the Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet on the recommendation of the Minister may, by regulation, dissolve the fund and any moneys or other resources standing to the credit of the fund at the time of winding up, shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(8) Where the accounting officer for the fund being wound up under subsection (7) is not the Financial Secretary, the Minister shall not wind up the fund unless the Minister responsible for the operations of the special fund or trust fund has been consulted.
Contingencies
15. (1) The Minister, if he is satisfied that due to exceptional circumstances which could not have been foreseen an urgent need for expenditure has arisen—
(a) for which no moneys have been appropriated or for which the sum appropriated is insufficient; and
(b) which cannot be deferred without detriment to the public interest,
may by warrant under his hand, addressed to the Accountant General, authorise advances not exceeding two million dollars from the Consolidated Fund to meet that need in anticipation of the grant of an Appropriation by the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)

(2) Where an advance is made from the Consolidated Fund under subsection (1), a Supplementary Appropriation including the amount advanced shall be submitted to the Legislative Assembly for approval at its next sitting. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) Upon the grant of an appropriation to meet the expenditure in respect of which an advance was made under the provisions of this section, the Contingency Warrant authorising such advance shall lapse and shall cease to have effect and the advance shall be deemed to have been made for the purpose of the grant and shall be accounted for accordingly.
(4) Notwithstanding the provision of this section the Government of Montserrat can make other arrangements for meeting emergency such as a fund and a reserve.
Investment of and advances from the Consolidated Fund
16. (1) Any sums standing to the credit of the Consolidated Fund may be invested—
(a) with a bank at call; or
(b) subject to notice not exceeding twelve months; or
(c) in an investment authorised by law for the investment of trust funds and approved by the Minister.
(2) The Minister may, by warrant signed by him and addressed to the Accountant General, authorise temporary advances from the Consolidated Fund—
(a) to special fund or trust fund; and
(b) to public officers, for the purpose of funding expenditure approved under an Appropriation Act or a Supplementary Appropriation Act;
(c) on behalf of and recoverable from other Governments and administrations,
and those advances issued under paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be repaid before the end of the financial year.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, any investment or advance made under this section, shall not constitute a withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Fund.
Withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund
17. (1) No money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund except upon the authority of a warrant signed by the Minister and addressed to the Accountant General.
(2) A warrant shall not be issued by the Minister for the purpose of meeting any expenditure unless the Accountant General certifies that there is sufficient sum available and the expenditure—

(a) has been authorised for the financial year during which the withdrawal is to take place by—
(i) an Appropriation Act; or
(ii) a Supplementary Appropriation Act; or
(iii) a warrant issued under sections 15, 16 and 22;
(b) is a statutory expenditure;
(c) is for the purpose of repaying any moneys that are received in error by the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund; or
(d) is for the purpose of paying sums required for any advance, refund, rebate or drawback where the payment of the advance, refund, rebate or drawback is provided for in this or any other Act.
(3) The Minister may suspend, withdraw, limit or place conditions on any warrant or other authority issued by him if the Minister is satisfied that such action is required by reason of a financial exigency or is in the public interest.
Virement
18. (1) The Financial Secretary shall by virement signed by him, authorise an accounting officer to incur expenditure up to the limits specified in the virement and for the purpose and subject to the conditions contained in the virement.
(2) A virement shall not be issued by the Financial Secretary unless the sum and purpose for which it is issued have been included in a warrant issued by the Minister under section 17(1).
(3) A virement issued by the Financial Secretary shall be subject to the limits and conditions determined by the Minister under the powers conferred on the Minister by section 17(3).
(4) The Accountant General shall not make any payment or accept any charge in his accounts, nor shall accounting officers make any payment unless authorised by virement to do so.


PART 5
AUTHORISATION OF EXPENDITURE
Estimates of revenue and expenditure
19. (1) The Minister shall cause to be prepared and laid before the Legislative Assembly as soon as is practicable, and in any case not later than the commencement of each financial year—
(a) estimates of the revenues and financing requirements of the Government for that year and the allocation of these between the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund;
(b) estimates of the expenditure of the Government to be met through the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund for that year allocated between those expenditure votes or projects the Minister may consider appropriate and shall include for each expenditure vote or projects—
(i) a statement of the purposes for which the vote or project is to be used and which shall be consistent with the policy objective outlined in the macro-economic and fiscal management plan;
(ii) the identity of the accounting officer appointed under section 9 responsible for the vote or project; and
(iii) in respect of each vote a statement of the classes of outputs expected to be provided from that vote during the year and the performance criteria to be met in providing those outputs; and
(c) an estimate of the amount required for guarantees to be issued for the following financial year under section 35.
(2) Where the Legislative Assembly is dissolved under the provisions of section 67 of the Constitution less than three months before the commencement of any financial year, the estimates for that year may be laid before the Legislative Assembly as soon as practicable after the commencement of that year.
(3) The Minister shall at the time of submission of the estimates under subsection (1) submit for the approval of the Legislative Assembly such resolutions as are required by sections 30(3), 35(2) and 54(1) and (2) in respect of the financial year to which estimates relate.
(4) The Minister shall at the time of submission of the estimates under subsection (1) submit for the approval of the Legislative Assembly a budget statement which—
(a) sets out the main policies and programmes of government for the ensuing financial year in respect of taxation, other revenues, expenditure, borrowings and such other activities which have potential budgetary implications; and

(b) identifies any changes to the indicators submitted under section 4(2)(c) and (d) and gives reasons therefor.
(5) The Minister shall prepare estimates of expenditure for three financial years and the Minister shall lay such estimates before the Legislative Assembly.
(6) The expenditure votes and the amount to be issued as advances contained in the estimates, other than statutory expenditure, shall be included in an Appropriation Bill which shall be introduced into the Legislative Assembly to provide for the issue from the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums for the purposes specified in the Bill.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Supplementary estimates
20. (1) Where in respect of any financial year, it is found that the amount appropriated by an Appropriation Act is insufficient, or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by that Act, a supplementary estimate, showing the amount required shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly, and the expenditure votes shall be included in a Supplementary Appropriation Bill to be introduced in the Legislative Assembly to provide for their appropriation. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) A supplementary estimate prepared under subsection (1) shall indicate any effect on the financing requirements of Government submitted under section 19(1)(a) and any expected changes to the statement provided under section 19(1)(b)(iii).
Excess expenditure
21. (1) Where at the close of accounts for any financial year, it is found that moneys have been expended—
(a) on any expenditure vote in excess including outstanding commitments of the amount appropriated for it by an Appropriation Act;
(b) for a purpose for which no moneys have been voted and appropriated; or
(c) in excess of the sum assigned to an estimate forming part of an expenditure vote in the estimates of expenditure approved by the Legislative Assembly for the financial year, and to which no further sum has been applied under this Act or any regulations issued under it; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(d) in excess of the sum appropriated for the issue of advances under section 16(2)(a) and (c).
the amount of the excess expended, or not appropriated, as the case may be, shall be included in a statement of expenditure in excess which shall be laid

before the Legislative Assembly and referred to the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) The Public Accounts Committee shall report to the Legislative Assembly on a statement of expenditure in excess referred to it under subsection (1) within three months after it is referred to it. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) Where on receiving any report of the Public Accounts Committee issued under subsection (1), the Legislative Assembly, by means of a motion, allows the excess or the amount expended but not appropriated, to stand charged to public funds, the sum required to meet that excess or that amount as shall be allowed shall be included in a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for appropriation. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(4) Any excess or any amount expended but not appropriated and which is not allowed in terms of subsection (2), shall be treated as a loss of public moneys and dealt with in accordance with section 49(2). (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Provision if Appropriation Act not in force
22. (1) Where the Minister is satisfied that the Appropriation Act in respect of any financial year, will not or has not come into operation by the beginning of any financial year, the Minister may, by Provisional General Warrant under his hand, addressed to the Accountant General, authorise the issue of moneys from the Consolidated Fund or Development Fund Account for purposes of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government until the expiration of four months from the beginning of that financial year, or from the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act, whichever is the earlier.
(2) A sum authorised under subsection (1) shall not exceed one third of the amount in respect of that service approved in the appropriation and supplementary appropriation Acts passed by the Legislative Assembly in the previous financial year. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Duration of appropriations and warrants
23. Every appropriation by the Legislative Assembly of public moneys for the service of a financial year, and every warrant or other authority issued under this Act in respect of a financial year, shall lapse and cease to have any effect at the close of that year and the unexpended balance of any moneys withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund shall be repaid to the Consolidated Fund. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)


PART 6
PAYMENTS
Authority for payment
24. Subject to the provisions of section 17, any payment made from the Consolidated Fund shall be authorised by warrant under the hand of the Minister.
General Warrant
25. (1) Subject to section 17 and on the coming into operation of an Appropriation Act and any Supplementary Appropriation Act, the Minister shall authorise the Accountant General by General Warrant under his hand to pay out of the Consolidated Fund such sums as may be required to pay for the services approved by the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) Notwithstanding the issue of a General Warrant it shall be within the discretion of the Minister to limit or suspend at any time any expenditure excluding statutory expenditure, with or without cancellation of the General Warrant if, in his opinion, financial exigencies of the public interest so require.
Advance Warrant
26. (1) Subject to the provision of this section, the Minister may, by Advance Warrant under his hand, authorise the Accountant General to make disbursements of moneys forming part of the Consolidated Fund or of other public moneys for the purposes of making advances—
(a) on behalf of, and recoverable from, other Governments and administrations;
(b) to, or on account of, the Development Fund or any Special Fund where such advances are recoverable before the close of the financial year in which such advances are made;
(c) to meet expenditure authorised by a Loan Act in anticipation of the receipt of any installment of the loan authorised by such Act;
(d) to public or police officers for any purposes and on terms as may be prescribed from time to time.
(2) The total of the sums issued and disbursed for the purpose of making advances under subsection (1)(c) and (d) shall not exceed in the aggregate at any time, after deducting repayments, an amount of $5,000,000 of the recurrent revenue for the previous financial year.
Imprest Warrants
27. (1) The Minister may, by Imprest Warrant under his hand, authorise the Accountant General to issue imprest from the Consolidated Fund to officers for any purpose for which moneys have been appropriated.

(2) Any officer to whom an imprest has been issued pursuant to subsection (1) shall retire that imprest before the end of the financial year in which the imprest was issued or, if some earlier date is specified in the Imprest Warrant, on or before that earlier date.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) where any officer fails to retire an imprest in accordance with the provisions of that subsection, the Accountant General shall forthwith recover the amount of the imprest by deduction from the salary or other emoluments of that officer in any manner as the Financial Secretary directs.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2and any other Act, a Minister of the Government shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed to be a public officer.
Departmental Warrant
28. An accounting officer may, by Departmental Warrant under his hand, authorise any officer named in that warrant to incur expenditure against any vote under his control.
Warrant to lapse
29. A warrant issued under this Part shall lapse and cease to have effect on the date specified in the warrant or at the end of the financial year in which it is issued, whichever is earlier.
PART 7
LOANS, GUARANTEES AND GRANTS
Authority to raise loans
30. (1) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, the authority to raise money by loan, to issue guarantees and to accept grants for and on behalf of the Government shall vest solely in the Minister and no other person, or public organisation shall, without the prior approval of the Minister, raise any loan or issue any guarantee, or take any other action which may in any way either directly or indirectly result in a liability being incurred by the Government.
(2) Loans may be raised upon such terms and conditions as to interest, repayment or otherwise as may be negotiated by the Minister but, only for the purpose of—
(a) financing budget deficits;
(b) refinancing maturing debts;
(c) obtaining foreign currency;
(d) furthering a prudent economic and fiscal management programme;
(e) on-lending to an approved institution; or

(f) otherwise defraying expenditure which may lawfully be defrayed.
(3) The net amount that the Minister may borrow under this section in any financial year shall not exceed the amount, if any, approved by the Legislative Assembly by resolution for that financial year. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Moneys borrowed to be paid into the Consolidated Fund or
Development Fund
31. (1) All moneys raised under section 30 shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund and shall form part of it and be available in the manner in which that fund is available.
(2) Where a loan has been raised for the purposes of the Development Fund or for a purpose for which a special fund has been established under section 14(3), the Minister may, by order signed by him, direct that the whole or a part of the amount of the loan shall be paid into and form part of the Development Fund or special fund.
Raising of loans
32. (1) Subject to section 30 loans may be raised by—
(a) the issue by the Minister, of Government bills, bonds or stock; or
(b) any other method the Minister may deem expedient, including a fluctuating overdraft.
(2) A loan raised under subsection (1)(a), shall be subject to the conditions contained in the Treasury Bills Act and Development Bonds Act.
(3) The terms and conditions of any loan raised under this section shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly and the loan shall not come into operation unless the terms and conditions of the loan have been approved by the Legislative Assembly by resolution. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Repayment, conversion and consolidation of loans
33. The Minister may, on terms and conditions the Minister may determine and, where necessary, with the approval of the lender—
(a) repay any loan prior to the redemption date of that loan;
(b) convert the loan into any other loan; or
(c) consolidate two or more loans into an existing or new loan:
Provided such terms and conditions have been approved by the Legislative Assembly by resolution.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)

Expenses of loans
34. All expenses incurred or incidental to the raising of loans raised under section 30 or 32 must be charged to and accounted through the Consolidated Fund.
Authority to guarantee loans
35. (1) Where the Minister is satisfied that it is in the public interest, he may, with the approval of the Legislative Assembly, and on behalf of the Government, guarantee the repayment of the principal money and the payment of the interest and other charges on any loan raised either within or outside Montserrat in the manner and on conditions he may think fit by—
(a) a statutory body; or
(b) any other authority or body to which section 45(7)(b) or (c) applies.
(2) The net amount that the Minister may guarantee under this section in any financial year shall not exceed the amount, if any, approved by the Legislative Assembly by resolution for that financial year.

(3) The Minister must at least annually report the circumstances relating to any payments under a guarantee issued under subsection (1) to the Speaker for tabling in the Legislative Assembly.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Beneficiary to reimburse all costs
36. (1) Where a guarantee is given under section 35, the statutory body, or other authority or body, for whose benefit that guarantee is given, shall reimburse the Government in the manner the Minister may direct—
(a) all sums of moneys which the Government has paid to fulfil the guarantee; and
(b) all the expenses which the Government incurs in relation to the guarantee and, in addition, shall pay the Government the interest or service charge in relation to that sum or money paid by the Government or expense incurred by the Government, as the Minister may direct.
(2) All moneys received under subsection (1) shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Receipt of grants
37. (1) Grants made to the Government by a foreign government or any other person shall be received by the Minister on behalf of the Government.

(2) Section 31 shall apply to any sum of money received by the Government by way of a grant.
Amounts due on loans or guarantees to be charged on Consolidated
Fund
38. Any sum of money due from the Government—
(a) in respect of any loan either by way of repayment or payment of interest; or
(b) by way of interest on or otherwise in respect of any bond or stock issued under section 32; or
(c) in respect of any guarantee given under section 35;
(d) in respect of any expenditure incurred under section 34,
shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund without further appropriation.
Minister to specify particulars in annual estimates
39. The Minister shall, in the annual estimates of public revenue and expenditure submitted to the Legislative Assembly, specify the amount required to meet the cost of servicing all loans raised under this Act whether by repayment of capital or payment of interest or other charges incurred on the loan for the financial year to which these estimates relate, and the amount expected to be raised from loans and grants during that year. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Delegation by the Minister
40. The Minister may, by order signed by him, delegate to a public officer—
(a) his functions under this Act relating to the negotiation of a loan, guarantee or grant; and
(b) the authority to execute on behalf of the Government any agreement or other instrument relating to a loan or guarantee raised or given under this Act.
PART 8
PREPARATION OF ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS
Annual accounts
41. (1) After the end of each financial year—
(a) the Accountant General shall prepare and submit to the Auditor General and the Minister the accounts set out in paragraph 1 of the Schedule to this Act, within a period of 4 months, or any

longer period the Legislative Assembly may, by resolution appoint; and (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(b) each accounting officer shall within three months prepare and submit to the Minister and the Auditor General, with a copy to the Accountant General, in respect of the financial year and in respect of the votes, revenues, resources and moneys for which the accounting officer is responsible, the accounts and information set out in paragraph 2 of the Schedule to this Act.
(2) The Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet may, by regulation, and for the purpose of section 5(1)(c), amend paragraph 2 of the Schedule to this Act. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) Any accounting officer administering a special fund, and any accounting officer or other public officer administering any agency, trust or other fund or account not provided for in this section, shall prepare, sign and submit to the Accountant General, with a copy to the Auditor General, an account of the agency, trust, fund, or account in the form the Accountant General may from time to time direct.
(4) All accounts submitted under this section shall—
(a) where directed by the Accountant General, be prepared in accordance with the generally accepted accounting practice and in all cases in accordance with any instructions issued by the Accountant General;
(b) identify any significant departures from the generally accepted accounting practice as recognised by the accounting profession in Montserrat and approved by the Accountant General for use in Government and shall state the reasons for those departures; and
(c) state the basis of accounting used in their preparation, identify any significant departures from it and the reasons for the departure.
Annual and other reports
42. (1) On receiving the accounts prescribed by section 41, the Auditor General shall cause them to be examined and audited and shall, within six months, or such longer period as the Legislative Assembly may by resolution appoint, after the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate, certify, in respect of each account, the result of the examination and audit.
(2) The Auditor General shall within the period mentioned in subsection (1), prepare a report upon the examination and audit of all the accounts received in subsection (1) and submit the report to the Legislative Assembly.
(3) The Auditor General may, at any time, if it appears to him desirable, submit to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and to the Minister a special report on any matter incidental to his powers and duties.

(4) The Legislative Assembly or the Minister may at any time request the Auditor General to make a special report on any matter.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
PART 9
CONTROL OF THE FINANCES OF STATUTORY BODIES
Interpretation
43. In this Part, “appropriate Minister”, in relation to a statutory body, means the Minister under whose portfolio the statutory body falls.
Estimates of expenditures by statutory bodies
44. (1) A statutory body shall, as prescribed by regulation, submit to the appropriate Minister for his approval—
(a) the estimates of its recurrent and capital expenditure and its estimates of revenue and other financing required for that year; and
(b) a corporate plan covering the affairs of such body for that year,
in such form as the Minister may direct.
(2) The appropriate Minister shall, before the commencement of the financial year of the statutory body, submit to the Minister of Finance for his approval the estimates of recurrent and capital expenditure and its estimates of revenue and other financing required by the statutory body and corporate plan covering the affair of such body for that year.
(3) The statutory body shall, whenever the appropriate Minister or the Minister of Finance directs, furnish any further information in relation to its estimates of recurrent and capital expenditure and its estimates of revenue and other financing required or the corporate plan.
(4) The estimates of recurrent and capital expenditure of the statutory body and its estimates of revenue and other financing required and the corporate plan as approved by the appropriate Minister may not be altered without the approval of the appropriate Minister.
(5) The appropriate Minister shall, without delay after approval by the Minister of Finance, lay the estimates and corporate plans as approved by the appropriate Minister before the Legislative Assembly, if the Legislative Assembly is sitting, and, if it is not sitting, then without delay at its next sitting. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(6) The Minister may, where he has reason to believe that a statutory body has or may have failed to implement the corporate plan as submitted under subsection (1), authorise the Financial Secretary to carry out an investigation into, or inspection of, the records of that statutory body.

Control of accounts of public organisations
45. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any law in force, the accounts of any public organisation shall be audited by the Auditor General.
(2) In the exercise of his duties under this section, the Auditor General—
(a) shall have the same discretion and powers in relation to the moneys, stamps, securities, stores and other property of a public organisation, as are conferred upon the Auditor General by the Audit Act, as if the moneys, stamps, securities, stores or other property of the public organisation were public moneys and government property respectively, and, the officials of the public organisation were public officers in the employment of Government; and
(b) may authorise any person eligible to be appointed as an auditor of a company, or any public officer to inspect, examine or audit on behalf of the Auditor General the books and accounts of anybody which the Auditor General may be required to audit by this section and that person or officer shall conduct the audit and report on it to the Auditor General in a form to be determined by the Auditor General.
(3) The Auditor General shall prepare a report on the audit of the accounts referred to in this section and shall send them to the Minister and to the public organisation concerned.
(4) The public organisation shall within twenty one days—
(a) submit to the Minister its observations on the report submitted in subsection (3); and
(b) send a certified copy of such observations to the Auditor General.
(5) The Minister shall, within two calendar months after receiving the report prepared by the Auditor General under subsection (2), cause the report, and any observations made on it by a public organisation under subsection (2), and any observations by the Minister, to be laid before the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(6) The Auditor General shall raise a charge on any public organisation audited or reported on under this section, for the costs of conducting the audits and preparing the reports and such charges shall be paid by the respective public organisation on demand into the Consolidated Fund.
(7) This section applies to—
(a) any statutory bodies;
(b) any authority established by an Act which is in receipt of a contribution from, or the operations of which may, under the

Act establishing it or any Act relating to it, impose or create a liability upon the public funds of Montserrat;
(c) any public body which has in any of its financial year received more than half its income from public funds; or
(d) any entity, which is audited by the Auditor General under any Act.
PART 10
SURCHARGE
Power to surcharge
46. (1) If, at any time, the Financial Secretary brings to the attention of the Minister moneys or public stores have been lost or damaged, and if, within a period specified by the Minister an explanation satisfactory to him is not furnished by the responsible officer with regard to such loss or damage, the Minister in consultation with the Financial Secretary shall surcharge against that officer the amount which appears to him to be the loss suffered by the Government, or the value of the property lost or damaged as the case may be, or a lesser amount as the Minister may determine.
(2) Any officer who contravenes any provision of this Act or of any Regulations made hereunder shall be liable to a surcharge in such sum as may be determined by the Minister in consultation with the Financial Secretary after due inquiry.
(3) The amount of the surcharge made under subsection (2) shall not exceed 1/10 of the annual salary of the officer concerned.
Circumstances of action
47. The circumstances which may give rise to action under section 46 include—
(a) failure to collect any moneys owing to Government for the collection of which a person is or was at the time responsible;
(b) payment of public moneys in excess of amounts authorised under the Financial Regulations;
(c) making, allowing or directing any payment of public moneys without proper authority, or proper evidence that the amount was due;
(d) payment of public moneys without obtaining proper evidence of the identity of the payee;
(e) responsibility for any deficiency in, loss or destruction of or damage to any public moneys, stamps, securities, stores or other public property;

(f) failure to render accurate accounts by a person whose duties require him to render such accounts;
(g) signing an incorrect or false certificate on a voucher;
(h) mixing public moneys with other moneys; or
(i) failure to observe Financial Regulations or Procurement and Stores Regulations or other directions or instructions given under proper authority.
Notification of surcharge
48. The Financial Secretary shall notify in writing the decision of the Minister to surcharge—
(a) the person surcharged;
(b) the accounting officer of the department concerned;
(c) the Accountant General; and
(d) the Auditor General.
Appeal against surcharge
49. (1) Any person who is aggrieved by any surcharge made against him under the provisions of section 46 may appeal to the responsible authority under the public service law, within one month from the date on which he is notified of the surcharge.
(2) The responsible authority under the public service law, after making or causing to be made such investigation as it deems to be necessary, may confirm the surcharge or direct that the person surcharged be released wholly or in part from the surcharge as may appear to be just and reasonable.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Withdrawal of surcharge
50. The Minister may at any time withdraw any surcharge in respect of which a satisfactory explanation is received or if it otherwise appears to him that no surcharge should have been made and in that event the Financial Secretary shall notify all the persons notified under section 48 of the decision of the Minister to withdraw the surcharge.
Recovery of surcharge
51. (1) The Accountant General, on being notified of a surcharge made under section 46, shall cause the amount of the surcharge to be recovered from the person surcharged in such a manner as the Financial Secretary directs.
(2) No recoveries shall be made under subsection (1) until after the expiration of the period allowed under section 49 for the lodging of any appeal, and where the person surcharged appeals under the provisions of that

section, no recoveries shall be made until and unless the surcharge has been confirmed or otherwise determined.
(3) The amount of the surcharge made under the provisions of this Part shall be recovered as the Financial Secretary may direct and may be deducted from any salary, pension or other emoluments of the person surcharged:
Provided that—
(a) no monthly installment payable in respect of a surcharge shall exceed 1/4 of the gross monthly salary or pension of the person surcharged; and
(b) where the person surcharged is due to be paid any moneys by the Government other than by way of salary or pension or other emolument, the Financial Secretary may require the amount of any surcharge imposed on that person to be deducted from such moneys in whole or in part as he considers just and reasonable.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of Government to sue for and recover the amount of any surcharge as a civil debt due to the Government.
Penalties and surcharge
52. (1) Where a public officer without reasonable excuse, fails to provide by the due date any information that the Financial Secretary may reasonably require under section 7(1), such failure may be reported by the Financial Secretary to the responsible authority under the public service law for appropriate action. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) Where—
(a) a loss of or deficiency in public money or other money occurs that has been advanced to or was under the control of a public officer, or
(b) a loss or deficiency of or damage to public property or other property occurs while the property was in the care of a public officer, and the Minister is satisfied after due enquiry, that the negligence or misconduct of the public officer caused or contributed to the loss or deficiency—
(i) the amount of the loss or deficiency;
(ii) the value of the property lost or destroyed; or
(iii) the cost of replacing or repairing the damage to that property,
as the case may be, shall be a debt due to the Government, and may be recovered from the public officer either administratively or through a court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) Where the negligence or misconduct of a public officer is not the sole cause of any loss, deficiency or destruction resulting in an action under

subsection (1), the amount recoverable from the public officer may be restricted to only the cost of replacing or repairing the loss, deficiency, damage or destruction that the Minister in consultation with the Financial Secretary considers, after due enquiry, to be just and equitable, having regard to the contribution made by the public officer to that loss, deficiency, damage or destruction.
(4) In this section a reference to a public officer includes a person who has been a public officer.
PART 11
MISCELLANEOUS
Bank accounts
53. A public or official account shall not be opened in any bank without the prior authority of the Accountant General in writing; and the continued operation of that account shall be subject to the terms and conditions the Accountant General may, from time to time, determine.
Abandonment of claims etc. and write off of public money and stores
54. (1) The Minister may, if so authorised by a resolution of the Legislative Assembly, and to the extent specified in the resolution, abandon and remit any claims by or on behalf of the Government, or any service to government and write off losses of or deficiencies in public moneys or public resources. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) A resolution referred to in subsection (1) may specify the maximum amount authorised for each write off or abandonment and the total sum authorised to be written-off or abandoned in a financial year.
(3) The Minister may, in writing and signed by the Minister, delegate to any officer any powers which the Minister is authorised to exercise by a resolution of the Legislative Assembly under this section. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Gift of stores and other property
55. (1) The Financial Secretary may authorise the gift of any stores not required by Government purposes to institutions or organisations in Montserrat established solely or principally for educational, scientific, cultural or charitable purposes.
(2) Where the value of such gift exceeds $5,000 the prior approval of the Minister shall be obtained.


Annulment by the Legislative Assembly of regulations
56. A regulation made under this Act shall—
(a) be laid before the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible after its publication in the Gazette;
(b) be subject to annulment by the Legislative Assembly by resolution after twenty one days after its being laid before the Legislative Assembly; and
(c) cease to have effect after it is annulled by the Legislative Assembly but without prejudice to the making of a further instrument or to its previous operation.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Amendment of Schedule
57. The Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet may by regulations amend the Schedule to this Act. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Regulations
58. The Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet may make regulations for the better carrying out of this Act and, without limitation, may make regulations—
(a) prescribing anything that by this Act may be prescribed by regulation;
(b) exempting a statutory body from the definition of statutory body for the purpose of this Act or any provision of this Act;
(c) respecting the collection, receipt, custody, banking, expenditure, due accounting for, care and management of, and forms of records relating to public money;
(d) respecting the custody, handling and proper accounting for stamps, investments or securities, whether the property of the Government or on deposit with, or entrusted to, the Government or to any public officer in his official capacity, or any other person;
(e) respecting the use of technology as it applies to the preparation and management of the financial and accounting system of Montserrat including—
(i) electronic authorisation;
(ii) electronic certification;
(iii) digital signature; and
(iv) techniques relating to the security, integrity and access to financial information;

(f) respecting the procurement of goods and services including the designation of persons with authority to award contracts, or the establishment of a board charged with the award of contracts, or classes of contracts, or charged with advising on the award of contracts and the definition of the powers of such a board, or both the designation of persons and the establishment of a Tenders Board;
(g) defining “government property” and “stores”;
(h) respecting government property including such matters as the responsibility for making and maintaining up-to-date inventories, the form of and the information to be kept in such inventories and writing off government property and declaring government property surplus and disposing of it;
(i) respecting stores including their classification and operation, the writing off of stores and declaring stores surplus and disposing of them;
(j) prescribing fees for dishonoured cheques. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Repeals and savings
59. (1) The Finance (Administration) Act (Cap. 17.07) is repealed.
(2) Any regulations made under any Act repealed by subsection (1) and are in force at the commencement of this Act, shall continue in force as if made under this Act, and until otherwise repealed.
Transitional provisions
60. (1) Any loan raised by the Government under any Act and in respect of which any liability is subsisting immediately before the commencement, shall be deemed to be a loan raised under this Act notwithstanding that the amount of the loan or any obligation undertaken by the Government in respect of the loan exceeds any limitation imposed by this Act or any Act repealed by this Act.
(2) All bills, bonds and other securities issued under any Act and subsisting immediately before the commencement, shall continue in effect and be binding in the same manner and to the same extent as if they were issued under this Act.
(3) Notwithstanding section 2—
(a) the first financial year commencing on 1 April shall be the financial year commencing from 1 April 2010;
(b) the financial year immediately prior to that defined in paragraph (a) shall be a period of fifteen months ending on 31 March 2010.

Precedence of this Act
61. This Act shall take precedence over all other existing Acts related to public finance and any Act in contradiction with this Act is modified to conform with the provisions of this Act.
______________
SCHEDULE
(Section 41)
PROVISIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF ACCOUNTS
Accounts to be submitted by the Accountant General
1. The following accounts shall be submitted to the Auditor General and the
Minister by the Accountant General—
(a) a balance sheet showing the consolidated assets and liabilities of all public funds and other entities wholly funded through the
Consolidated Fund;
(b) a consolidated statement of the cash flow for all public funds and other entities wholly funded through the Consolidated Fund showing
the revenues, expenditures and financing for the year;
(c) a balance sheet showing the assets and liabilities of the Consolidated Fund;
(d) a balance sheet showing the assets and liabilities of the Development Fund;
(e) a statement of the cash flow for the Consolidated Fund showing the revenues, expenditures and financing of the fund for the year;
(f) a statement of cash flow for the Development Fund showing the revenues, expenditures and financing of the fund for the year;
(g) a summary statement of revenue and expenditure, being a summary of all the statements signed by accounting officers under paragraphs 2(a)
and (c) of this Schedule;
(h) a statement of the amounts outstanding at the end of the year in respect of the Public Debt;
(i) a statement of the amounts guaranteed by the Government at the end of the financial year in respect of bank overdrafts, loans, public loan
issues and other contingent liabilities;
(j) a summary statement of revenue and expenditure of the Consolidated Fund and Development Fund, being a summary of all the statements
signed by accounting officers under paragraphs 2(a) and (c) of this Schedule;
(k) a statement of the amount outstanding at the end of the year in respect of loans issued by the Government;

(l) a statement of investments held by the Government at the end of the year showing the original cost and current value;
(m) a statement of the net worth of all statutory bodies as at the end of the financial year;
(n) a statement of losses of public moneys and stores written-off and claims abandoned during the financial year and the authority for such
write off or abandonment;
(o) a statement of losses of public moneys and stores reported during the year whether written-off or not;
(p) a summary statement of arrears of revenue for each revenue head, being a summary of the statements of arrears of revenue signed by
accounting officers under paragraph 2(d) of this Schedule;
(q) a summary statement of commitments outstanding for the supply of goods and services for each vote at the end of the financial year being
a summary of the amount included for such commitments in the
statement signed by accounting officers under paragraph 2(b) of this Schedule;
(r) a summary statement of stores and other assets for each vote, being a summary of the statement of assets signed by accounting officers
under paragraph 2(e) of this Schedule; and
(s) any other statement and in the form the Legislative Assembly may from time to time require. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Accounts to be submitted by accounting officers
2. The following accounts shall be submitted to the Accountant General by
accounting officers—
(a) an appropriation account signed by the accounting officer showing the services for which the moneys expended were voted, the sums
actually expended on each service, and the state of each vote
compared with the amount appropriated for that vote by the
Legislative Assembly; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(b) a statement signed by the accounting officer and in the form the Accountant General may direct containing the amount of
commitments outstanding for the supply, goods and services at the
end of the financial year and any other information the Minister may
require;
(c) a statement of revenues received signed by the accounting officer and in the form the Accountant General may direct showing the amount
contained in the estimates of revenue for each source of revenue, the
amount actually collected and containing an explanation for any variation between the revenues actually collected and the amount
estimated;

(d) a statement of arrears of revenue signed by the accounting officer showing the amount outstanding at the end of the financial year for
each source of revenue and containing information in the form the
Accountant General may direct; a nil return should be submitted if
appropriate;
(e) a statement of assets signed by the accounting officer containing details and values of all unallocated stores under his control at the end
of the financial year, together with the details and values of any other
classes of assets under the control of the accounting officer as the
Accountant General may from time to time determine;
(f) a statement of performance providing each class of outputs provided during the year signed by the accounting officer that—
(i) compares that performance with the forecast of the performance
contained in the estimates laid before the Legislative Assembly
under section 19(1)(b)(iii); and (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(ii) gives particulars of the extent to which the performance criteria
specified in that estimate in relation to the provision of those
outputs was satisfied;
(g) a list of all outstanding commitments or bills remaining unpaid at the end of a financial year; and
(h) any other statements and in the form the Accountant General may from time to time require.
___________



PROCUREMENT AND STORES REGULATIONS
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
REGULATION
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART 2
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CARE AND CUSTODY OF STORES
3. Accounting Officer
4. Stores
5. Stores Accountant
6. Key holders
7. Other officers

PART 3
PROCUREMENT OF STORES AND SERVICES
8. – 27. (Repealed by S.R.O. 11/2012)
PART 4
ALLOCATED STORES
28. Use of allocated stores
29. Allocated Stores Ledger
30. Storage of allocated Stores
PART 5
UN-ALLOCATED STORES
31. Accounting for Stores
32. Stock limits
33. Pricing of stores
34. Un-allocated Stores Ledger
35. Stock valuation lists
36. Tabular summary
37. Bin cards

PART 6
FURNITURE AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT
38. Responsibility for furniture and equipment
39. Sale custody and care of furniture and equipment
40. Master Control Registers to be kept
41. Inventories to be maintained
42. Inventories to be checked
43. Discrepancies in inventory holdings
44. Authority for write-off
PART 7
BUILDINGS, PLANT, EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS
45. Responsibility for plant, equipment and tools
46. Register to be kept
47. Plant operating records
48. Log books
49. Stocks to be verified
50. Register of buildings
PART 8
LIVESTOCK
51. Records to be kept
52. Sale of livestock
53. Death of livestock
54. Checks to be made
55. Surpluses or deficiencies
PART 9
RECEIPTS
56. Stores to be received in stock
57. Stores received vouchers
58. Stores conversion form
59. Unused stores
60. Used stores
61. Surplus stores
62. Verification of deliveries
63. Examination of goods
64. Bulk supplies
65. Delivery of stores

66. Stores received short
67. Accounting procedure where goods are received short or damaged
68. Claims register
69. Reusable containers
PART 10
ISSUES
70. Issue of Stores
71. Stores issue vouchers
72. Stores to be charged
73. Stores issued for conversion
74. Sale of Stores
75. Responsibility of officers signing stores issue voucher
76. Issue before stores are priced
77. Monthly summaries of issues
PART 11
STOCK VERIFICATION
78. Appointment of stock verifier
79. Duties of stock verifier
80. Stock to be verified
81. Report of stock verifier
82. Inspection of stores
PART 12
SURVEY OF STORES
83. Appointment of board of survey
84. Method of conducting
85. Report of board of survey
PART 13
CONDEMNATION AND DISPOSAL OF STORES
86. Appointment of board of condemnation
87. Method of conducting board of condemnation
88. Report of board of condemnation
89. Disposal of condemned stores
90. Sale of condemned stores
91. Gift of condemned stores
92. Condemnation by accounting officer
93. Accounting for stores destroyed or disposed of

PART 14
LOSSES OF STORES
94. Definition of loss
95. Initial report of loss
96. Investigation of losses
97. Final report of loss
98. Write-off of losses
99. Accounting for losses written-off
PART 15
HANDING-OVER OF STORES
100. Procedure for handing-over of stores
101. Procedure when outgoing officer is unable to attend
PART 16
LOAN, HIRE AND SALE OF STORES
102. Authority for loan or hire of stores
103. Accounting for stores on loan or hire
104. Authority for sale of stores
105. Accounting for stores issued on sale
PART 17
STORAGE AND SECURITY OF STORES
106. Storage
107. Precautions against deterioration or fire
PART 18
ACCIDENTS
108. Appointment of Accident Investigation Board
109. Accident reports
110. Assessment of damage
111. Report to be submitted to Accident Investigations Board
112. Proceedings by the Accident Investigation Board
113. Action to be taken
114. Claims by Government
115. Claims against Government
116. Repairs to damaged plant or vehicle

PART 19
MISCELLANEOUS
117. Miscellaneous

PROCUREMENT AND STORES REGULATIONS – SECTION 58
(S.R.O.s 15/2002 and 11/2012)
Commencement
[25 January 2002]
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Procurement and Stores Regulations.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“Act” means the Public Finance (Management and Accountability) Act;
“Allocated Stores” means stores the cost of which is chargeable directly to an
appropriate sub-head of expenditure;
“Expendable Stores” means stores of a consumable nature which may be issued in
bulk without subsequent records of detailed issues;
“Stores” means stores including stores of plant, equipment, machinery, tools and
vehicles being the property or in the possession or under the control of the
Government;
“Un-allocated Stores” means stores the cost of which is chargeable to a general sub-
head of expenditure and which cannot be charged directly to an appropriate
sub-head of expenditure until they are issued for the specific work or service
concerned;
“Un-expendable Stores” means stores which are closing not of a consumable nature
and which have a life assigned to them and which will remain on ledger charge
whether in use or in store until they are written-off or disposed of.
PART 2
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CARE AND CUSTODY OF STORES
Accounting Officer
3. (1) Every accounting officer shall be responsible for—
(a) the care and custody of all stores received, held or disposed of by or on behalf of his department;
(b) the proper accounting for all receipts and issues of stores in his
department.

(2) Every accounting officer shall ensure that regular checks are made for the
verification of physical stocks and ledger balances of stores under his control.
(3) Every accounting officer shall ensure that stores under his control are
inspected regularly and reports made to him with respect to the sufficiency and
security of storage and the general condition of stores and storage facilities.
(4) At least once every year an accounting officer shall cause all weights,
measures, and scales used in his department to be examined by an inspector of weights
and measures.
Storekeeper
4. (1) Every storekeeper shall in respect of stores under his control be
responsible for—
(a) the checking, handling and storage of stores received by him;
(b) the checking, packing and dispatch of stores issued from stocks;
(c) the correctness of stock balances;
(d) the occurrence of losses, deterioration, wastage or irregular issues;
(e) the safe custody and security of allocated or un-allocated stores.
(2) Every storekeeper shall carry out monthly checks of stores on hand against
the stores ledger or bin cards and shall report to the accounting officer any surpluses,
shortages, deterioration, wastage, damage, un-serviceability or obsolescence of stores
under his control.
(3) Every storekeeper shall ensure that stocks are maintained to the required
level and shall not permit any shortages or excesses to occur.
(4) Every storekeeper shall ensure that storerooms are kept clean, properly
ventilated and secure from fire and unauthorised entry.
Stores Accountant
5. (1) Every accounting officer shall designate a suitable officer to perform the
duties of stores accountant.
(2) A stores accountant shall be responsible for—
(a) maintaining proper records of receipts and issues of stores;
(b) ensuring that procurement of goods is in accordance with these Regulations;
(c) reconciling stocks on hand with financial records;
(d) assist in the annual survey of stores and the verification of stock balances;
(e) exercising general control over the rate of consumption of expendable stores;
(f) preparing documents and performing accounting functions for the procurement of goods.

Key holders
6. (1) Accounting officers shall nominate in writing officers who will be
responsible for holding keys to storage areas.
(2) Store keys, when not in use, shall be secured against unauthorised use by
any other person.
(3) Duplicate keys to storerooms shall be secured by the responsible
accounting officer.
(4) A key holder shall be responsible for any loss from a storage area due to
the loss of a key or to any failure on his part to comply with these Regulations.
Other officers
7. Every officer is responsible for stores under his control or in his custody.
PART 3
PROCUREMENT OF STORES AND SERVICES
8. – 27. Deleted by S.R.O.11/2012
PART 4
ALLOCATED STORES
Use of allocated stores
28. (1) Except as otherwise provided, allocated stores shall be issued to and used
on the service or project to which such stores have been charged.
(2) Allocated stores shall not be issued for use on any other service or project
except on the authority of the accounting officer.
(3) Allocated stores issued for use on any other service or project shall be
accounted for by journal entry transferring the charge to the service or project on
which the stores are used.
Allocated Stores Ledger
29. An allocated stores ledger shall be maintained in such manner as may be
approved by the Accountant General from time to time.
Storage of allocated Stores
30. Accounting officers shall ensure that allocated stores are securely stored and
physically separate from un-allocated or any other stores.

PART 5
UN-ALLOCATED STORES
Accounting for Stores
31. (1) An accounting officer responsible for maintaining un-allocated stores shall
ensure that accurate accounts are maintained for all receipts and issues of such stores.
(2) Un-allocated stores shall be accounted for by both quantities and values
and the accounts shall indicate the unit cost of each item of stores.
Stock limits
32. Every accounting officer responsible for un-allocated stores shall ensure that
the total value of stores on hand at any time does not exceed the authorised stock limit.
Pricing of stores
33. (1) The price of un-allocated stores for accounting purposes shall be
determined on the basis of a unit of quantity and shall include the invoice price,
freight, insurance, inspection fee, local transportation, handling and all other charges
related to the purchase and storage of such stores.
(2) No other expense shall be charged against un-allocated stores which are
not taken into account in the costing of the value of the stores.
(3) The issue price per unit shall be arrived at by dividing the total cost of an
item of stores by the number of units of quantity and will be fixed at the nearest whole
cent.
(4) The issue price per unit shall be revised whenever new purchases are made
to replenish any particular item of stores.
(5) When on calculating an issue price per unit the total cost is not divisible
by the number of units, the amount over or under the cost price shall be accounted for
in a price adjustment account.
Un-allocated Stores Ledger
34. (1) Un-allocated stores ledgers shall be maintained in such manner as may be
determined by the Accountant General from time to time.
(2) Where for any reason it becomes necessary to introduce new un-allocated
stores ledgers with the opening balances based on the physical stocks on hand and not
on the closing balances in the previous ledgers, the full circumstances necessitating
the use of physical stock balances shall be reported to the Accountant General whose
prior approval shall be obtained before the new ledgers are put into use.
(3) The balance and value of each item of stores shall be recorded whenever a
receipt or issue is made.

Stock valuation lists
35. (1) As soon as possible after the end of each financial year, an accounting
officer responsible for un-allocated stores shall cause to be prepared a stock valuation
list showing the numerical and financial balances for each item of stores in the un-
allocated stores ledger.
(2) Signed copies of the stock valuation list shall be submitted to the Financial
Secretary and the Auditor General.
(3) If at any time the total value of stock exceeds the authorised limit, the
accounting officer concerned shall report immediately to the Financial Secretary
explaining the reasons for the excess.
(4) Stock held in excess of the authorised limit may be treated in the accounts
in the same manner as unauthorised expenditure and the accounting officer concerned
may be held responsible therefor.
Tabular summary
36. (1) As soon as possible after the close of each financial year every accounting
officer responsible for un-allocated stores shall cause to be prepared a tabular
summary in respect of each un-allocated store.
(2) Signed copies of the tabular summary shall be submitted to the Financial
Secretary and the Auditor General.
Bin cards
37. (1) Bin cards shall be kept by each storekeeper for each item of un-allocated
stores for the purpose of recording receipts, issues and balances on hand by quantities.
(2) The officer-in-charge of the un-allocated store shall, at least once every
quarter check the balances on the bin cards against the balances shown in the un-
allocated store ledger and shall investigate and report any discrepancies.
(3) A copy of any report prepared by the officer-in-charge shall be submitted
to the accounting officer concerned.
PART 6
FURNITURE AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT
Responsibility for furniture and equipment
38. Responsibility for the accounting for and control of furniture and equipment
rests with the following departments, which for the purpose of this Part shall be
termed “the controlling department”.

Furniture and equipment for
Government offices
The Ministry or Department in possession
Furniture, furnishings and Establishment Department

equipment for Government Quarters
Furniture and Equipment for
institutions and other establishments
The Ministry or Department responsible
for the institution or Department
Sale custody and care of furniture and equipment
39. (1) The controlling department shall be responsible for furniture and equipment
issued to it or to institutions and establishments under its control.
(2) The occupants of Government quarters or other residences assigned to
them shall be personally responsible for any furniture, furnishings or equipment
provided for their use.
Master Control Registers to be kept
40. (1) The controlling department shall maintain a master control register in
which shall be recorded all purchases and issues of furniture and equipment.
(2) The master control register shall include a record of the departments,
institutions and establishments to which furniture and equipment have been issued.
Inventories to be maintained
41. (1) Accounting officers shall ensure that inventories of furniture and
equipment are maintained in all offices, institutions and establishments under their
control.
(2) No item of furniture and equipment shall be removed from any inventory
except on the written authority of the Financial Secretary.
Inventories to be checked
42. Accounting officers shall ensure that all inventories are checked against
physical stocks on hand at least once a year and whenever there is any change of the
officer in charge of an office, institution or establishment or of an occupant of
Government quarters or Government assigned residence.
Discrepancies in inventory holdings
43. (1) Accounting officers shall report to the controlling department any
discrepancies found during inventory checks of furniture and equipment.
(2) Discrepancies found at a handing-over of inventory holdings shall be dealt
with in accordance with regulation 100.
Authority for write-off
44. (1) All furniture and equipment shall remain on charge in the master control
register and in departmental inventories until authority to write-off has been given by
the Financial Secretary.
(2) Un-serviceable or obsolete items of furniture and equipment shall be dealt
with in accordance with regulation 89.

PART 7
BUILDINGS, PLANT, EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS
Responsibility for plant, equipment and tools
45. (1) Accounting officers shall be responsible for all buildings, plant, equipment
and tools assigned to departments under their control.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any officer to whom plant, equipment and
tools have been issued shall bear personal responsibility for such plant, equipment and
tools until they are returned into store or are condemned and disposed of in accordance
with regulation 89.
Register to be kept
46. (1) All items of plant and equipment shall be entered in a plant and equipment
register which shall record—
(a) the description of the plant or equipment;
(b) the name of the manufacturer;
(c) the registration and serial numbers;
(d) the date received;
(e) the source of supply;
(f) any period of warranty;
(g) ancillary equipment and spares supplied.
(2) A tools register shall be maintained for all items of tools received and
issued for use.
Plant operating records
47. Accounting officers shall ensure that plant operating records are maintained
for plant equipment in which shall be recorded details of operating house, down time,
servicing, overhauls and repairs.
Log books
48. (1) Accounting officers shall ensure that log books are kept in respect of each
vehicle or other equipment assigned to his department.
(2) Log books shall be in such form as the Accountant General may approve
from time to time and shall be used to record—
(a) details of travelling done or work performed;
(b) details of oils, fuels and spares used;
(c) details of servicing or repairs;
(d) authorisation for travel or other operation.

(3) Accounting officers shall designate authorised officers who shall be
responsible for checking log books and reporting on any misuse of or damage to
vehicles or equipment assigned to their departments.
(4) Accounting officers shall ensure that log books are checked at least once
every month and that reports of misuse of or damage to vehicles or equipment are
submitted to the Financial Secretary.
(5) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Financial Secretary that an officer
should be held responsible for any misuse of or damage to any vehicle or equipment
assigned to him or to his control, such officer may be liable under Part 10 of the Act.
Stocks to be verified
49. (1) At least once every six months accounting officers shall cause checks to
be made to verify stocks of plant, equipment and tools against the balances shown in
the plant and equipment register or the tools register as the case may be.
(2) Any deficiencies found in stocks shall be reported at once to the Financial
Secretary.
(3) A copy of any report on deficiencies discovered shall be sent to the
Auditor General.
Register of buildings
50. The Accountant General shall maintain a register of all permanent Government
buildings in which shall be recorded—
(a) the description of designation of the building;
(b) date of completion or purchase;
(c) plan reference;
(d) site reference;
(e) prime cost or purchase price;
(f) cost and date of structural alterations.
PART 8
LIVESTOCK
Records to be kept
51. (1) Accounting officers shall ensure that records are kept of any livestock
assigned to or maintained by their departments.
(2) Such records shall show the date of receipt, sale, transfer or death of the
animals, any additions due to re-production and the total number of each category on charge.

Sale of livestock
52. When any animal is sold the weight, selling price and receipt number shall be
entered in the records.
Death of livestock
53. (1) In the event of death of any animal any certificate of death and disposal
shall be obtained from a Veterinary Officer or any other officer authorised to issue
such certificate.
(2) The cause of death and the manner of disposal shall be entered in the
records.
Checks to be made
54. Accounting officers shall ensure that at least twice every year the number of
animals in stock is checked against the number shown in the records.
Surpluses or deficiencies
55. (1) Accounting officers shall investigate any surpluses or deficiencies in stock
reported to them, and if it becomes necessary to do so, submit a report to the Financial
Secretary.
(2) A copy of any report on deficiencies discovered shall be sent to the
Auditor General.
(3) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Financial Secretary that any officer
should be held responsible for the death of any animal or for any loss or deficiency in
stock, such officer may be liable under Part 10 of the Act.
PART 9
RECEIPTS
Stores to be received in stock
56. Except for goods purchased in small quantities for immediate use, all goods
received shall be taken into allocated or un-allocated stores as may be appropriate.
Stores received vouchers
57. (1) All goods received shall be entered on a stores received voucher which
shall be supported by one of the following—
(a) invoices or bills;
(b) the triplicate copy of local purchase orders;
(c) in the case of stores received from un-allocated stores into allocated stores a copy of the stores issue vouchers;
(d) the original copy of a stores conversion form.

(2) Stores received vouchers shall be in duplicate and shall be pre-numbered
serially or in such other form as may be approved by the Accountant General.
Stores conversion form
58. (1) Where stores are issued from a store for conversion into a different article,
the article produced shall be received back into the same store and shall be supported
by a stores conversion form.
(2) Stores conversion forms shall be prepared in duplicate and shall record in
detail the quantities and values of the stores converted and the quantities and values of
the article produced.
Unused stores
59. Stores which have been issued but not used shall be returned to the original
store and taken on charge on a stores received voucher at the current issue price
irrespective of the price at which they were originally issued.
Used stores
60. (1) Used stores which are no longer required for the purpose for which they
were issued shall be returned to the original store and taken on charge on a stores
received voucher.
(2) Used stores shall be kept separate from general stores whether allocated or
un-allocated.
Surplus stores
61. Surplus stores found by a board of survey or as a result of stock verification,
internal stock-taking or over-delivery shall be taken on charge on a stores received
voucher.
Verification of deliveries
62. (1) It shall be the responsibility of any officer receiving goods to ensure that
goods received are in accordance with goods invoiced.
(2) No payment for goods shall be made except on a certificate by the
receiving officer that such goods have been correctly delivered and received into store.
Examination of goods
63. (1) As soon as possible after the receipt of goods, the receiving officer shall
examine every item, package or other container to ensure that the goods making up the
consignment are exactly equal to the quantity and specifications shown on the
accompanying invoices, delivery notes, packing-slips or other documents.
(2) A certificate of examination shall be prepared and signed by the receiving officer.
(3) Any damaged or spoilt goods shall be recorded in detail on the certificate
of examination.

(4) Perishable food items shall be examined immediately and any spoilage or
any item considered to be unfit for the purpose intended shall be reported to a Public
Health Officer who shall issue a certificate of condemnation in respect of such items.
Bulk supplies
64. (1) Bulk supplies shall be checked on discharge and on receipt into stores.
(2) The contents of broken containers and any quantities retrieved from
sweepings shall be accounted for before any shortages are determined.
Delivery of stores
65. (1) All stores transferred on any vehicle or vessel shall be accompanied by a
delivery slip which shall be signed by the officer consigning the stores and the driver
of the vehicle or vessel.
(2) The officer receiving such stores shall check the quantities delivered
against the quantities shown on the delivery slip.
(3) A copy of the delivery slip signed by the receiving officer shall be
returned to the consigning officer with notation of any shortages or surpluses
discovered.
Stores received short
66. (1) In all cases where stores have been received short or damaged the
receiving officer shall immediately report the shortage or damage to the accounting
officer.
(2) The accounting officer shall immediately investigate such shortage or
damage and shall, as soon as possible thereafter, report the matter to the Financial
Secretary.
(3) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Financial Secretary that any officer
should be held responsible for any such shortage or damage, such officer may be
liable under Part 10 of the Act.
Accounting procedure where goods are received short or damaged
67. (1) Where goods are received short or damaged the quantity shown on the
invoice or bill shall be taken on charge.
(2) A stores issue voucher shall be issued for the quantity of goods found
short or damaged which shall be charged against the appropriate head of expenditure.
Claims register
68. (1) Goods received short or damaged shall be accounted for in a claims
register.
(2) No claim shall be considered settled until either the value has been
recovered in full or the authority of the Financial Secretary has been granted to write-
off or waive the claim.
(3) Any recovery in respect of a claim shall be entered in the claims register.

Reusable containers
69. Wherever it is economical to do so reusable containers shall be returned to the
suppliers as soon as possible after the discharge of goods.
PART 10
ISSUES
Issue of Stores
70. Stores shall not be removed from allocated or un-allocated stores except on the
authority of a stores requisition duly signed by an authorised officer.
Stores issue vouchers
71. (1) On receipt of a requisition for un-allocated stores, the officer in charge of
stores, if he is satisfied that the requisition is in order and the stores requisitioned are
in stock, shall prepare or caused to be prepared a serially numbered stores issue
voucher in triplicate.
(2) Stores issue vouchers shall be signed by the officer in charge of stores or
any other officer specifically authorised to do so.
(3) The officer receiving the stores shall sign the original and duplicate copies
of the store issue voucher in acknowledgement of the receipt of the stores.
(4) The original copy of the store issue voucher shall be retained by the officer
in charge of stores for accounting purposes.
(5) The duplicate copy of the stores issue voucher shall be returned to the
requisitioning officer.
(6) The triplicate copy shall be sent to the Auditor General.
Stores to be charged
72. Subject to the provisions of regulations 73 and 74 stores issue vouchers shall
indicate the expenditure head and item number to which the charge should be made.
Stores issued for conversion
73. Stores may be issued from un-allocated stores for conversion to a different
article on the authority of a conversion form duly signed by an authorised officer.
Sale of Stores
74. (1) Un-allocated or allocated stores may be sold to private persons only on the
authority of the accounting officer.
(2) An official receipt for the full value of stores to be sold shall be presented together with the requisition for the release of stores.
(3) The officer in charge or any other officer authorised by him shall prepare a
stores issue voucher for the quantity and value of the stores sold.

Responsibility of officers signing stores issue voucher
75. Any officer who signs a stores issue voucher shall be responsible for ensuring
that the voucher is accurate and complete in all respects and that the stores to be issued
correspond with the requirements for the stores requisition signed by the authorised
officer.
Issue before stores are priced
76. (1) If, in an emergency, stores are required to be issued before the prices are
determined, a store issue voucher shall be prepared showing the quantities of stores
issued with the notation “prices to follow”.
(2) As soon as possible after the prices of the stores have been determined, a
debit advice shall be sent to the requisitioning officer for the full cost of the stores
issued.
Monthly summaries of issues
77. (1) As soon as possible after the end of each month the officer in charge of
stores shall prepare a monthly summary of stores issued from un-allocated stores in
such form as may be approved by the Accountant General.
(2) The original copy of the monthly summary of stores issued shall be
submitted to the Accountant General for accounting purposes.
PART 11
STOCK VERIFICATION
Appointment of stock verifier
78. The Financial Secretary shall have the power to appoint a stock verifier
whenever it becomes necessary to verify stock holdings in any department.
Duties of stock verifier
79. The duties of a stock verifier shall include—
(a) the detailed comparison of stores ledger balances, bin card balances and inventory balances with the physical stock on hand;
(b) the initial investigations into the reasons for any discrepancies;
(c) an assessment of the security and storage arrangements and safeguards against loss, fraud and other irregularities;
(d) an assessment of the management of stocks with special regard to overstocking, wastage and obsolescence;
(e) checking and evaluating inventory holdings;
(f) the identification of unserviceable or obsolete stores;
(g) supervising the disposal of condemned stores;
(h) any other duties assigned by the Financial Secretary.

Stock to be verified
80. The Financial Secretary may at any time arrange for stores held in any
department to be verified by a stock verifier.
Report of stock verifier
81. (1) The stock verifier shall report to the Financial Secretary on any
discrepancy, defects, obsolescence or damage or any deficiency in the arrangements
for accounting, storage, security and other safeguards which have come to his notice
during the stock verification.
(2) The Financial Secretary, on receipt of the stock verifier’s report, may
require the accounting officer concerned to answer to any discrepancy, defect, damage
or deficiency discovered by the stock verifier.
Inspection of stores
82. (1) Every accounting officer shall arrange for stores under his control to be
inspected at least twice each year.
(2) The inspecting officer shall report to the accounting officer any loss,
leakage, damage, wastage, deterioration or irregularity observed in the course of his
inspection.
(3) The accounting officer shall, on receipt of the inspecting officer’s report,
take immediate action to correct any defects, deficiencies or irregularities reported.
PART 12
SURVEY OF STORES
Appointment of board of survey
83. (1) The Financial Secretary may at any time appoint a board of survey to
check allocated or un-allocated stores held in any department.
(2) A board of survey shall consist of not less than 2 persons one of whom
shall be designated chairman.
(3) Copies of the letters of appointment of the members of a board of survey
shall be sent to the accounting officer concerned and the Auditor General.
(4) No officer of the Audit Department or of the department in which the
survey is to be carried out shall be appointed as a member of the board of survey.
Method of conducting
84. (1) Unless otherwise directed in the letter of appointment, a survey of stores
shall include a complete check of quantities of all stores on hand or in the process of
conversion.
(2) The quantities found shall be compared with the quantities shown in the
stock ledger and bin cards and any discrepancies found shall be noted for inclusion in
the survey report.

(3) Stores which appear to be unserviceable or obsolete shall be entered on a
form prescribed for that purpose with recommendations for their condemnation or
disposal.
(4) Stores which are found to be in excess of the balances shown in the stores
ledger shall be brought to account on a stores receipt voucher.
Report of board of survey
85. (1) The chairman of a board of survey shall, immediately after the completion
of a survey, submit a report on the survey signed by him and the other members of the
board, to the Financial Secretary.
(2) Copies of the report shall be sent to the accounting officer concerned and
the Auditor General.
(3) The board of survey’s report shall include the following—
(a) the opinion of the board on the condition and adequacy of storage and storage facilities;
(b) the opinion of the board on the effectiveness of security arrangements and safeguards against fire and deterioration;
(c) a statement on any difficulties experienced by the board in carrying out its duties;
(d) a list of unexplained surpluses and shortages together with any comments or remarks thereon which the board may consider necessary;
(e) a list of stores which, in the opinion of the board, are unserviceable or obsolete;
(f) a certificate that the procedure laid down in regulation 84 have been followed.
(4) The Financial Secretary may after considering the recommendations of the
board of survey issue such directions as he deems necessary.
(5) Within three months of any directions given by the Financial Secretary the
accounting officer concerned shall report to him of actions taken in pursuance of such
directions.
PART 13
CONDEMNATION AND DISPOSAL OF STORES
Appointment of board of condemnation
86. (1) The Financial Secretary may, on the recommendation of an accounting
officer, a stock verifier or a board of survey, appoint a board of condemnation to
inspect stores which have been reported to be unserviceable or obsolete and to make recommendations for their disposal.
(2) Any board of condemnation appointed under paragraph (1) shall consist
of—

(a) a stock verifier; or
(b) not less than 2 officers, one of whom shall be designated chairman.
(3) Except where technical considerations make it unavoidable, no officer of
the department responsible for the stores to be condemned shall be appointed to the
board of condemnation.
(4) An officer of the Audit Department shall not be appointed to any board of
condemnation.
(5) The Financial Secretary shall notify the accounting officer concerned of
the appointment of the board of condemnation.
(6) The stock verifier or the chairman of the board of condemnation as the
case may be shall notify the accounting officer concerned of the place and time of the
inspection of the stores to be condemned.
(7) Any officer appointed to serve on a board of condemnation shall report
immediately to the Financial Secretary if he is unable to do so and shall give valid
reasons for his inability to serve.
Method of conducting board of condemnation
87. (1) The board of condemnation shall inspect each item of the stores to be
condemned.
(2) The board of condemnation shall identity each item listed and shall
determine whether or not the items identified are unserviceable or obsolete.
(3) The accounting officer concerned or any officer authorised by him shall be
present during the inspection by the board of condemnation.
Report of board of condemnation
88. (1) The stock verifier or the chairman of the board of condemnation shall,
immediately after the inspection, submit a report signed by himself and, in the case of
a board, by the other members of the board, to the Financial Secretary.
(2) Copies of the report shall be sent to the accounting officer concerned and
the Auditor General.
(3) The report shall identify the stores which, in the opinion of the board,
should be condemned and shall include recommendations for their disposal.
(4) The board shall report on any cases of misuse, abnormal damage or
deterioration or any other cause which, in the opinion of the board, have contributed to
the unserviceable or obsolete condition of the stores inspected.
(5) The Financial Secretary may after considering the recommendations of the
board of condemnation issue such directions as he deems necessary.
Disposal of condemned stores
89. (1) Accounting officers shall ensure that condemned stores authorised to be
written-off and destroyed are disposed of in the manner directed by the Financial
Secretary.

(2) The accounting officer concerned shall appoint an officer or officers of his
department to carry out the destruction or disposal of the stores.
(3) The stock verifier or a member of the board of condemnation shall witness
the destruction or disposal of the stores.
(4) The accounting officer concerned shall prepare a list of the stores
destroyed or disposed of for submission to the Financial Secretary together with the
following certificate—
“I hereby certify that the stores listed have been destroyed or disposed
of by ..……………… (method of destruction or disposal) .………….
in accordance with the Financial Secretary’s directions as given in
..………. (reference to authority) .…………. dated .…………. in the
presence of the witness who has signed below.
Signed ...........................…. ...........................………………….
(witness) Accounting Officer
Name ...........................…………... Designation ...........................…….
Designation...........................…….. Department ...........................…….
Date ...........................…………. Date ...........................…………...”
(5) Copies of the list together with the certificate shall be sent to the Financial
Secretary, the Auditor General and the Accountant General.
Sale of condemned stores
90. Condemned stores may be sold by public auction, by public tender or in any
other manner authorised by the Financial Secretary.
Gift of condemned stores
91. Subject to regulation 93, the Financial Secretary may authorise the gift of
condemned stores to educational, scientific, cultural or charitable institutions or
organisations.
Condemnation by accounting officer
92. (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions in these Regulations (but subject to
paragraph (4), accounting officers may, in any financial year, condemn and dispose of
small quantities of un-expendable stores which normally have a short life (as in the
case of glass ware, china, cooking utensils, small tools, and medical instruments,
brushes and similar articles.
(2) The accounting officer shall submit a list of the items of stores, including
the value of each item condemned and disposed of to the Financial Secretary together
with the following certificate—

“I hereby certify that I have personally inspected the stores listed
which have become unserviceable through fair wear and tear and that
they have been disposed of by ..…………………... (method of
destruction or disposals) ..……………..
Signed ........……….……………………...
Accounting Officer
Designation ………………………………
Department ………………………………
Date ……………………………..……….”
(3) Copies of the list of stores destroyed or disposed of shall be sent to the
Auditor General and the Accountant General.
(4) In any financial year the value of stores condemned or disposed of under
paragraph (1) shall, in the case of—
(a) a single item, not exceed $ ...……..; and
(b) more than one item, not exceed $…....... .
Accounting for stores destroyed or disposed of
93. Whenever the destruction, disposal, sale or gift of condemned stores has been
authorised by the Financial Secretary or the accounting officer as the case may be, a
stores issue voucher shall be prepared by the officer in charge of stores before such
stores are removed from stock.
PART 14
LOSSES OF STORES
Definition of loss
94. In this Part, the term “loss” includes damage or deterioration arising other than
from fair wear and tear.
Initial report of loss
95. (1) An accounting officer shall report immediately to the Financial Secretary
any loss of stores which occur in the department for which he is responsible.
(2) An initial report shall be made in every instance whether or not restitution
has been made and such report shall not be delayed to enable investigation to be
carried out or restitution to be sought.

Investigation of losses
96. An accounting officer shall cause an immediate investigation to be made into
any loss of stores occurring in the department for which he is responsible, and in cases
where misappropriation, theft or fraud is suspected, he shall report the loss
immediately to the Police.
Final report of loss
97. (1) An accounting officer shall, as soon as possible after the investigation into
any loss is complete, report to the Financial Secretary on the result of the
investigation.
(2) Any such final report shall include the following—
(a) the nature of the loss and the quantity and book value of the stores involved;
(b) the place and date of the loss;
(c) the circumstances in which the loss occurred;
(d) an opinion as to whether the loss was due to a fault in the accounting or store-keeping system;
(e) a statement on whether misappropriation, fraud, negligence or irregularity was involved;
(f) the name and designation of the officer or officers responsible for the loss;
(g) the reasons why internal checks and controls failed to prevent the loss;
(h) the measures taken or recommended to prevent a recurrence of similar losses;
(i) an account of any restitution or recovery of the loss;
(j) advice on any action already taken against the office responsible for the loss;
(k) recommendations for any disciplinary or other action required;
(l) a report by the Police, if applicable.
Write-off of losses
98. The Financial Secretary may authorise the write-off of any loss reported to him
if he is satisfied that it is just and reasonable to do so.
Accounting for losses written-off
99. A Stores Issue Voucher shall be prepared for any lost stores for which
authority to write-off has been granted, provided that, in the case of negligence or other irregularity the value of the stores shall be charged against an advance account in
the name of the officer responsible for the loss.

PART 15
HANDING-OVER OF STORES
Procedure for handing-over of stores
100. (1) Whenever a storekeeper or other officer responsible for stores is
proceeding on leave or transfer or will be absent from his office for any other reason,
the accounting officer responsible for such stores shall arrange for the handing-over of
the stores to another officer.
(2) The procedure for handing-over of stores shall be as follows—
(a) the physical stock of stores shall be checked in detail by the incoming officer and by the outgoing officer and compared with the balances in
the stores ledger or inventory;
(b) the incoming officer and the outgoing officer shall sign a handing- over certificate in the form prescribed for that purpose.
(3) The outgoing officer shall endorse a statement listing any deficiencies or
defects found during the handing-over, which shall be attached to the handing-over
certificate.
(4) The incoming officer shall submit the handing-over certificate to the
account officer immediately after it has been signed.
(5) The outgoing officer shall be responsible for all deficiencies or defects
reported at the handing-over.
Procedure when outgoing officer is unable to attend
101. (1) If the outgoing officer is unable to attend the handing-over because of
illness or has been authorised by the accounting officer to leave his office before the
handing-over takes place, the accounting officer shall apply to the Financial Secretary
for a board of survey to be appointed to survey the stores to be handed-over.
(2) The incoming officer shall be in attendance during the survey and shall
sign the handing-over certificate prepared and endorsed by the board of survey.
PART 16
LOAN, HIRE AND SALE OF STORES
Authority for loan or hire of stores
102. (1) Except for the hire of plant and equipment where an authorised procedure
and standard hire charges are in operation, no stores may be issued on loan or hire
without the prior authority of the Financial Secretary.
(2) Any hiring out of stores shall be supported by an agreement signed by the hirer in a form approved by the Attorney General.

Accounting for stores on loan or hire
103. (1) The officer in charge of stores shall ensure that stores issue vouchers are
prepared and signed by the borrower or hirer in respect of all stores issued on loan or
hire.
(2) Whenever stores which have been issued on loan or hire are returned into
store, such stores shall be accounted for on a stores receipt voucher.
Authority for sale of stores
104. (1) Stores may be sold by auction, tender or in any other manner authorised
by the Minister.
(2) The Financial Secretary shall have the power to authorise the sale of stores
not exceeding $10,000 in value.
Accounting for stores issued on sale
105. (1) The selling price of stores to be issued on sale shall be determined by
taking the ledger price and adding a charge of not less than 33 and 1/3 percent for
departmental costs.
(2) No issue on sale shall be made until the selling prices of the stores have
been received in full.
(3) A store issue voucher shall be prepared for any stores issued on sale.
PART 17
STORAGE AND SECURITY OF STORES
Storage
106. (1) Stores shall be secured against interference by unauthorised persons.
(2) No unauthorised person shall be permitted to enter a store room or
building except in the presence of the storekeeper.
Precautions against deterioration or fire
107. (1) Clothing and other stores susceptible to deterioration by damp or pests or
other cause shall be examined regularly and shall be stored above floor level.
(2) Fluids in tins or drums shall, whenever possible, be stored above ground
level.
(3) Inflammable stores and explosives shall be stored in accordance with any
legislation relating to such substances or in the absence of any legislation, any
instructions issued by the manufacturers of such stores.

PART 18
ACCIDENTS
Appointment of Accident Investigation Board
108. The Financial Secretary shall appoint an Accident Investigation Board to
inquire into the causes and costs of any accidents reported to him and to assess the
extent of any blame or negligence on the part of any driver or operator responsible for
or in control of the vehicle or plant involved.
Accident reports
109. Whenever an accident involving a Government vehicle or plant occurs, the
driver or operator as the case may be shall immediately complete an accident report
and submit such report to the accounting officer.
Assessment of damage
110. The accounting officer, on receiving an accident report, shall refer the report to
the officer in charge of the mechanical workshop or garage for an assessment of the
damage or damages sustained and an estimate of the cost of repair, or, in the case
where the vehicle or plant is beyond repairs, the cost of replacement.
Report to be submitted to Accident Investigation Board
111. The accounting officer shall submit the accident report together with the
assessment made by the officer in charge of the mechanical workshop or garage and
police report, if any, to the Accident Investigation Board.
Proceedings by the Accident Investigation Board
112. (1) The Accident Investigation Board may summon any person to give any
evidence or explanation concerning the accident which it may consider to be
necessary.
(2) The Accident Investigation Board shall submit a report on its findings
together with any recommendations as to the action to be taken against the driver or
operator responsible for the accident, to the accounting officer.
Action to be taken
113. (1) The accounting officer shall submit the accident report and the Accident
Investigation Board’s report together with his recommendations on the extent of any
surcharge against the driver or operator responsible for the accident, to the Financial
Secretary.
(2) Any surcharge imposed on the driver or operator by the Financial
Secretary shall be recovered in accordance with any directions given by the Financial
Secretary.

Claims by Government
114. Where the Accident Investigation Board recommends that a claim be made
against any person or insurance company in respect of any liability for an accident, the
accounting officer shall prepare the claim and submit it to the Attorney General for his
approval before it is issued.
Claims against Government
115. In the event of a claim being made against the Government for liability in
respect of an accident, the claim shall be referred immediately to the Attorney General
for his advice on the action to be taken.
Repairs to damaged plant or vehicle
116. As soon as possible after an assessment has been made by the officer in charge
of the mechanical workshop or garage and except as may be advised by the Accident
Investigation Board or Attorney General, the accounting officer shall proceed to carry
out repairs to the vehicle or plant involved in the accident.
PART 19
MISCELLANEOUS
Miscellaneous
117. The Accountant General may prescribe such forms as are required for the
efficient working of these Regulations.
_____________


PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND
ACCOUNTABILITY) REGULATIONS
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART 1
PRELIMINARY
REGULATION
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART 2
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
3. Compliance with and availability of Regulations
4. Power to authorise expenditure
5. Voted expenditure
6. Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation
7. Legislative control of revenue
8. Expenditure in respect of public debt
PART 3
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
THE MINISTER, MINISTRIES, ETC.
9. Duties and responsibilities of the Minister
10. Duties and responsibilities of Ministries, departments, agencies, etc.
PART 4
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
FINANCIAL SECRETARY, ACCOUNTANT GENERAL,
ACCOUNTING OFFICERS AND AUDITOR GENERAL.
11. The Financial Secretary
12. The Accountant General
13. Accounting officers
14. The Auditor General
PART 5
LOSSES
15. Register of losses in Ministries, departments, etc.
16. Nature of losses

17. Cash and store losses
18. Losses through claims waived or abandoned
19. Losses through fruitless or nugatory payments
20. Unauthorised or excess payment
21. Loss of accountable documents
22. Action by public officers on discovery of losses
23. Establishment of Board of Enquiry
24. Action to be taken by Minister in respect of losses
PART 6
INTERNAL AUDIT AND AUDIT COMMITTEES
25. Internal Auditing
26. Duties of internal audit function
27. Audit Committees
28. Duties and responsibilities of Audit Committee
PART 7
CONSOLIDATED FUND
29. Annual estimates and macro-economic and fiscal policy
30. Corrections
31. Estimates of revenue and expenditure
32. Ambit of vote
PART 8
DEVELOPMENT FUND
33. Definition
34. Use of Fund
35. Payments out of the Fund
36. Fund not to be overdrawn
37. Conditions attached to grants or loans to be observed
38. Annual Estimates
39. Supplementary Estimates
40. Development Fund Warrant
41. Re-allocation of funds
42. Accounts and audit
PART 9
AUTHORITY FOR EXPENDITURE
43. The General Warrant

44. Departmental Warrant
45. Departmental control of expenditure
46. Supplementary provision
47. Virements or re-allocations within a vote
48. Excess and unauthorised expenditure
PART 10
BASIS OF ACCOUNTING AND PREPARATION
OF ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
49. Basis of accounting
50. Basis of accounting in respect of commercial Government activities
51. Administration of trust funds
PART 11
RECEIPTS
52. Responsibility for revenue collection
53. Revenue collectors
54. Revenue to be accounted in gross
55. Restriction on method of payment
56. Responsibility for control of receipts
57. Receipts to be issued immediately
58. Foreign currency receipts
59. Acceptance of cheques
60. Recording of receipts
61. Refunds of revenue and drawbacks
62. Arrears of revenue returns
PART 12
LOANS, GUARANTEES AND GRANTS
63. Authority to raise loans, issue guarantees and accept grants
64. Power to give guarantees
65. Acceptance and receipt of grants
PART 13
PAYMENTS
66. Authority for payment
67. Control and method of payments
68. Charging to year of account
69. Payment vouchers or electronic documentation

70. Payments in advance
71. Payment process
72. Missing vouchers or supporting documents
PART 14
IMPRESTS
73. Authorisation of imprests
74. Retirement of imprests
PART 15
LOANS, ADVANCES AND INVESTMENTS
75. Authority for loans and advances
76. Loans and advances to be secured by agreements
77. Accountant General to control issues and repayments
78. Investments of public moneys
PART 16
SALARIES AND WAGES
79. Payment of salaries, etc. in the Public Service
PART 17
PENSION
80. Records of retiring benefits
81. Notice of retirement
82. Deferred payments of retiring officer
PART 18
ACCOUNTING AND BOOK KEEPING
83. Accounting and book keeping in the Public Service
84. Use of computer based accounting systems
85. Treasury cash books
86. Deposit Accounts
87. Public debt
88. Standard forms
89. Preservation of accounting records
90. Destruction of accounting records

PART 19
CUSTODY AND SECURITY OF PUBLIC MONEYS
91. Provision of security facilities
PART 20
BANK ACCOUNTS AND CHEQUES
92. Operation of bank accounts
93. Issue of cheques
94. Computerized Cheques
95. Cheque books to be secured
96. Spoilt cheques
97. Cheques not to be cashed
PART 21
BOARDS OF SURVEY
98. Boards of survey of cash and bank balances, etc.
99. Composition and reporting by Board of Survey
PART 22
HANDING-OVER PROCEDURES
100. Duties of public officer handing-over
101. Items handed-over to be checked
102. Shortages and discrepancies found during hand-over
103. Procedure in case of illness or absence of public officer
PART 23
INVENTORIES
104. Purchase and receipt of inventories
105. Deliveries
106. Recording of inventories
107. Accountability for inventories
108. Inspection of inventories
109. Boards of survey of inventories, etc.
110. Hand-over of duties in respect of inventories by public officers
111. Losses of inventories
112. Write-off of inventories
113. Condemnation of unserviceable inventories, etc.
114. Unwanted serviceable inventories, etc.

PART 24
STOCK VERIFICATION
115. Appointment of stock verifier
116. Duties of stock verifier
117. Stock to be verified
118. Report of stock verifier
PART 25
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
119. Nature of non-current assets
120. Recording of assets
121. Use of Government vehicles or conveyances
122. Hire or loan of assets
123. Maintenance and security of assets
124. Sale of assets
125. Boards of Survey of Assets
PART 26
ACCIDENTS
126. Appointment of Accident Investigation Board
127. Accident reports
128. Assessment of damage
129. Report to be submitted to Accident Investigation Board
130. Proceedings by the Accident Investigation Board
131. Action to be taken
132. Claims by government
133. Claims against government
134. Repairs to damaged plant or vehicle
PART 27
MISCELLANEOUS
135. Penalties
136. Surcharge
137. Forms

PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY) REGULATIONS –
SECTION 58
(S.R.O.s 35/2009 and Act 9 of 2011)
Commencement
[1 September 2009]
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Public Finance (Management and
Accountability) Regulations.
(2) These Regulations apply to all financial transactions and business of the
Government, and to the management of all public moneys and public property.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Accountant General” means the person designated as such under section 8 of the
Act;
“Accounting officer” means a person designated as such under section 9 of the Act;
“Act” means the Public Finance (Management and Accountability) Act;
“Appropriation Act” means any Act applying a sum of money out of the
Consolidated Fund and Development Fund for the service and development
programme for a financial year;
“assets” means any item of economic value owned by a Ministry, department or
agency of the Government especially that which could be converted to cash;
“Audit Committee” means a committee of non-executive status established with the
primary function of assisting an accounting officer in his oversight
responsibilities by reviewing the financial information to be provided to the
various stakeholders, systems of internal control which have been established,
and the audit process;
“Auditor General” means the person appointed or deemed to have been appointed
Auditor General under section 101 of the Constitution;
“bid” means an offer to provide or to acquire works, services or supplies or any
combination thereof, and shall include pre-qualification where applicable;
“Consolidated Fund” means the Consolidated Fund of the Government of
Montserrat and includes the Development Fund;
“corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or
indirectly, anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another
party;

“Department” means one of the several units in an organisation, such as sections or
units for financial management purposes;
“financial year” means a period of twelve months ending on 31 March;
“Financial Secretary” means a person appointed under the Constitution of
Montserrat;
“fraudulent practice” means any action or omission, including misrepresentation,
that knowingly or recklessly misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain
a financial benefit or to avoid an obligation;
“generally accepted accounting practice” means accounting practices and
procedures recognised by the accounting profession in Montserrat, and
approved by the Accountant General as appropriate for reporting financial
information relating to the Government, a Ministry or department, a fund, an
agency or other reporting unit, and which are consistent with the Act and any
relevant Appropriation Act;
“general warrant” means a warrant issued by the Minister under section 25 of the
Act;
“Government” means the Government of Montserrat;
“Head of Department” means the head of one of the departments or units in a
Ministry or Institution, and includes any head of a unit which is regarded by
the Financial Secretary or the Legislative Assembly as having departmental
status; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“instruction” means any written directive or order issued under the authority of the
Act;
“internal audit” means an independent process to measure, evaluate and report to the
management of a Ministry, department or other agency of the Government on
the efficacy of the system of internal control used to ensure the validity of
financial and other information;
“internal control” means a set of systems to ensure that financial and other records
are accurate, reliable, complete and ensure adherence to the management
policies of a Ministry, department or other agency of the Government, the
orderly and efficient conduct of the Ministry, department or agency, and the
proper recording and safeguarding of its assets and resources;
“inventories” are assets in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed in the
production process; or in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed or
distributed in the rendering of services; or held for sale or distribution in the
ordinary course of operations; or in the process of production for sale or
distribution;
“item” means a thing or unit included in a list or collection;
“liabilities” are obligations of a Ministry, department, or agency of the Government arising from events or action, the settlement of which is expected to result in
an outflow from that Ministry, agency or department of resources with an
economic benefit or service potential;

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for finance;
“outputs” means goods produced or services provided;
“pre-qualification” means a screening process designed to ensure that invitations to
bid are confined to capable providers;
“procurement process” means the successive stages in the procurement cycle of
goods and services including planning, choice of procedure, measures to solicit
offers from bidders, examination and evaluation of those offers, award of
contract, and contract management as carried out under the Procurement
Regulations;
“programme” means a collection of activities funded by an appropriation with the
aim of creating the impact or impacts set forth in the programmes stated in the
economic and fiscal management plan;
“propriety” means the requirement that expenditure and receipts must be dealt with
in accordance with the intentions of the Legislative Assembly and in particular
those expressed through the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative
Assembly; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“provider” means a natural person or an incorporated body including a consultant,
contractor or supplier who provides services in the normal course of business;
“public moneys” and “public funds” means money that is—
(a) received or receivable by an Agency;
(b) raised by an instrument that is issued from an Agency from which it can be reasonably inferred that the Government accepts liability in the
case of default;
(c) spent by an Agency;
(d) distributed by an Agency to a person for a public purpose.
In this definition “Agency” includes ministries, departments, statutory bodies,
public organisation and government companies;
“public officer” means a person holding or acting in an office in the public service;
“public organisation” means an enterprise, authority, body or entity to which section 45(7) of the Act applies;
“public property” means resources owned by the Government or in the custody or
care of the Government;
“public service” means service in any civil capacity of the Government the
emoluments for which are payable directly from the Consolidated Fund or
directly out of moneys provided by the Legislative Assembly; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“regularity” means the requirement for all items of expenditure and receipts to be dealt with in accordance with the legislation authorising them, including the
Act and any applicable delegated authority, regulations, directives and
instructions issued under the Act;

“resources” means moneys, stores, property, assets, loans and investments;
“revenue” means the total amount of money received by the Government for goods
sold or services provided during a certain time period;
“statutory expenditure” means expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund by the
Constitution, an Act of the Legislative Assembly or Statute, but does not
include the expenditure of moneys appropriated or granted by an
Appropriation Act or Supplementary Appropriation Act; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“Supplementary Appropriation Act” means any Act, the purpose of which is to
supplement the appropriation already granted by an Appropriation Act;
“surcharge” means a monetary penalty that may be imposed for causing loss to the
Government;
“tender” means "bid”;
“value for money” means the economic, efficient and effective utilisation of
resources;
“vote” means a group of estimates of expenditure, including statutory expenditure, for
which an appropriation has been made by an Appropriation Act or a
Supplementary Appropriation Act.
PART 2
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Compliance with and availability of Regulations
3. It is the duty of all Permanent Secretaries, heads of departments and
accounting officers to ensure that all public officers under their control—
(a) have access to copies of these Regulations; and
(b) comply, and are otherwise fully conversant, with the procedures and requirements embodied in these Regulations.
Power to authorise expenditure
4. (1) In accordance with section 12 of the Act, all public moneys shall be paid
into the Consolidated Fund, unless an Act of the Legislative Assembly provides for
such moneys to be paid into another special fund or to be retained by a department of
the Government that received them for the purposes of defraying expenses of that
department. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) In accordance with section 19 of the Act, the right to authorise public
expenditure is vested solely in the Legislative Assembly through the enactment of
Appropriation Acts. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) In accordance with the Constitution and the provisions of the Act, three
types of issues may be made from the Consolidated Fund as follows—
(i) statutory expenditure (for “Consolidated Fund Services”);

(ii) voted expenditure (for “Supply Services”); and
(iii) expenditure in advance of the Appropriation Act.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Voted expenditure
5. (1) The Appropriation Act, incorporating the approved estimates of
expenditure, constitutes the means by which the Legislative Assembly exercises
control over the expenditure of public moneys by the Government during the year to
which the expenditure relates. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) Upon the approval of the estimates and the enactment of the relevant
Appropriation Act, the expenditure for the year is held to be definitely arranged in
accordance with the Votes and account classifications; and such expenditure—
(a) is to be limited by the provision in each item shown in the estimates of expenditure; and
(b) can only be increased or varied by the Legislative Assembly or in accordance with the provisions of the Act or under general or specific
authority delegated by the Legislative Assembly.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) The allocation of funds under a vote is controlled by the Minister under
the authority of section 19 of the Act, and any variation in the amount allocated shall
have the prior approval of the Minister.
Expenditure in Advance of Appropriation
6. Where the Appropriation Act has not come into force at the commencement of
any financial year, the Minister may, by provisional warrant under his hand, addressed
to the Accountant General, authorise a withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund for the
purposes of meeting the expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the
Government until the expiration of four months from the beginning of that financial
year, or the coming into operation of that Act, whichever is earlier.
Legislative control of revenue
7. Public revenue is subject to control by the Legislative Assembly in the sense
that the revenues from any source and the circumstances in which they are required to
be paid are controlled by the Legislative Assembly by the enactment of the relevant
Acts and promulgation of appropriate statutory instruments. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Expenditure in respect of public debt
8. For the avoidance of doubt, in no circumstances may public moneys be spent if
their expenditure would contravene—
(a) the terms and conditions attached to any grant or loan received or accepted by the Government from any other Government, Institution
or authority; or

(b) any instructions regulating the issue of money from that Government, Institution or authority’s funds;
and where the terms of any grant or loan prescribe that specified procedures should be
followed, those procedures shall take precedence over the procedures prescribed in
these Regulations for the expenditure of such moneys.
PART 3
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
THE MINISTER, MINISTRIES, ETC.
Duties and responsibilities of the Minister
9. (1) The Minister is responsible for—
(a) the development and implementation of the macro-economic and fiscal policies and plans of the Government as outlined in the
directions or instructions;
(b) ensuring the Legislative Assembly is kept fully informed of the state of the economy of Montserrat; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(c) enhancing the control of the Legislative Assembly over public moneys, public property and public resources; and (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(d) the supervision, control and direction of all matters relating to the financial affairs of the Government.
(2) Without limiting the generality of sub-regulation (1) of this Regulation,
the Minister is responsible for—
(a) the co-ordination of international and inter-governmental financial and fiscal relations;
(b) advising the Government on the total of resources to be allocated to the public sector in the light of the Government’s economic objectives
and the economic and financial environment of Montserrat;
(c) advising the Government on the level of resources appropriate for individual programmes, taking account of the Government’s policies
and commitments;
(d) management of the Consolidated Fund and the supervision and control of all matters relating to the financial affairs of the
Government;
(e) ensuring the maintenance of systems both centrally and in Ministries, and departments for the planning, allocation, budgeting and control of
resources;
(f) ensuring that goods and services procured by the Government are done in a fair, equitable and cost-effective manner;

(g) supervising the use of resources by the Government to ensure that they are used economically, efficiently and effectively and that value
for money is achieved; and
(h) approving the estimates of revenue and expenditure for presentation to the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) For the purposes of discharging the responsibilities specified in
subregulations (1) and (2), the Minister is empowered under section 6 of the Act to
give instructions or directives that may appear to him to be necessary and expedient.
Duties and responsibilities of Ministries, Departments, Agencies, etc.
10. (1) The primary responsibility of a Ministry, department or agency of the
Government is to execute the policies of the Government and its statutory functions in
the most economic, efficient and effective manner within its overall financial
allocation and any cash or other financial limits imposed by the Minister.
(2) A Ministry, department or agency referred to in subregulation (1) shall
ensure that—
(a) all resources, including money, human capital and capital assets are allocated and deployed to best effect;
(b) steps are taken to minimize—
(i) risks;
(ii) liabilities; and
(c) all control totals such as those contained in the approved estimates and warrants are strictly observed.
(3) It is the responsibility of a Ministry, department or agency of the
Government to co-operate with the Ministry responsible for finance regarding the
provision of information to enable proper and effective advice to be given to the
Minister on the effective discharge of his duties and responsibilities as specified in the
Act and Regulation 9.
(4) For the purposes of subregulation (3), Ministries, departments and
agencies of the Government shall, in particular—
(a) consult with the Financial Secretary for his approval on any new proposals which would commit the Government to find additional
resources, before submitting a Cabinet Memorandum to the Governor
acting on the advice of Cabinet.
(b) consult with the Financial Secretary at a formative stage in policy discussions which could have substantial implications on public
resources.
(5) In accordance with section 9 of the Act, responsibility for the discharge of the duties specified in this Regulation rests on accounting officers designated by the
Financial Secretary with the prior approval of the Minister.

PART 4
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FINANCIAL SECRETARY,
ACCOUNTANT GENERAL, ACCOUNTING OFFICERS AND AUDITOR GENERAL
The Financial Secretary
11. (1) The Financial Secretary is responsible —
(a) to the Minister for the effective application of the provisions of the Act, these Regulations and any instructions or directives issued under
the Act;
(b) for ensuring that the needs of the Minister in the discharge of his
responsibilities are responded to and in particular that prompt and
effective advice is made available to the Minister.
(2) For the purpose of discharging his duties under the Act and these
Regulations and to ensure compliance with any instruction or direction issued under
the Act, the Financial Secretary or any person authorised by him may at all times —
(a) inspect any offices of the Government and have access to all books, records and other information;
(b) require any accounting officer to provide any information, document or records relating to public moneys or public property he may
require;
(c) require any accounting officer or head of any entity which manages any assets of the Government to supply information necessary to
enable the Minister to meet his obligations under Regulations 9;
(d) within the limitations imposed by the Act and these Regulations, give such directions and instructions as he may consider necessary for the
advantage, economy and safety of public resources.
(3) An accounting officer shall consult the Financial Secretary on any matter
concerning the application of the Act and these Regulations, and bring to his attention
any defect in the Act or these Regulations which may result in a diminution of control
over the assets and finances of the Government.
(4) The Financial Secretary is particularly responsible for ensuring that—
(a) an effective system is in place for the collection of information to ensure the timely and effective preparation of the annual estimates of
revenue and expenditure for consideration and approval by the
Minister and submission to the Legislative Assembly; and (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(b) the annual estimates are prepared in accordance with any general or specific direction of the Minister and that they reflect, as can best be
ascertained at the material time, value for money in the use of Government’s resources.
(5) Subject to section 7(5) of the Act, these Regulations and any directives or
instructions issued under the Act, the Financial Secretary may give directives and

instructions he considers necessary for the effective and efficient discharge of the
intents and purposes of the Act.
The Accountant General
12. (1) The Accountant General is responsible for the compilation and
management of the accounts of the Government and the safety of the public moneys,
property and resources, and is the chief adviser to the Financial Secretary and the
Minister on accounting matters.
(2) For the purposes of discharging his duties and responsibilities under sub-
regulation (1), the Accountant General shall—
(a) define and approve the basis of accounting and the system of accounts to be established in each Ministry, department and agency of the
Government, and to issue written orders and instructions and to
provide the guidance necessary to ensure the application of the basis
of accounts and the maintenance of those systems of accounts;
(b) ensure that a classification system, compatible with an internationally recognised system of national accounts and these Regulations, is
established and maintained and ensure that all moneys paid or
received by the Government are fully, promptly and properly brought
to account in accordance with that system;
(c) supervise the expenditure and other disbursements of the Government
to ensure compliance with the provisions of any law, regulation or
instruction in respect of that expenditure and for this purpose he
shall—
(i) ensure that effective systems are established in the Ministries,
departments and agencies of the Government which record all
commitments and transactions entered into by accounting
officers;
(ii) ensure that effective systems are established which facilitate the
prompt settlement of any commitment properly incurred by
accounting officers;
(iii) ensure that the system of internal control in every Ministry,
department, fund, agency or other reporting unit required to
produce accounts under section 41 of the Act is appropriate to the
needs of the Ministry, department, fund, agency or reporting unit
concerned and conforms to internationally recognised standards;
(iv) ensure that the internal audit function in each Ministry,
Department, fund, agency or other reporting unit required to
produce accounts under section 41 of the Act, is appropriate to
the needs of the Ministry, department, fund, agency or other
reporting unit concerned and such a function conforms to internationally recognised standards;
(v) reject any payment which he considers wrong or deficient in
content, or that contravenes the provisions of the Constitution,

the Act, these Regulations or any directives or instructions
properly made or given under the Act, or that is in any way
unacceptable in support of a charge on public funds;
(vi) report to the Financial Secretary in writing, any expenditure or
disbursement which after due enquiry appears to him to be
excessive, extravagant or unauthorised;
(d) ensure that adequate provision is made for the safe custody of public moneys, stamps, securities, revenue receipt books, licenses and other
documents of value;
(e) exercise supervision over the collection of public revenue by
accounting officers to ensure that it is promptly collected and
accounted for; and in the performance of this duty the Accountant
General shall ensure that he obtains regular returns of revenue from
accounting officers;
(f) carry out sufficient checks, including surprise inspections in all Ministries, departments and other offices, to ensure that all
regulations, orders, directions and instructions relating to the receipt,
disbursement, safety, custody and control of public moneys, stamps,
securities, stores and other public property are being complied with,
and to ensure that the accounts and controls provide full and effective
protection against losses or irregularities;
(g) report to the Financial Secretary in writing any defects in the custody, control or collection of public moneys, stamps, securities, stores and
other public property;
(h) ensure that the financial terms and conditions of any trust, loan, grant or grant-in-aid are fully complied with;
(i) prepare promptly and accurately all financial statements and returns for which he is responsible and to render the accounts promptly for
audit;
(j) report annually to the Financial Secretary, copied to Auditor General, on the discharge of his duties under the Act, together with the reports
required under section 41 of the Act, and identifying—
(i) the basis of the standards required by section 8(3)(a) of the Act; and
(ii) any defect, shortcoming or other factor which in his opinion has
affected materially the Minister’s responsibility under section 4
of the Act.
(k) in accordance with section 8(2)(a) of the Act, issue instructions in respect of compilation and management of the accounts of the
Government;

Accounting officer
13. (1) Pursuant to section 9 of the Act, the Financial Secretary shall designate an
accounting officer in writing with the prior approval of the Minister, to be personally
and pecuniary responsible for each vote of revenue and expenditure; and the
accounting officer shall have overall responsibility and accountability for the
collection and receipt of all revenue or for all disbursements of expenditure under his
control.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subregulation (1), an accounting officer
shall prepare in consultation with the Minister, economic and fiscal programmes and
work plans for his Ministry, department or agency for such periods as may be
specified by the Minister—
(a) prepare and sign the appropriation and other accounts assigned to him, and in doing so accepts personal responsibility for their proper
presentation in accordance with the provisions of the Act or as
approved by the Accountant General;
(b) ensure that the financial procedures established by the Act, these Regulations and any instructions issued under the Act and these
Regulations are followed and that accounting records are maintained
in a form approved for accounting purposes;
(c) ensure that the public moneys, property and resources for which he is responsible as accounting officer are properly managed and
safeguarded;
(d) ensure effective systems of internal control are in place in respect of all transactions and resources under his control;
(e) ensure that, in the consideration of policy proposals relating to the income or expenditure for which he is accounting officer, all relevant
financial considerations are taken into account, and where necessary
brought to the attention of his Minister;
(f) report to the Financial Secretary with a copy to the Accountant General and the Auditor General, any cases of apparent waste or
extravagant administration or failure to achieve value for money in
addition to any weakness in financial procedures;
(g) produce when required by the Financial Secretary, or the Auditor General or Accountant General or by such public officers as may be
authorised by them, all cash, stamps, books, records or vouchers in
his charge;
(h) reply substantively to any queries addressed to him by the Auditor General and Accountant General and within any time period
prescribed or specified in the Act;
(i) ensure that there are efficient and effective arrangements for revenue collection from the public;
(j) ensure steps are taken to minimize—
(i) risk;

(ii) liabilities.
(k) keep the Financial Secretary, the Auditor General and the Accountant General suitably informed of any new financial procedures, or other
aspects of the administration of his Ministry, department or agencies,
that may assist him in carrying out his statutory duties.
(3) An accounting officer may authorise in writing other public officers under
his control to exercise or perform such part of his powers and duties as he may think
fit; and the limits of any such delegation shall be set out sufficiently clearly and
unequivocally to avoid dispute or misunderstanding.
(4) A delegation under subregulation (3) shall not relieve the accounting
officer of any of his responsibilities under the Act and these Regulations.
The Auditor General
14. The appointment, powers and duties of the Auditor General are specified in the
Audit Act.
PART 5
LOSSES
Register of losses in Ministries, departments, etc.
15. (1) All losses incurred by or in any Ministry, department or agency of the
Government shall be brought to the attention of the Accountant General who, as the
chief accountant of the Government, shall keep a register of such losses; and the
Accountant General shall soon after the end of each financial year, prepare a statement
of the losses for submission to the Auditor General as part of the accounts for each
financial year concerned.
(2) A register of all losses incurred by or in any Ministry, department, or
agency of the Government, showing the nature of the loss and action taken, shall be
maintained by each Ministry, department or agency.
Nature of losses
16. Loss of public stores and property will include damage and deterioration which
cannot be attributed to fair wear and tear.
Cash and store losses
17. (1) Cash losses may take the form of—
(a) losses of cash by fraud, theft, errors, omissions, un-collectable arrears of revenue, or other irregularities, including unauthorised or excess
payments; and
(b) losses of cash through fire, caused deliberately or otherwise and other natural disasters.
(2) Store loss may take the form of—

(a) losses of stores by fraud, theft, arson, errors, omissions, sabotage or other irregularities;
(b) losses from fire caused deliberately or otherwise, stress of weather or accident beyond the reasonable control of any responsible person;
(c) losses due to deterioration in store, arising from a defect in administration; and
(d) losses due to natural causes such as evaporation.
Losses through claims waived or abandoned
18. Losses of public moneys or resources through claims waived or abandoned
may occur where—
(a) a claim either for services rendered by the Government or for an actual contractual or other legal obligation of a contractor or other
person to the Government is not made or pursued or is waived or
abandoned by the Ministry, department or agency of the Government
concerned;
(b) a claim such as is described in paragraph (a) is made but payment is not received.
Losses through nugatory payments
19. Losses of public moneys may also occur through nugatory payments if the
payment is unavoidable and there is no benefit to the Government, such as a payment
of a retainer for professional services where these services are not in fact used, a
payment for accommodation rented but not used or a payment for goods wrongly
ordered or accepted through irregularity or negligence other than an error of judgment.
Unauthorised or excess payment
20. Any payment which has not been properly authorised under an Appropriation
Act shall be treated as a large or unusual loss and shall be referred to the Board of
Enquiry established under these Regulations; and any such referral shall not affect the
opinion of the Auditor General and his obligation to report that loss to the Legislative
Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Loss of accountable documents
21. Loss of accountable documents such as stamps, fixed fee receipts or licenses,
should be treated as a loss of cash and dealt with under these Regulations; however in
the case of the loss of accountable documents such as miscellaneous receipts, invoices
and orders, which do not have a predetermined value but which nevertheless might be
misused if they fell into the wrong hands—
(a) the loss shall be reported immediately to the Accountant General and the Auditor General; and
(b) a notice in a form approved by the Attorney General shall be placed in
the local print and electronic media, advising the public not to accept
documents bearing the serial numbers of the documents in question.

Action by public officers on discovery of losses
22. (1) It is the duty of every accounting officer to ensure that there is a
mechanism in place for prompt detection and reporting of losses.
(2) Any public officer who becomes aware of any loss shall at once report the
loss to the appropriate accounting officer, and in the report describe the nature,
amount and circumstances of the loss, shortage, damage or destruction.
(3) The accounting officer shall report the losses, in writing, to the Financial
Secretary, copied to the Accountant General and Auditor General.
(4) Any loss whether restituted or not shall be reported promptly, and no
report may be deferred on grounds of conducting an investigation.
(5) Immediately on receipt of the report of any loss, the accounting officer
shall investigate the loss; and where he has reason to suspect that a crime has been
committed such as misappropriation, theft or fraud, he shall also make an immediate
report to the Police.
(6) After investigating the loss, the accounting officer shall submit a full
report to the Financial Secretary with copies to the Accountant General and the
Auditor General.
(7) The report referred to in subregulation (6) shall be signed personally by
the accounting officer concerned and shall state the following—
(a) the nature of the loss;
(b) the amount involved;
(c) the place, and, if known, date on which the loss occurred;
(d) the date and if applicable, time of discovery of the loss;
(e) the exact circumstances in which the loss arose;
(f) whether the loss was the result of a failure to observe current regulations or accounting instructions;
(g) whether the loss was due to a fault in the accounting system;
(h) whether the loss was discovered as the result of the internal control
and if not, why the internal control failed to reveal it;
(i) whether misappropriation, fraud, negligence or other irregularity was involved;
(j) the name and designation of the public officer considered to be responsible for the loss;
(k) whether that public officer has made good the loss;
(l) whether that public officer’s suspension or interdiction from duty is recommended;
(m) whether disciplinary or surcharge action in accordance with Part 10 of
the Act is recommended and against whom and, if not, why not;

(n) whether the loss was reported to the police, if so, a police report should be attached; and
(o) the measures taken or recommended to prevent the recurrence of a similar loss or shortage.
(8) In any other case of loss such as when an overpayment occurs which
cannot be recovered or in which revenue or other debt due to the Government is
deemed un-collectable, the accounting officer shall submit a full report to the
Financial Secretary, with a copy to the Accountant General and to the Auditor
General.
(9) The report referred to in subregulation (8) shall be signed personally by
the accounting officer and shall state the following—
(a) the nature of the overpayment, revenue or other debt;
(b) the name and designation of the public officer who made the overpayment or is responsible for the failure to collect the revenue or
debt;
(c) the amount involved, supported where appropriate by detailed lists showing the names of the defaulters, the amounts outstanding in each
case, and in the case of revenue the year in which it was due, and the
dates on which demands and reminders were dispatched;
(d) the reasons why the overpayment occurred or the revenue or other
debt cannot be recovered;
(e) the action taken to recover the overpayment, revenue or debt, including any legal means taken, whether this is considered to have
been adequate, and the action taken by the accounting officer
personally;
(f) whether the overpayment or failure to collect arose from a failure to observe current accounting instructions or from a fault in those
instructions or in the accounting system;
(g) whether the amount involved has been made good by the public officer responsible;
(h) whether disciplinary or surcharge action in accordance with Part 10 of the Act is recommended and against whom and, if not, why not; and
(i) the measures taken or recommended to prevent the recurrence of a similar overpayment or failure to recover revenue or debts.
Establishment of a Board of Enquiry
23. (1) The Financial Secretary may establish a Board of Enquiry to investigate
the circumstances of any large or unusual losses referred to it by the accounting
officer.
(2) The Board of Enquiry shall comprise at least three members, who shall not
be employees of the same Ministry or department, appointed by the Financial
Secretary.

(3) With respect to cases which have been reported to the Police and in
respect of which criminal action is pending, action by the Board of Enquiry shall,
subject to any written law, be deferred until such proceedings have been completed or
discontinued.
(4) The Financial Secretary shall maintain a register showing details of all
cases referred to Boards of Enquiry and their disposal, and shall circulate copies of all
referrals as necessary.
(5) The Board of Enquiry may meet at the time and place most suitable for the
purpose of its enquiry; but it shall hold its first meeting within seven working days of
any referral.
(6) The Board may regulate its own procedure and take evidence from such
persons as it may consider appropriate, either orally or in writing, except that such
evidence shall not be taken on oath.
(7) On completion of its enquiries the Board shall, without delay, report its
findings to the Financial Secretary with copies to any accounting officer concerned,
and circulate as necessary.
(8) The report referred to in subregulation (7) shall include—
(a) a statement of the amount and nature of the shortage; and if the amount cannot be established precisely, the Board shall estimate it,
giving the basis on which the calculation has been made;
(b) an opinion on whether the system or its application was at fault, together with recommendations for any corrective action which
should be taken to prevent the recurrence of a similar loss or shortage;
(c) whether police or legal action was taken in respect of the loss or shortage and, if so, the details and outcome of the action;
(d) an opinion on who, if any, was responsible for the loss or shortage, the degree of that responsibility and if more than one person was
responsible, the apportionment of the loss;
(e) whether disciplinary or surcharge action is recommended and against whom and, if not, why not; and
(f) any other matters which the Board considers should be brought to the attention of the Financial Secretary.
(9) In the case of any loss, overpayment or failure to collect monies due to
Government in which defects in systems, procedures, or instructions appear to have
been either wholly or partially responsible, action to correct the fault shall be taken
immediately by the relevant accounting officer, Accountant General or Financial
Secretary as appropriate; and such action should not be deferred pending the decision
on whether to write-off the amount or recover it from the public officer responsible.
Action to be taken by Minister in respect of losses
24. (1) In the light of the reports submitted under Regulation 23(7) and (8) of
these Regulations and any report of the Board of Enquiry under Regulation 23 of these

Regulations and the results of any Police or legal action, the Financial Secretary shall
make recommendations to the Minister who shall decide whether—
(a) the amount involved in any loss should be written-off; or if outside his powers, be recommended for write-off; or
(b) disciplinary or surcharge action should be taken against the public officer considered to be responsible for the loss.
(2) The Minister’s decision or recommendation under subregulation (1) shall
be in writing and communicated by the Financial Secretary to the accounting officer
concerned, the public officer considered to be responsible for the loss or shortage, the
Accountant General, the Auditor General and, where appropriate, the Secretary to the
Board of Enquiry.
(3) Where it is decided that disciplinary action should be taken against the
public officer considered to be responsible for the loss, the matter shall be referred to
the responsible authority under the public service law. However if a surcharge is the
sanction to be applied, the Financial Secretary shall determine the amount of the
surcharge—
(a) bearing in mind the amount of the loss sustained by the Government; and
(b) in accordance with Part 10 of the Act. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(4) The Financial Secretary shall, in writing, notify the public officer
concerned of the Minister’s decision, and send a copy of the notification to the
relevant accounting officer, the Accountant General and the Auditor General.
(5) The notification shall call upon the public officer concerned, within such
period as the Financial Secretary may determine, being not less than thirty days from
the date the notification is received by the public officer, to show cause why he should
not be surcharged with the amount determined under subregulation (3).
(6) On receipt of the reply by the public officer, the Financial Secretary shall
confirm, reduce or remit the surcharge and advise the Minister who shall review the
decision of the Financial Secretary, and no action shall be taken to implement the
decision of the Financial Secretary until such review is completed and the decision
confirmed, varied or set aside or reversed by the Minister.
(7) The decision of the Minister shall be communicated by the Financial
Secretary to the public officer concerned, the relevant accounting officer, the
Accountant General and the Auditor General.
(8) The amount of any surcharge imposed by the Financial Secretary and
confirmed by the Minister shall—
(a) subject to any counterclaim by the public officer in the courts, or any judicial review by the courts; and
(b) subject to the provisions of Part 10 of the Act,
be recovered as a civil debt due to the Government, and may be deducted from any
salary or other amount due by the Government to the public officer concerned.

(9) The Minister’s powers under subregulation (1) may be delegated by the
Minister to the Financial Secretary in writing.
PART 6
INTERNAL AUDIT AND AUDIT COMMITTEES
Internal Auditing
25. (1) In order to discharge his responsibilities under these Regulations, an
accounting officer shall engage the services of the Internal Audit Unit to carry out an
effective internal audit function throughout the Ministry, department or agency or
other reporting unit of the Government for which he is responsible.
(2) The Accountant General shall ensure that the internal audit function in
each Government Ministry, agency, or other reporting unit required to produce
accounts under section 41 of the Act is appropriate to the needs of the organisation
concerned and conforms to internationally recognised standards in respect of its status
and procedures.
(3) The Accountant General shall seek to ensure that the internal audit
function is capable of operating independently from the management of a Ministry,
department or agency, and that no limitation is placed on its access to information.
(4) As far as practical, an accounting officer shall ensure that all such
recommendations of the internal auditor are enforced and/or implemented.
Duties of the internal audit function
26. (1) The duty of the internal audit function in a Ministry, department, agency
or unit of the Government is to appraise the soundness and application of accounting,
financial and operational controls and in particular review and report on—
(a) proper control over the receipt, custody and utilisation of all financial resources of that unit;
(b) conformity with financial and operational procedures laid down in any legislation or any regulation or instruction issued under such
legislation and good accounting practice as from time to time defined
by the Accountant General for incurring obligations and authorising
payments and which ensure effective control over the expenditure of
the unit;
(c) the correct classification and allocation of revenue and expenditure accounts;
(d) the reliability and integrity of financial and operating data so that information provided allows for the preparation of accurate financial
statements and other reports for the information of the unit and the
general public and as required by legislation;
(e) the systems in place used to safeguard assets, and, as appropriate, the
verification of the existence of such assets;

(f) operations or programmes to ascertain whether results are consistent with established objectives and goals and on the attainment of value
for money;
(g) the adequacy of action by management in response to internal audit reports, and assisting management in the implementation of
recommendations made by those reports and also, where appropriate,
recommendations made by the Auditor General;
(h) achievement of approved Ministry, departmental and agency objectives outlined in their work plans along with their implications
and consisting with the government of Montserrat overall macro-
economic and fiscal programme;
(i) identifying risks to systems, procedures and programmes undertaken by any public organisation;
(j) the adequacy of controls built into computerised systems in place in the unit; and
(k) any other matters as assigned by the accounting officer.
(2) The responsibility of the internal auditor for checking and reporting risk,
shortcomings in connection with the accounts, finances and related operations of the
Ministry, department or agency, does not absolve any public officer from
responsibility for complying, or securing compliance with instructions within the
scope of his own authority.
(3) The prevention, detection and investigation of fraud are the responsibility
of management, although in conducting audit assignments the internal auditor shall be
alert to opportunities, such as control weaknesses that could allow fraud; and where
fraud is suspected, the appropriate authorities within the department shall be informed.
Audit Committees
27. (1) In accordance with section 9 of the Act, an accounting officer may, and
shall if so required by the Minister or in the case of a person responsible for a non-
ministerial department, establish and maintain an Audit Committee, which shall have
such composition, powers and duties as may be determined by the Minister.
(2) Without prejudice to subregulation (1)—
(a) the scope, purpose, powers and constitution of an Audit Committee shall be in accordance with guidelines approved in the Charter for
Audit Committees as approved by the Minister; and
(b) the Audit Committee shall assist the accounting officer in carrying out his oversight responsibilities relating to financial practices, internal
controls, corporate governance issues, compliance with laws,
regulations and ethics and all audit matters.
Duties and responsibilities of Audit Committee
28. (1) The Audit Committee shall function in an advisory capacity to the
accounting officer, but its powers shall not be limited in any way which would prevent

it from properly performing its advisory duties, and for this purpose, the Audit
Committee shall have unrestricted access to records and employees to obtain
information needed to perform its duties.
(2) Without limiting the generality of Regulation 27 and sub-regulation (1),
the duties of an Audit Committee are to—
(a) advise on strategic and operational plans of the internal audit function;
(b) liaise and work closely with the Office of the Auditor General, the Attorney General, the Police and the Board of Enquiry established
under Regulation 23;
(c) discuss with accounting officers, audit findings and recommendations, and to review and monitor implementation of the recommendations;
(d) through the Chairperson of the Audit Committee, represent concerns of the internal audit to the relevant accounting officer, the Accountant
General, the Financial Secretary or the Minister;
(e) facilitate risk assessment to determine the amount of risk exposure of the entity’s assets and the probability of loss occurring with a view to
mitigating the risks;
(f) review arrangements established by the accounting officers for compliance with regulatory and financial reporting requirements; and
(g) review the financial statements prepared by the accounting officers to ensure that disclosure is adequate and fair presentation is achieved.
(3) The Audit Committee shall comprise of a minimum of three persons, all of
whom shall be appointed as outlined in Regulation 27 and shall have relevant
qualifications, knowledge and competence and moral integrity required to carry out
their duties.
(4) The scope, purpose, constitution and authority of the Audit Committee
shall be in accordance with guidelines issued and approved by the Financial Secretary.
PART 7
CONSOLIDATED FUND
Annual estimates and macro-economic and fiscal policy
29. (1) For the purpose of discharging his duties and responsibilities under section
3 of the Act, the Minister shall provide the information to the Legislative Assembly
which includes —
(a) a statement of macro-economic policy;
(b) estimates of all revenue to be raised during the financial year to which
the budget relates;
(c) estimates of total recurrent expenditure for the financial year;

(d) estimates of interest and debt servicing charges, and any repayments on loans;
(e) estimates of capital expenditure for the financial year and future financial years broken down by project or categories, and the
recurrent operating or maintenance costs arising from such projects;
(f) proposals for financing any anticipated deficit;
(g) intentions regarding borrowing and other forms of public liability; as allowed and that will increase public debt during that financial year
and for three financial years;
(h) the projected revenue, expenditure and any borrowing for the financial year that will be ending shortly after the budget is tabled;
and
(i) such other details as are necessary to ensure that the comprehensiveness and transparency of the information supplied
enables the Legislative Assembly to arrive at informed decisions.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) In respect of proposed issues from the Consolidated Fund and other public
moneys or funds, the Financial Secretary shall, each year, at an appropriate time, issue
a budget call circular requiring all accounting officers to submit by specified dates
detailed proposals, applications, requirements and all other explanations relevant to
their staff establishment, their anticipated revenue, anticipated expenditure and the
anticipated outputs of the following year and to prepare and submit draft estimates in
the required form for the revenue and expenditure and outputs for which they are
responsible.
(3) The budget call circular shall also communicate to accounting officers
ceilings of proposed expenditure as approved by the Minister.
(4) To ensure that the budgetary processes are not delayed and, in particular,
that the Legislative Assembly has sufficient time to complete its scrutiny of the
proposals and to ensure that the Minister can lay the annual estimates before the
Legislative Assembly before the commencement of each financial year, accounting
officers shall comply strictly with the timings set out in the budget call circular.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(5) Accounting officers shall comply strictly with the timings set out in the
budget call circular to ensure that the budgetary processes are not delayed and, that the
Legislative Assembly has sufficient time to complete its scrutiny of the proposals and
the annual estimates before the commencement of each financial year. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(6) Any proposals submitted by an accounting officer outside the deadlines set
in the budget call circular may be referred to the Head of the Public Service for
disciplinary action.
Corrections
30. (1) Accounting officers shall have an opportunity to make corrections to the
draft estimates when they are being considered by the Legislative Assembly at the

Committee stage; and accounting officers who wish to make such corrections shall
seek the approval of the Speaker and the appropriate Minister to do so in writing or in
person. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) This Regulation shall apply to the correction of minor errors or omissions
in the budget submissions, and it is not intended to accommodate significant
reallocations or adjustments within the budget of votes.
Estimates of revenue and expenditure
31. Estimates of revenue and expenditure shall be prepared in accordance with
budget instructions issued by the Financial Secretary after consultation with the
Minister and shall be arranged according to an accounts classification system
approved by the Accountant General.
Ambit of vote
32. (1) The purposes of expenditure under each head and the services to be
provided under it must be outlined in a preamble to the head, which forms the ambit of
the relevant vote.
(2) The ambit of a vote sets out a formal description of the nature of the
transactions to be financed from the vote, and the wording of the ambit is incorporated
in the annual Appropriation Act and therefore provides the statutory description in that
Act of the purpose for which the funds sought in the estimate are granted.
(3) By virtue of subregulation (2)—
(a) no expenditure may be charged to a head which does not fall within the ambit of a vote;
(b) the Appropriation Act shall not be used to extend the statutory
functions of a Ministry, department or agency of the government; and
(c) expenditure on a new transaction which is outside the ambit of a vote shall not proceed unless the approval of the Legislative Assembly is
obtained through a Supplementary Estimate which proposes to change
the ambit as necessary. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(4) Each estimate shall state the Ministry or department and the accounting
officer responsible for accounting for the Vote and set out the gross provision sought
in the estimates by item; this is because although the Legislative Assembly approves
expenditure by vote it controls it by item. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
PART 8
DEVELOPMENT FUND
Definition
33. (1) In this Part—

“Development Programme” means a programme of economic and social
development and approved by the Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet
and laid in the Legislative Assembly:
Provided that, in the absence of a Development Programme the annual
estimates of expenditure from the Development Fund as passed by the
Legislative Assembly shall constitute the Development Programme for the
financial year to which such estimates relate; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
“development project” means a project, scheme or programme of work contained in
a Development Programme or a project of the Government for economic or
social development which is not contained in a Development Programme but
which has received the approval as such of the Governor acting on the advice
of Cabinet;
“Fund” means the Development Fund established by section 13 of the Act.
(2) The terms and expressions set out in section 2 of the Act shall, where they
occur in this Part, have the meanings assigned to them by that section and shall be
construed accordingly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Use of the Fund
34. No provision shall be made for expenditure to be charged on the Fund other
than for the purpose of a development project.
Payments out of the Fund
35. (1) No moneys shall be paid out of the Fund except where the payment of
those moneys has been authorised by an Appropriation Act or by a warrant under the
hand of the Minister given in accordance with the provisions of the Act or this Part.
(2) No expenditure chargeable on the Fund shall be incurred in anticipation of
the receipt of any grant or loan, other than a loan authorised by law, without the
consent of the grantor or lender as the case may be.
Fund not to be overdrawn
36. (1) The liabilities of the Fund shall at no time exceed the assets.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers and duties conferred and
imposed upon the Accountant General by section 8 of the Act, the Accountant General
shall refuse payment on any voucher the encashment of which would cause the
unspent balance of the Fund to become overdrawn.
Conditions attached to grants or loans to be observed
37. Any conditions which may be attached to any grant or loan of moneys which
by virtue of section 13 of the Act are paid into the Fund shall be observed and shall have effect in relation to the moneys so granted or loaned as if the same were
prescribed under this Part.

Annual Estimates
38. (1) The Minister shall cause to be prepared before the commencement of each
financial year estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the Fund and such estimates
shall form part of the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure of the Government
to be laid before the Legislative Assembly as required by section 19(1) of the Act. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) The estimates of expenditure from the Fund shall—
(a) conform with the requirements of section 19 of the Act; and
(b) assign a separate subhead of expenditure (which may contain one or
more items) for each development project provided for therein and the
various subheads shall be grouped under development fund votes
according to the Ministries and departments responsible for carrying
out the development projects concerned; and
(c) in respect of each development project provided for therein show—
(i) the estimates of total cost;
(ii) the total actual expenditure to the end of the previous financial
year;
(iii) the approved estimate for the current financial year;
(iv) the sum required for the following financial year.
(3) The estimates shall be accompanied by a statement showing—
(a) the estimated assets and liabilities of the Fund and the estimated balance at the commencement of the following financial year; and
(b) the estimated total revenue accruing to and the estimated total expenditure from the Fund during such financial year.
Supplementary Estimates
39. If in the course of any financial year it is found—
(a) that the sum appropriated for that financial year for any development
project by an Appropriation Act is insufficient; or
(b) that a need has arisen to proceed with a development project for which no sum has been appropriated in that financial year, a
supplementary estimate (substantially in the form prescribed by
section 20(2) of the Act of the sum required to meet such deficiency
or such need as the case may be, shall be prepared and shall be laid
before the Legislative Assembly in accordance with the provisions of
section 20(1) of the Act. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Development Fund warrant
40. (1) Subject to Regulations 34 and 35 and Regulation 36(1), if in the course of
any financial year the circumstances described in Regulation 39(a) and (b) arise, and

in the judgment of the Minister expenditure from the Fund is so urgently required that
it cannot, or cannot without serious detriment to the public interest, be delayed until
adequate financial provision can be made for it by the Legislative Assembly, the
Minister may by a Development Fund Warrant under his hand and in anticipation of
the grant of an appropriation by the Legislative Assembly authorise an advance from
the Fund to meet such expenditure and shall forthwith report his action to the
Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet:
Provided that, the total of the sums so authorised to be advanced in
anticipation of the grant of an appropriation shall not exceed the amount of any grant
or loan of moneys received by or pledged to the Government for the carrying out of
the Development Project in respect of which the advance is made. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) Where any advance is made from the Fund under this Regulation, a
supplementary estimate, substantially is the form prescribed by Regulation 39, of the
sum required for the development project for the purpose of which the advance was
made, shall be prepared and laid before the Legislative Assembly at its meeting next
following the date on which the Development Fund Warrant was issued and shall be
included in a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for appropriation. (Amended by Act 9
of 2011)
(3) Upon the grant of an appropriation to meet the expenditure in respect of
which an advance was made under this Regulation, the Development Fund Warrant
shall lapse and shall cease to have effect and the advance shall be deemed to have
been made for the purpose of the grant and shall be accounted for accordingly.
Re-allocation of funds
41. (1) No surplus arising from under-expenditure on any development project
shall be applied in aid of any other development project unless the supplementary
expenditure on such other development project has been authorised under Regulation
39 or 40.
(2) Subject to Regulation 40, if the requirements of a development project for
which a sum has been appropriated in an Appropriation Act for any financial year,
render it expedient so to do, the Minister may direct by means of a Development Re-
allocation Warrant that any surplus arising from under-expenditure on any item
contained in the subhead of expenditure assigned to such development project shall be
applied in aid of any other item therein or in aid of any new item therein to be created:
Provided that, the sum appropriated for that subhead is not thereby exceeded.
(3) Any Development Re-allocation Warrant issued in accordance with
paragraph (2) shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly at its meeting next
following the date on which such warrant was signed. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(4) The Minister may by writing under his hand delegate to the Financial
Secretary the powers conferred upon him by paragraph (2).

Accounts and audit
42. (1) The accounts of the Fund shall be audited, certified and reported on
annually by the Auditor General in accordance with the provisions of the Audit Act.
(2) If in the course of audit it is found that moneys have been expended on
any development project in excess of the total amount made available to the
Government for the carrying out of that development project by way of a grant or
loan, the excess shall be included in a statement of Expenditure in Excess and shall be
dealt with in the manner approved for Votes in Excess by section 21 of the Act.
PART 9
AUTHORITY FOR EXPENDITURE
The General Warrant
43. (1) The authority for the expenditure of public moneys is contained in an
Appropriation Act, which vests authority in the Minister to issue out of the
Consolidated Fund the total sum shown in the approved estimates, and therefore an
accounting officer shall identify, for all expenditure to be incurred by him, the
appropriate authority in that Act before committing Government to any expenditure.
(2) No accounting officer shall take any action which in any way anticipates
the approval of the Legislative Assembly for expenditure. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) Authority to make payments and accept charges is conveyed to the
Accountant General by a warrant signed by the Minister.
(4) On receipt of the warrant, the Accountant General shall issue a warrant
under his signature to accounting officers authorising them to incur expenditure for
the purposes and up to the amount specified in the warrant; and the amount authorised
by such warrant shall not exceed the amount specified in the warrant issued by the
Minister.
Departmental Warrant
44. (1) Where it becomes necessary for work to be done by one department on
behalf of another, the accounting officer of the department on whose behalf the work
is to be done may authorise the accounting officer of the department undertaking the
work, by means of a departmental warrant, to incur expenditure against a vote under
his control.
(2) An accounting officer to whom such authority is given shall maintain an
account of all expenditures incurred against the vote stated in the warrant and shall
submit monthly reports in respect thereof to the accounting officer from whom
authority has been received.
(3) An accounting officer to whom a warrant is issued shall be personally responsible for all expenditure incurred in excess of the amount stated in the warrant.
Departmental control of expenditure
45. An accounting officer shall—

(a) control and oversee the expenditure in respect of any service under his control;
(b) ensure that the provision for that service as authorised by a warrant is not exceeded, and he shall be held personally and pecuniary
responsible for any excess expenditure which is incurred without
proper authority.
Supplementary provision
46. (1) Where any further disbursements are required in respect of a service
which—
(a) could not have been foreseen;
(b) may not be postponed without detriment to the public interest;
(c) cannot appropriately be charged to an existing item of the estimates; or
(d) would cause an excess on the estimates,
prior approval for authority to incur such expenditure shall be sought.
(2) Where expenditure cannot be met by virements within the vote from items
with savings, then provision for supplementary funds shall be sought, in which case an
application for supplementary funds may be made to the Financial Secretary.
(3) Applications for supplementary provision shall be reviewed by the
Financial Secretary and submitted to the Minister for consideration; and if after
examination and, where necessary, consultation with the accounting officer concerned,
the need for the supplementary provision is agreed, the amounts of such provision
shall be included by the Minister in supplementary estimates to be submitted to the
Legislative Assembly for appropriation by a Supplementary Appropriation Act.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(4) Notwithstanding that supplementary estimates may have been submitted to
the Legislative Assembly for approval, no action shall be taken by any accounting
officer which creates a commitment on public funds before the Legislative Assembly
approval is obtained. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Virements or re-allocations within a vote
47. (1) The Financial Secretary has discretionary powers to vary the amount
allocated within a vote, provided that—
(a) the total amount authorised by the Legislative Assembly for that vote in an Appropriation Act is not exceeded;
(b) the variation is not so large or important as to represent a change in policy;
(c) the changes made are not novel or contentious; and

(d) any virements made will from the outset not involve heavy liabilities in future years.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) All virements within a Vote shall be the subject of an application for
virements addressed to the Financial Secretary—
(a) showing the amounts involved;
(b) identifying the items where extra provision is required;
(c) identifying, where appropriate, any delegated authority for the re- allocation;
(d) giving appropriate explanation for the shortfall in the original provision;
(e) clearly identifying the items with the anticipated savings; and
(f) giving appropriate explanations and the reasons for the savings being available.
(3) In order to ensure that the savings identified are genuine, items from
which funds have been transferred will no longer be eligible for the provision of
additional funds by a Supplementary Appropriation Act or subsequent virements.
(4) On approval of an application by the Financial Secretary under this
Regulation, a warrant for virements within a vote shall be issued to the Accountant
General and copied to the Accountant Officer and Auditor General.
(5) Expenditure on the item which has had its available funds increased by the
warrant shall at all times remain within the limits of any warrant currently in force.
(6) A schedule of all virements approved under this Regulation shall be laid
before the Legislative Assembly not less than two times during the financial year.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Excess and unauthorised expenditure
48. (1) The Legislative Assembly has the ultimate right to approve expenditure of
public moneys prior to its being incurred, and has an equal right to investigate the
reasons behind any failure of an accounting officer to comply with this legal
requirement, and it is the duty of each accounting officer to attend personally before
the Legislative Assembly when required to do so and provide explanations to the
issues raised. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) Any failure by an accounting officer to attend before the Legislative
Assembly without a reason acceptable to the Legislative Assembly shall be subject to
disciplinary action; and expenditure without adequate supporting documents shall be
treated as unauthorised expenditure under these Regulations. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)

(3) Within three months after the close of each financial year, the Accountant
General shall cause to be prepared schedules showing the net excess expenditure
incurred on each item of the estimates during that financial year; and the schedules
shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly at its next meeting for consideration.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
PART 10
BASIS OF ACCOUNTING AND PREPARATION OF ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
Basis of accounting
49. (1) The Legislative Assembly votes funds for “the service of the financial
year” on the basis of the amounts expected to be available in the course of the year;
and therefore only actual receipts and expenditure during a financial year can be
recorded in the Appropriation Accounts. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) By virtue of sub-regulation (1), no entry shall be made in the accounts of
government by any accounting officer which anticipates the receipt of revenue or the
expenditure by Government.
(3) In accordance with section 41 of the Act, the Accountant General shall
submit to the Auditor General and the Minister, within 4 months of the end of the
financial year, the statements set out in paragraph 1 of the Schedule to the Act.
(4) The approved estimates form the basis of the accounts for the year to
which they relate and the classification and sub-division of the statements of revenue
and expenditure shall accord with those estimates.
(5) The statements to be provided include but are not necessarily restricted to
those contained in the Schedule to the Act; and this is because the fundamental
requirement is to ensure that the financial position of the Government is fully
disclosed to the Legislative Assembly; and therefore the Accountant General shall
provide such other accounts or provide such additional information as he considers
necessary to achieve this objective. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Accounting in respect of commercial Government activities
50. (1) It is essential that costing of the services offered by any Government
commercial activity is done properly to avoid hidden subsidies.
(2) In order to achieve the objective mentioned in sub-regulation (1), it is
essential that all costs are captured, including those of a non-cash nature such as
depreciation; consequently, the management of such commercial Government
activities may run the activities on commercial principles in order that they can
achieve the objective, and its attempts to do so can be properly measured by an
appropriate accounting system.
(3) In order to achieve the objective set out in subregulations (1) and (2), such activities shall not be subject to the prior authorisation requirements of the
Consolidated Fund, but may be established with funds provided in Special Funds
established under section 14 of the Act, and separate accounting instructions shall be
issued for each special Fund by the Accountant General.

(4) The establishment of each Special Fund shall require the following initial
action—
(a) the purposes for which the Fund is being established are to be defined by the accounting officer responsible for the facilities to be used by
the Special Fund, as agreed by the Minister; and
(b) such definition shall include details and values of all fixed and current assets and all liabilities to be transferred to the Special Fund from the
Consolidated Fund to form the initial capital of the Special Fund, and
shall be recorded on its balance sheet as an asset with a corresponding
liability to the Consolidated Fund being entered in the books of
account.
(5) The assets and any other things accruing to the Special Fund after its
establishment shall be returned to Consolidated Fund on the winding up, for whatever
reason, of the Special Fund.
(6) While a Special Fund may have its own peculiarities requiring individual
procedures to be included, the statutory instrument setting up each such Fund shall
contain provisions relating to the following—
(a) no expenditure may be incurred by the Fund except as authorised by the Minister;
(b) day-to-day management of the activities falling under the Fund shall
be the responsibility of the accounting officer referred to in
subregulation (4)(a);
(c) proper books of account must be kept by the accounting officer responsible for the Fund, and in this respect the accounting officer
shall comply with all instructions issued or except otherwise agreed
by the Accountant General;
(d) the financial year for all the Funds shall coincide with that of Government;
(e) the relevant accounting officer shall, within three months of the end of the financial year, forward to the Minister and the Auditor General,
with a copy to the Accountant General, statements of account in such
form as the Accountant General may, from time to time, determine;
(f) the accounting officer shall forward to the Minister by the end of the financial year in accordance with a timetable set by the Financial
Secretary, estimates of income and expenditure of the Fund for the
following financial year;
(g) the estimates referred to in paragraph (f) shall, if approved by the Minister, be laid before the Legislative Assembly; and, with the
exception of statutory expenditure, no warrant shall be issued by the
Minister for any issues from the Fund until such estimates have been appropriated; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)

(h) subject to the power of the Minister under section 14 of the Act to wind up the Fund at any time, the Fund shall cease operations when
the balance of the Fund is exhausted.
Administration of trust funds
51. (1) A trust shall be administered and the payment of moneys therefrom shall
be governed by the terms of the law, deed of trust, trust instrument or agreement, as
the case may be, creating that trust.
(2) If, in relation to any trust, no law, deed of trust, trust instrument or
agreement exists or, in the opinion of the Financial Secretary a law, deed of trust, trust
instrument or agreement is inadequate for its proper administration, the Financial
Secretary shall give directions in respect of matters in relation to the trust as he
considers appropriate.
PART 11
RECEIPTS
Responsibility for revenue collection
52. (1) An accounting officer is personally responsible for ensuring that—
(a) all revenue invoiced is paid;
(b) adequate safeguards exist and are applied for the prompt collection and deposit of, and proper accounting for, all Government revenue
and other public moneys relating to their Ministries, departments or
agencies;
(c) all persons liable to pay revenue are informed by bills, demand notes or other appropriate notices of debts due, and that they are reminded
promptly and frequently of revenue which is in arrears; and
(d) adequate measures, including legal action where appropriate, are taken to obtain payment;
(e) official receipts are issued for all moneys paid to Government of
Montserrat.
(2) An accounting officer who experiences difficulty in collecting moneys due
to the Government must report the circumstances to the Accountant General without
delay, and copy such reports to the Financial Secretary.
(3) The Accountant General shall report to the Financial Secretary—
(a) any failure on the part of any accounting officer to receive and duly account for any sums receivable by him; and
(b) any case in relation to which he considers, after due enquiry, that the revenue is unduly falling into arrears.
(4) All regular collectors of revenue who receive any duties, taxes, fees, rents
or other public moneys, whether of a revenue nature or otherwise, shall pay the whole
amount of such moneys daily or at the earliest opportunity, into a bank account

authorised by the Accountant General or a public officer designated by the Accountant
General, and obtain a receipt for the moneys so paid in.
(5) Except with the authority of the Accountant General, no public officer
may convert public moneys received in local currency into foreign currency and vice versa.
Revenue collectors
53. (1) No public officer may collect public moneys unless he is specifically
authorised to do so.
(2) Except with the specific authority of the Accountant General, in no case
may a public officer whose duty involves the posting of assessment registers, rent rolls
and similar documents be authorised to collect public moneys or to post collections
into a cash book.
Revenue to be accounted in gross
54. In all cases, the gross amounts of moneys received shall be accounted for; and
any charges against revenue received shall require appropriate authority as
expenditure incurred by the Government and shall appear as a charge on public funds
in the books of account, duly supported by proper vouchers.
Restriction on method of payment
55. No payment of moneys due to the Government may be made by electronic
funds transfer, credit card or promissory notes, without the prior approval of the
Accountant General.
Responsibility for control of receipts
56. (1) Accounting officers are responsible for ensuring that a proper system
exists for the safe custody, recording and proper use of all receipts, licences and other
documents issued for the receipt of public moneys.
(2) All receipt books issued shall on completion be returned to the Accountant
General.
Receipts to be issued immediately
57. (1) A receipt in the approved form must be issued immediately for any public
moneys received; and when the payer presents himself or herself in person, the receipt
must be handed to him at once.
(2) Where moneys are received by post, the receipt must be sent by mail on
the same day.
Foreign currency receipts
58. Except with the prior approval of the Accountant General, no foreign currency
notes or coins, and no foreign stamps or cheques drawn in foreign currency may be
accepted in payment of any moneys due to government.

Acceptance of cheques
59. (1) A cheque may be accepted in payment of moneys due to the Government;
however the relevant receipt will be recognised and acknowledged only after that
cheque has been cleared or credited on Account.
(2) A cheque referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be made payable to the
authorised Government of Montserrat bank account and crossed “Account Payee
only”; any cheque received which is not so crossed shall be crossed by the receiver
immediately on receipt, and in no circumstance may a post dated cheque be accepted.
(3) In any case where a cheque is dishonoured, recovery measures shall be
instituted immediately by the accounting officer; and all instances of dishonoured
cheques shall be brought to the immediate attention of the Accountant General.
(4) All original dishonoured cheques shall be retained and kept in safe
custody; this is because such cheques represent important prima facie evidence of a debt due to Government and may be used in any legal action which may be taken to
recover the amount due and any incidental expenses that may have been incurred.
Recording of receipts
60. All public officers responsible for revenue collection shall ensure that the
relevant records are kept in such form as approved by the Accountant General.
Refunds of revenue and drawbacks
61. (1) Refunds of revenue may become necessary because of collections or over-
collections made in error or because, although properly collected in accordance with
an Act or regulation, provision exists under the Act or regulation for the revenue to be
reclaimed under certain circumstances in the form of a rebate or drawback.
(2) Refunds of revenue and drawbacks shall be in accordance with
instructions issued by the Accountant General.
Arrears of revenue returns
62. Within sixty days after the close of the financial year, each accounting officer
shall submit to the Accountant General in a form approved by the Accountant General
with a copy to the Auditor General, a return of all arrears of the revenue for which he
is responsible.
PART 12
LOANS, GUARANTEES AND GRANTS
Authority to raise loans, issue guarantees and accept grants
63. (1) Subject to section 30 of the Act, the authority to raise money by loan, to
issue guarantees and accept grants is vested solely in the Minister.
(2) The Minister may, if he considers it necessary or expedient in the public
interest to do so, with the approval of the Legislative Assembly, raise a loan on such
terms and conditions as he may think fit; and the proceeds of any loan raised shall be

paid into the Consolidated Fund, except where a loan has been raised for a purpose for
which a Special Fund has been established under section 14 of the Act, in which case
the Minister may direct that the whole or part of the amount of the loan shall be paid
into and form part of that Fund. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(3) Borrowing under subregulation (2) of this Regulation shall be by way of
the issue of treasury bills, bonds, development bonds, a fluctuating overdraft or any
other method the Minister may think fit.
(4) The Minister may at any time, on such terms and conditions as he
considers fit and where necessary, with the consent of the lender, repay any loan by
Government or convert any loan into any other such loan or loans provided it does not
substantially change the terms approved by the Legislative Assembly. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(5) All principal, interest, and other moneys payable by the Government under
this Regulation shall be a charge upon, and be payable out of the Consolidated Fund
without further appropriation.
Power to give guarantees
64. (1) The Minister, on behalf of Government and with the approval of the
Legislative Assembly, may, if it is considered necessary or expedient in the public
interest, give a guarantee for the repayment of the principal money and the payment of
the interest and other charges on any loan raised either within or outside Montserrat
by—
(a) a statutory body;
(b) any authority established by an Act which is in receipt of a contribution from, or the operations of which may, under the Act
establishing it or any Act relating to it, impose or create a liability
upon the public funds of Montserrat; and
(c) any public organisation which has in any of its financial years received a loan from public funds.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(2) Any money required to be paid by virtue of any guarantee given by the
Minister under the provisions of the Act shall be charged on and paid out of the
Consolidated Fund.
(3) Any money paid in respect of any guarantee given shall constitute a debt
due to Government by any public organisation or statutory body in respect of which
the guarantee was given shall be recoverable as such in a manner the Minister may
direct; and in addition, any collateral or security for the liability guaranteed shall form
a collateral or security to the Government immediately on payment, without prejudice
to any additional security or collateral that the Minister considers necessary.
Acceptance and receipt of grants
65. Any grants made to the Government shall be received by the Minister on
behalf of Government and shall be paid into and form part of the Consolidated Fund
or a Special Fund established for a specific purpose.

PART 13
PAYMENTS
Authority for payment
66. No payment shall be made out of the Consolidated Fund except with the
specific authority of the Minister. Authority shall be given by the Minister under his
hand by the issue of any one of the following—
(a) Provisional General Warrant;
(b) General Warrant;
(c) Advance Warrant;
(d) Imprest Warrant;
(e) Development Fund Warrant.
Control and method of payments
67. (1) Payments of public moneys to persons outside Montserrat shall be made
by direct payment to such persons by banker’s draft or otherwise through the banking
system; and where direct payment is considered to be inappropriate, payment shall be
made on the authority of the Accountant General through agents duly appointed for
the purpose with the approval of the Financial Secretary.
(2) To avoid a conflict of interest purchases of goods and services can only be
made directly from public officers where it can be demonstrated there is no other
supplier in the private sector.
(3) Goods and services should only be purchased through a business or person
registered under the relevant legislation or approved by the Accountant General.
Charging to year of account
68. (1) The date of payment of any amount governs the date of the record of the
transaction in the accounts; and therefore in no circumstance may payments be made
before they are due for the purpose of utilising an anticipated saving on an item; nor
may the unexpended portion of any item be retained for the purpose of setting it in
reserve to meet impending payments or to be carried to a deposit or other account.
(2) Expenditure properly chargeable to the account of a given year must, as
far as possible, be met within that year and must not be deferred for the purpose of
avoiding an excess on the amount provided in the estimates.
Payment vouchers or electronic documentation
69. (1) All disbursements of public moneys shall be properly vouched on payment
vouchers or electronic documentation approved by the Accountant General.
(2) An accounting officer may designate in writing and by name, specific
persons who have the authority to sign payment vouchers on his behalf, and prescribe
the financial limits and other conditions within which the authority may be exercised.
(3) The Accountant General and the Auditor General shall be—

(a) advised of the names of the public officers so designated and the financial limits within which they may exercise their authority,
(b) provided with the specimen signatures of those public officers; and
(c) advised when the authority of any public officer to sign payment vouchers or an electronic documentation is withdrawn.
(4) A public officer who signed an incorrect certificate in consequence of an
unauthorised or irregular payment shall be required to explain the circumstances, and
if found to have been negligent may be subject to disciplinary action.
(5) All payments due shall be made as soon as possible to the persons entitled
to receive them.
(6) Each accounting officer shall keep a Vote Control Register in the form
approved by the Accountant General, showing separately each estimate for which he
is responsible.
Payments in advance
70. Except in the case of a payment in advance duly authorised under the
provisions of section 26 of the Act, no money shall be paid to any person other than
the amount due for the value of work certified to have been done or services certified
to have been performed by such person.
Payment process
71. (1) All payments shall be made in accordance with instructions issued by the
Accountant General.
(2) The instructions referred to in subregulation (1) shall establish payment
points which shall be staffed by public officers authorised by the Accountant General
to make payments, and accounting officers shall submit payment vouchers or
approved electronic documentation to a payment point designated by the Accountant
General.
(3) When payments are made to persons other than those named in a payment
voucher or approved electronic documentation, the authorities under which such
payments are made, such as powers of attorney or letters of administration, shall be
attached to the vouchers themselves or shall be registered in the Treasury and notified
on the payment vouchers or approved electronic documentation.
Missing vouchers or supporting documents
72. (1) If any voucher on which payment has been made is lost, misplaced or
inadvertently destroyed, the accounting officer shall notify the Accountant General
immediately, and the Accountant General shall in turn report the full circumstances to
the Financial Secretary, with a copy to the Auditor General.
(2) Where after due enquiry, the Financial Secretary is satisfied as to the circumstances of such loss, mislaying or destruction and that payment has been
properly and correctly made, he may recommend to the Minister to authorise the
payment to stand charged in the accounts.

(3) Where the Financial Secretary is not satisfied as to the circumstances of
the loss, mislaying or destruction, he shall recommend an appropriate remedy or
penalty.
(4) For the purposes of this Regulation, a payment voucher or approved
electronic documentation which is incomplete because its supporting documents are
missing, shall be regarded as a missing voucher.
PART 14
IMPRESTS
Authorisation of imprests
73. (1) The Accountant General is authorised, under the advances warrant issued
to him by the Minister under the authority of section 26 of the Act, to issue imprests to
public officers who require cash to be readily available to meet immediate payments
for authorised expenditure.
(2) Imprests referred to in subregulation (1) shall include standing imprests
issued to accounting officers to meet payments during the financial year and
temporary imprests or advances issued to public officers for specific purposes.
(3) Lists of standing imprests required by accounting officers in the next or
forthcoming financial year shall be submitted to the Accountant General at least
fourteen days before the beginning of the financial year.
(4) Requests for temporary imprests or advances shall be made as the need
arises and shall be submitted to the Accountant General at least fourteen days before
the money is required.
(5) An imprest shall be restricted to the minimum amount required for the
purpose for which it is issued.
(6) All imprests of whatever nature shall be issued in the names of the public
officers who will hold them, and they shall remain their personal responsibility until
they are refunded or discharged by the submission of properly completed payment
vouchers or approved electronic documentation or properly handed-over to another
authorised public officer unless approved by the Financial Secretary.
(7) An imprest holder shall not be relieved of any part of his responsibility by
delegating the custody or operation of an imprest to another public officer.
Retirement of imprests
74. (1) All imprests shall be retired as soon as the necessity for their use ceases to
exist and in any event, except as provided in subregulation (4), by the close of
business on the last working day of the financial year in which they were issued.
(2) Except as provided in subregulation (4), where a public officer to whom an imprest of whatever nature has been issued fails to retire it in full within thirty days
after the close of the financial year, or otherwise on the demand of the Accountant
General—

(a) the amount outstanding may forthwith be recovered from any salary or other emoluments or from any other amounts due to the public
officer; and
(b) where no such salary, emoluments or amounts are available from which to recover the imprest, the amount may be charged as a
personal advance in the name of the imprest holder, and may be
recovered as a civil debt due to the Government.
(3) Imprest holders are not relieved of their responsibilities under this
Regulation until payment vouchers or approved electronic documentation submitted
have been examined and found to be correct.
(4) Notwithstanding the general rule that all imprests must be retired by the
close of the financial year, a temporary imprest advance issued in one financial year in
respect of a duty journey which has not been completed by the end of that financial
year may be retained by the public officer; but it shall be accounted for as soon as the
public officer returns to his normal place of work.
(5) Where the duty may not have been completed, so far as is practicable, the
public officer shall submit a voucher or electronic documentation for the expenditure
incurred by him against the imprest before the end of the financial year, so that the
expenditure can be included in the accounts of that year.
(6) No further imprest advances shall be issued to a public officer for the
purposes of a duty journey if he is still in possession of an un-retired imprest
previously issued to him for a similar purpose unless approved by the Financial
Secretary.
PART 15
LOANS, ADVANCES AND INVESTMENTS
Authority for loans and advances
75. (1) The grant of loans and advances from public moneys or funds is strictly
limited and such loans and advances may only be made by the Accountant General
under the authority of an advance warrant under the hand of the Minister and for the
purposes stated in the Act.
(2) All such advances shall be retired in the financial year in which they are
made, and no advance account or loan account shall be opened, nor will any action be
taken by any public officer, which will result in the issue of an advance or loan
without the prior approval of the Accountant General.
(3) Any public officer taking action prohibited under subparagraph (2) shall
be liable to a surcharge under Part 10 of the Act.
Loans and advances to be secured by agreements
76. (1) All loans and advances, other than those for Standing or Temporary
imprests and those in respect of staff advances shall be secured by legally enforceable
agreements in a form approved by the Attorney General.

(2) The agreements, which must clearly specify the full details of the advance,
including the amount, the terms of repayment or recovery, the collateral security (if
any) and the rates of interest, shall be properly executed by all parties, and shall be
retained in safe custody in a strong-room or safe.
Accountant General to control issues and repayments
77. (1) The Accountant General shall be responsible for ensuring that repayments
of advances are made strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions attached to
the advances.
(2) Without limiting the generality of sub-regulation (1), the Accountant
General shall, in particular ensure that—
(a) payments are made only to persons entitled to them;
(b) suitable terms and conditions have been approved to safeguard the repayment or recovery of the advance;
(c) interest is charged where applicable;
(d) recovery of the advance is not overlooked or delayed;
(e) where appropriate, collateral security is held by the Government; and
(f) proper accounts and controls are kept and the necessary recoveries effected.
Investments of public moneys
78. (1) Subject to section 16 of the Act, any money held to the credit of the
Consolidated Fund may be invested with a bank at call, or subject to notice not
exceeding twelve months, or in an investment authorised by law for the investment of
trustee funds and approved by the Minister.
(2) All interest received and recoveries made from any such investment shall
be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
(3) All costs, charges and expenses incurred in connection with negotiating,
placing, managing, servicing or converting any investment made in accordance with
these Regulations may be paid out of the Consolidated Fund without further
appropriation.
(4) The costs, charges and expenses referred to in paragraph (3) shall not
exceed the income earned over the life of the investment.
(5) Public and private organisations that receive public funds must present
financial statements upon request, prepare monthly and annual financial statements as
are required for audit and management purposes.

PART 16
SALARIES AND WAGES
Payment of salaries, etc. in the Public Service
79. (1) Subject to the Public Service Regulations, this Regulation shall apply to
payment of salaries and wages.
(2) It is a fundamental principle for the management of personal emoluments
that activities relating to the authorisation of appointments, the authorisation of
payments and the recording of those payments may not be performed by the same
person.
(3) Accounting officers are responsible for ensuring that personal emolument
records maintained for all of the permanent staff within their Ministries, departments
and other agencies of the government are correct, and that all changes and variations
in applicable rates are duly notified to the Accountant General.
(4) The rates of salary and other personal emoluments for members of the
established service are as authorised in the salary scales published in the estimates,
except in the case of contract public officers where the scale is as stated in the relevant
contract.
(5) Notification of changes shall be sent to the Accountant General to be
issued at an appropriate date by the Accountant General in consultation with
Department of Human Resources Management prior to the implementation of the
change.
(6) No employee shall be included on the payroll until a copy of the letter of
appointment and a copy of the letter of acceptance of the appointment have been
received by the accounting officer; and no action will be taken which would result in
changes of salary or allowance to any public officer until proper authority has been
received.
(7) Any balance of salary or allowance due to a public officer who has been
convicted for misappropriation of public moneys or Government funds, or theft of
Government property, or dismissed, or whose appointment has been terminated
leaving sums due to the Government, shall not be paid without the prior authority of
the Accountant General on the advice of the Attorney General.
(8) An Accounting officer is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate
record is maintained in respect of persons employed on a daily wage basis, and
ensuring that payment is made only for days actually worked.
(9) Any unpaid wages shall be repaid to the Accountant General, and in no
case shall money be paid to any public officer, sub-contractor, foreman or any other
person for distribution unless authorised by the Accountant General on the advice of
the Attorney General.

PART 17
PENSION
Records of retiring benefits
80. (1) The Accountant General shall maintain a record of all approved retiring
benefits showing in respect of each retired officer —
(a) the name of the officer;
(b) the office held on the date of his retirement;
(c) the date of birth and date of retirement;
(d) the cause of retirement;
(e) the date from which pension is payable;
(f) the amount of gratuity;
(g) the rate of pension;
(h) the file reference number;
(i) the address of the pensioner.
Notice of retirement
81. (1) Accounting officers shall submit to the Permanent Secretary, Human
Resources Management not later than four months before the end of each financial
year the names and pensionable emoluments of all officers in their department who
will be retiring from the public service during the following financial year.
(2) An officer shall not later than six months before the end of a financial year
give notice to the accounting officer in his department of intention to retire from the
service during the following financial year.
Deferred payments of retiring officer
82. Any failure on the part of an officer to give the required amount of notice of
his intention to retire from the public service may result in the deferment of the
payment of any retiring benefits due to him in respect of his service with government
for not more than one year after such payment is due.
PART 18
ACCOUNTING AND BOOK KEEPING
Accounting and book keeping in the Public Service
83. (1) The approved estimates form the basis of the accounts for the year to
which they relate and the analysis and classification of the accounts of revenue and expenditure shall accord with those estimates.

(2) Every entry in the books of accounts shall be supported by a voucher and
other approved documents containing the full details and particulars of the item or
items to which it relates.
(3) A book, account or record that is required to be kept under the provisions
of the Act or these Regulations may be kept or prepared—
(a) by making entries in a bound or loose-leaf book;
(b) by recording or storing the data concerned on electronic or other media by means of a mechanical, electronic or other device; or
(c) in any other manner approved by the Accountant General.
(4) Notwithstanding subregulation (3), where a book, account or record is to
be kept or prepared by a mechanical, electronic or other device or to be stored on
electronic or other media—
(a) the data recorded or stored shall be capable, at any time, of being reproduced in a hard copy or any other form approved by the
Accountant General; or
(b) a reproduction of the data shall be kept in a hard copy approved by the Accountant General,
and the provisions of the Act and these regulations with respect to written records
shall, with necessary changes, apply.
Use of computer based accounting systems
84. (1) Where the data recorded or stored on electronic or other material by a
mechanical or electronic device forms part of a system of account under the control of
an Accounting officer, the prior approval of the Accountant General shall be obtained
and any changes to the system shall similarly be approved.
(2) An accounting officer shall take all reasonable precautions to guard
against damage to, destruction of, or falsification of or in, and for discovery of
falsification of or in, any book, account, record or part of a book, account or record
required to be kept by the Act or these Regulations; and in particular shall ensure that
all instructions issued by the Accountant General in this respect are implemented and
enforced.
(3) An accounting officer shall, in particular, satisfy himself that where the
system involves the authorisation, approval, deletion or alteration of any transaction or
data by electronic means, or any means other than in writing, an audit trail is provided,
which enables the person giving such authorisation or approval or deleting or altering
a transaction to be identified beyond reasonable doubt and the nature and, if
applicable, the amount of the authorisation, approval, deletion or alteration to be
ascertained.
(4) An accounting officer shall also satisfy himself as to—
(a) the security of the means of storage and the method of processing of electronic media and its data;
(b) the proper documentation of any software involved,

and shall implement and enforce any instructions issued by the Accountant General in
this respect.
(5) In particular access to data and data processing areas shall be controlled
and the method of control documented.
(6) Where passwords are used as a security check for accessing data in a
computer based accounting system for whatever purpose, including the authorisation
or approval of transactions by electronic means or the alteration or deletion of any
data, the passwords shall be kept secret by the person to whom they are allocated.
(7) Any public officer who communicates a password to another public
officer and causes loss or damage to the Government shall be liable to disciplinary
action.
(8) Proper technical support shall be readily available for both hardware and
software; and effective backup and disaster recovery procedures shall be instituted to
cater for a partial or complete breakdown or loss of the storage media or processing
equipment.
(9) The objective of the requirements of subregulation (8) of this Regulation is
to ensure that the administration of the Government, and in particular the collection of
revenue, is not adversely affected.
Treasury cash books
85. The Accountant General and any public officer appointed by him, shall keep
in his office a cash book, batch sheets or other records including electronic copies
showing the allocation of receipts and payments, journals and ledgers together with
such other books and registers as may be necessary for the proper maintenance and
production of the accounts.
Deposit Accounts
86. Deposit accounts may only be opened with the specific approval of the
Accountant General and for the purpose of accounting for moneys owed to a third
party.
(2) The responsibility for keeping proper accounts for deposits which relate
solely to the Accountant General or which otherwise do not fall within the
responsibility of any other Ministry, department or other agency of the government,
rests with the Accountant General.
(3) With respect to deposits other than those referred to in subregulation (2) of
this Regulation, the prime responsibility for keeping proper accounts for such deposits
lies with the Accounting officer concerned; and in such cases, the Accountant General
also has a responsibility to investigate and take any necessary action to deal with a
deposit account which becomes overdrawn or which has been dormant for any
considerable period of time or which has not been reconciled with the Treasury
accounts.
(4) Any deposit which has remained unclaimed for a period of five years may,
with the approval of the Accountant General, be paid into the Consolidated Fund;

thereafter the Accountant General may refund the deposit to any person entitled to it
where he is satisfied that the claim is authentic.
(5) Any refunds after the deposit has been transferred to the Consolidated
Fund shall be paid from voted expenditure.
Public debt
87. The Accountant General shall maintain a register or such records as shall be
sufficient to show details of all loans raised by the Government and other forms of
public debt.
Standard forms
88. Standard forms and vouchers required for accounting procedures shall be
approved by the Accountant General; and the prior authority of the Accountant
General shall be obtained before the introduction of any special forms or vouchers for
use in individual Ministries, departments or agencies.
Preservation of accounting records
89. The Accountant General shall—
(a) issue instructions to Accounting officers specifying the precautions to be taken in particular cases to safeguard accounting records and
documents and, in particular, those which have been stored on
electronic or other media;
(b) ensure that all receipts and payment vouchers or approved electronic documentation lodged with him are properly secured, and that they
and all other accounting documents are kept in an orderly manner so
that they are available when required.
Destruction of accounting records
90. (1) All classes of books of account and records shall be carefully preserved
and shall not be destroyed without the prior written approval of the Accountant
General and the concurrence of the Auditor General.
(2) An accounting officer is responsible for the care and safe-keeping of
receipts, payments instruments and other accounting records in his custody and shall
retain them until they are destroyed.
(3) Accounting records may be destroyed with the approval of the Accountant
General after the expiry of the following periods—
Principal Treasury ledgers, cash ledgers and journals twenty years
Abstract, subsidiary journals, cheques, receipt forms
and counterfoil ......................................................... seven years
Payment instruments, and subsidiary records .......... five years
Special ledgers and records e.g. Savings Bank records twenty years
Salaries and wages ................................................... thirty five years

Procurement contracts .............................................. fifteen years.
(4) Where in the opinion of the Accountant General, a receipt, payment
instrument or other accounting record is required for purpose of any litigation, inquiry,
investigation or other examination, he may direct an accounting officer as the case
may be to delay destruction of the receipt, payment instrument or other accounting
record until it is no longer needed for that purpose.
PART 19
CUSTODY AND SECURITY OF PUBLIC MONEYS
Provision of security facilities
91 (1) Strong-rooms, safes and cash boxes shall be provided for the safe custody
of public moneys and valuables in all Government premises in which public moneys
and other valuables are received and retained either temporarily or permanently.
(2) The cost of such strong-rooms, safes and cash boxes shall be met from the
vote of the relevant accounting officer unless otherwise approved by the Minister of
Finance.
(3) The necessity and specifications for a strong-room, safe or cash-box shall
be determined by the Accountant General; however it is the responsibility of an
accounting officer to report to the Accountant General where he is not satisfied that
adequate facilities are available within the premises for the proper and safe custody of
public moneys and valuables.
(4) The Accountant General shall give guidelines relating to the maximum
amount of public moneys and, where appropriate, the limitation on valuables which
may be retained in a strong-room, safe or cash box overnight.
(5) Where the maximum amount of public moneys referred to in
subregulation (4) is likely to be exceeded, the excess will be placed in a locked or
sealed secure container and temporarily deposited in a strong-room or safe of higher
security grading, and a receipt obtained from the key holder of that strong-room or
safe or deposited into a bank account authorised by the Accountant General.
(6) In exceptional circumstances where large amounts are involved, the matter
should be reported to the accounting officer, who in his discretion may arrange for the
strong-room or safe to be placed under armed escort.
PART 20
BANK ACCOUNTS AND CHEQUES
Operation of bank accounts
92. (1) The Minister may designate any bank in Montserrat to be bankers to the Government for the custody of public moneys and other official funds and for the
transaction of official banking business.

(2) Except with the prior authority of the Accountant General no public
officer shall open a bank account for the deposit, custody or withdrawal of public
moneys or other moneys for which he is responsible in his official capacity or for the
transaction of official banking business; and where given, such authority shall be
conveyed in writing to the accounting officer concerned and copied to the Financial
Secretary.
(3) No public officer, statutory body or public organisation shall overdraw an
official bank account or obtain any advance or loan from a bank for official purposes,
without the prior authority of the Minister.
(4) Accounting officers may nominate senior public officers who may sign
cheques drawn on bank accounts for which they are responsible; and at least two
signatures, one of which shall be of the accounting officer shall be required for the
operation of any such bank account.
(5) The names and designations of the public officers referred to in sub-
regulation (4) of this Regulation and their specimen signatures shall be advised to the
bank where the account is held, and copies of the advice shall be sent to the
Accountant General and the Auditor General.
(6) Any change in the specimen signatures referred to in subregulation (5)
shall be similarly advised to the bank and copied to the Accountant General and
Auditor General.
(7) The Accountant General may—
(a) give directions as to the terms and conditions under which any bank account may operate; and
(b) close or suspend the operation of a bank account at any time.
(8) Accounting officers may not cause the closure or suspension of any bank
account without the prior approval of the Accountant General.
(9) The Auditor General may request from any person or organisation any
information in relation to any bank account and such information shall be supplied.
(10) In order that a bank account may continue to operate regardless of any
circumstances that may arise in respect of the authorised signatories, arrangements
shall be made by the accounting officer for the account to be capable of being
operated by the Accountant General in an emergency; and subregulation (4) relating to
the number and status of the signatories shall apply to such arrangements.
(11) The balance of every bank account as shown in the bank statement shall be
reconciled with the corresponding cash book balance at intervals determined by the
Accountant General, but in any case at least monthly; and the reconciliation statement,
where appropriate, shall be either filed or recorded in the cash book.
(12) A reconciliation similar to the one described in subregulation (11) shall be
carried out when responsibility for any bank account or cheque book is handed-over from one public officer to another and on the occasion of any surprise inspection or
survey.

(13) Copies of reconciliation statements approved by the accounting officer
shall be sent to the Accountant General, and copies of the reconciliation of any
account operated by the Accountant General shall be sent to the Financial Secretary.
Issue of cheques
93. Unless authority is given by the Accountant General for a cheque to be
opened, all cheques drawn on official Government accounts shall be crossed.
Computerized Cheques
94. (1) Cheques may be issued by the use of mechanical or electronic equipment.
(2) Adequate security measures shall be taken to restrict entry to mechanical
or electronic cheque-writing devices to persons specifically authorised by the
Accountant General.
(3) The Accountant General may authorise the signing of cheques by the use
of mechanical or electronic equipment capable of reproducing facsimiles of signature
or signatures of the person or persons duly authorised by him to sign cheques.
Cheque books to be secured
95. (1) Cheque books issued for use of an officer shall be secured when not in
use.
(2) The counterfoil of used cheques and machine copy of each cheque shall be
initialled by each signing officer and shall be secured for audit checking and
verification.
Spoilt cheques
96. (1) Spoilt cheques shall be retained and clipped to the matching counterfoil.
(2) Each spoilt cheque shall be marked or stamped across its face “Cancelled”
and initialled by a designated officer.
Cheques not to be cashed
97. In no circumstances should collector or receiver of revenue convert into cash,
cheques received by him or cheques presented to him by any person whether or not
that person is an officer.
PART 21
BOARDS OF SURVEY
Boards of survey of cash and bank balances, etc.
98. (1) The Financial Secretary may appoint a Board of Survey for each Ministry, department or other agency of the Government after the close of business on the last
working day of each financial year, or before the start of business on the first working
day of the new financial year, to survey the cash, bank balances and stores held by the
accounting officer of each such Ministry, department or other agency of the

Government for statutory reporting purposes except for the Treasury at the end of the
financial year.
(2) The Financial Secretary shall appoint a Board of Survey, for the write-off
and condemnation of cash, stocks and inventory at any time during the year after the
close of business on the last working day of each financial year or before the start of
business on the first working day of the new financial year to survey the cash, bank
balances and stores held by the Accountant General at the end of the financial year.
(3) The Accountant General or the Financial Secretary may appoint Boards of
Survey at any other time in each year to conduct surprise surveys on the balances
referred to in subregulations (1) and (2).
(4) Accounting officers may at their discretion, appoint Boards of Survey to
conduct surprise surveys on cash and bank balances and stamp stocks held by public
officers of their Ministries, departments or agencies.
Composition and reporting by Board of Survey
99. (1) A Board of Survey shall comprise at least two public officers, one of
whom shall be designated as Chairman by the Financial Secretary, the Accountant
General or accounting officer as appropriate; however no public officer so appointed
shall have any direct responsibility for the balances or stocks which he is required to
check.
(2) The Accountant General, the Financial Secretary or accounting officer
who appoints a Board of Survey shall notify the public officers concerned in writing
of their appointment as Chairman and member or members respectively of the Board
of Survey, and send a copy of the letter of appointment to the Auditor General and
where appropriate, to the Accountant General or the Financial Secretary.
(3) Where a public officer is unable to serve on a Board of Survey, he shall
notify the person that appointed him forthwith stating the reason for his inability to
serve; and if the reason is acceptable to the person, a replacement public officer shall
be appointed.
(4) Each Board of Survey, whether appointed by the Financial Secretary or
not, shall at the conclusion of the survey, submit a report to the Financial Secretary in
the form specified by the Accountant General and in accordance with the terms of
reference of the Board.
(5) The Financial Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that the duties
assigned to the Board of Survey are effectively discharged, and appropriate action
taken for any failure on the part of the Board to discharge its duties properly.
(6) Accounting officers shall follow up and implement the recommendations
of the Boards of Survey as they apply to their respective Ministries, departments or
agencies with the authority of the Financial Secretary; and the Accountant General
shall ensure that accounting officers implement those recommendations.
(7) The Financial Secretary shall follow up the implementation of the
recommendations of the Board of Survey carried out in respect of the Accountant
General.

PART 22
HANDING-OVER PROCEDURES
Duties of public officer handing-over
100. (1) Accounting officers shall ensure that on every occasion on which cash,
receipt books, keys, are handed-over from one public officer to another, the hand-over
shall be evidenced in writing, and shall be conducted in such a manner as to leave no
doubt or ambiguity as to the items handed-over and taken over.
(2) A handing-over statement shall be prepared and submitted to the
Accountant General and the Auditor General.
(3) Every handing-over statement shall be endorsed by the accounting officer
concerned.
Items handed-over to be checked
101. (1) Every item to be handed-over shall be checked in the presence of the
officer handing-over and the officer taking over and recorded in detail in the handing-
over statement.
(2) The handing-over of keys of strong-rooms, safes and cash-boxes shall be
recorded on the handing-over statement.
(3) Copies of all orders, circulars, books, regulations and instructions issued to
the officer handing-over shall be handed-over to the officer taking over.
(4) Cash ledgers, stamp registers and other accounting records shall be
balanced as at the date of the handing-over and signed by both officers.
Shortages and discrepancies found during hand-over
102. (1) Where, during a hand-over, shortages or discrepancies are noted between
the balances or stocks of cash, receipt books, being handed-over and those recorded in
the relevant cash books and registers, the full facts relating to the shortage or
discrepancies shall be recorded in detail in the handing-over statement, together with
an explanation of the shortage or discrepancy given by the public officer who is
handing-over.
(2) Where the shortage or discrepancy is other than of a very minor nature, the
public officer taking over shall make an immediate report to the accounting officer
who shall forthwith investigate the shortage or discrepancy and submit his report to
the Accountant General with a copy to the Auditor General.
(3) In the case of a hand-over between outgoing and incoming accounting
officers, the report shall be made to the Accountant General who shall forthwith
investigate the shortage or discrepancy and submit his report to the Financial
Secretary with a copy to the Auditor General.
Procedure in case of illness or absence of public officer
103. (1) Where because of illness or for any other reason an outgoing public officer
is unable to hand-over his duties and responsibilities in person, he will forward the

keys of the strong-rooms, safes, cash-boxes, in his custody to his accounting officer by
hand under sealed personal cover.
(2) The accounting officer shall then appoint at least two public officers who
shall, on behalf of the outgoing public officer, jointly perform the hand-over duties
approved in Regulations 101 and 102 and sign the handing-over statement in place of
the outgoing public officer.
(3) A procedure similar to that approved in subregulation (2) of this
Regulation shall be followed if a key-holder is unexpectedly absent from a duty,
which cannot be held in abeyance until his return.
(4) Where for any reason an incoming public officer considers that the state of
the records, balances, security, is such that he cannot conscientiously take them over,
he must immediately seek instructions from his accounting officer and promptly
submit to the accounting officer, a full written report of the circumstances of the case.
PART 23
INVENTORIES
Purchase and receipt of inventories
104. (1) Accounting officers are responsible for purchase and safe custody of
inventories under their control.
(2) Every public officer is personally and pecuniary responsible for
Government inventories under his control.
(3) Care must be taken to ensure that the inventories received are in good
condition and conform to order requirements, and the procedures governing the receipt
of inventories from suppliers into any Government store shall aim at ensuring that
payment is made only for the quantities actually received in good order and condition
and meeting the required specification.
(4) So far as is possible the task of receiving and checking inventories shall be
carried out by a public officer other than the one who places the orders and authorises
payment for the supplies, and the documentation should permit the various elements
of the transaction, including ordering, receipt and payment, to be identified with and
checked against each other.
Deliveries
105. (1) In order that investigations may be carried out and any claims supported,
it is essential that—
(a) a clear signature indicating that all the goods have been received intact and in good order, be given only when this fact has been
ascertained;
(b) intimation of any loss shall be given to the supplier and to the carrier without delay.
(2) Where any dispute is likely to arise, the storekeeper shall report the matter
immediately in writing to his superior public officer so that an enquiry may be

instituted to determine any responsibility; and in the event of loss to the Government,
any failure to comply with this procedure shall be taken into account in determining
responsibility for the loss.
Recording of inventories
106. The Accountant General shall issue instruction on the format to be kept in
respect of every inventory received and the procedure for the issuing of inventories.
Accountability for inventories
107. (1) Inventories are accounted for by value as well as by quantity, and it is
necessary to keep records so as to determine the unit cost of each inventory item and
the reconciliation of the total value of the stocks of inventories with the financial
records.
(2) All vouchers and ledger entries for inventories shall show the value as
well as the quantity of the items concerned.
(3) All purchases of inventories shall be charged directly to the relevant
expenditure lines immediately on purchase, and the records referred to in
subregulation (1) shall not form part of the general ledger.
Inspection of inventories
108. (1) Accounting officers shall arrange for the inventories for which they are
responsible to be inspected regularly and for written reports to be made to them on the
sufficiency of the storage accommodation and on the general condition of inventories
and storage facilities.
(2) The inspecting public officer shall report to the accounting officer
promptly and in writing, any case of loss, shortage, leakage, damage, waste,
deterioration or irregularity observed in the course of his inspection and the
Accounting officer shall take prompt and appropriate action to correct any defects or
deficiencies reported.
(3) In addition to the departmental internal inspections, which are designed to
satisfy Accounting officers that they are adequately discharging their own
responsibilities for the correctness of inventories and stores records, the inventory
holdings of all public stores shall be verified at least once a year by continuous
stocktaking by an independent Stock Verifier or by Boards of Survey appointed by the
Accountant General.
Boards of survey of inventories, etc.
109. (1) In cases where inventories have not been fully checked during a financial
year by a Stock Verifier, and in stores where, even though such a check has been
made, exceptionally valuable or attractive items are held, a Board of Survey shall be
appointed by the close of the financial year to check the stock holdings to such extent as specified in the terms of appointment.
(2) The appointment and composition of such Boards of Survey shall be
similar to those approved in regulation 99 in respect of Boards of Survey of cash, bank
balances and stamps.

Hand-over of duties in respect of inventories by public officers
110. (1) Accounting officers shall ensure that whenever one public officer
relinquishes to another the whole or part of his responsibilities for any store, the
inventories and stores ledgers are properly examined and the hand-over conducted in
such a manner that there can be no doubt or ambiguity as to the items handed-over and
taken over.
(2) The procedure for handing-over and taking over shall be similar to that
approved in regulations 101, 102 and 103 for the hand-over of cash, bank balances
and stamps.
Losses of inventories
111. (1) The procedure to be taken on the discovery of any loss or shortage of
inventories or other Government property, the manner in which enquiries into the loss
or shortage are to be conducted, and the procedure for surcharging or otherwise
disciplining any public officers held to be responsible are approved in regulations 22,
23 and 24.
(2) In the context of inventories and other property, losses shall include any
damage or deterioration which cannot be attributed to fair wear and tear.
Write-off of inventories
112. (1) Accounting officers may, with the authority of the Financial Secretary,
write-off minor items of inventories which have been accidentally lost or broken
beyond repair such as glassware and small tools, or perishable items which have
become unserviceable, provided that, no question of fraud, theft or negligence is
involved and the value does not exceed the maximum value determined by the
Minister from time to time.
(2) In each case of minor articles lost or broken, the Accounting officer may
order that the cost of the article shall be recovered from the public officer concerned.
(3) All write-offs shall be compiled and reported to the Financial Secretary for
inclusion in a resolution to be introduced in the Legislative Assembly.
(Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Condemnation of unserviceable inventories, etc.
113. (1) Where it is considered that inventories, vehicles, plant, equipment, have
reached the end of their useful life, are beyond economical repair or are unserviceable
for any other reason, or have become redundant through obsolescence, they shall be
retained until a sufficient quantity has accumulated to merit the convening of a Board
of Survey to inspect them; and it shall be the duty of such Board to determine the
action to take.
(2) The Financial Secretary, if he thinks fit, appoint in writing a Board of
Survey, comprising at least two public officers, one of whom shall be designated as Chairman, to inspect and report on the items referred to in subregulation (1); and
where the items are of a mechanical or technical nature, at least one of the public
officers appointed must be suitably qualified to express a technical opinion on the
state of the items.

(3) Except where this consideration makes it unavoidable, no public officer
concerned with the custody or use of the items should be appointed to the Board.
Unwanted serviceable inventories, etc.
114. Where inventories or items which, although serviceable, are no longer
required by the Government are to be sold, they shall be disposed of by public auction
or by tender after public advertisement; except where the specific approval of the
Financial Secretary has been obtained for them to be sold through other means.
PART 24
STOCK VERIFICATION
Appointment of stock verifier
115. The Financial Secretary shall have the power to appoint a stock verifier
whenever it becomes necessary to verify stock holdings in any department.
Duties of stock verifier
116. The duties of a stock verifier shall include—
(a) the detailed comparison of stores ledger balances, bin card balances and inventory balances with the physical stock on hand;
(b) the initial investigations into the reasons for any discrepancies;
(c) an assessment of the security and storage arrangements and safeguards against loss, fraud and other irregularities;
(d) an assessment of the management of stocks with special regard to overstocking, wastage and obsolescence;
(e) checking and evaluating inventory holdings;
(f) the identification of unserviceable or obsolete stores;
(g) supervising the disposal of condemned stores;
(h) any other duties assigned by the Financial Secretary.
Stock to be verified
117. The Financial Secretary may at any time arrange for stores held in any
department to be verified by a stock verifier.
Report of stock verifier
118. (1) The stock verifier shall report to the Financial Secretary on any
discrepancy, defects, obsolescence or damage or any deficiency in the arrangements
for accounting, storage, security and other safeguards which have come to his notice during the stock verification.

(2) The Financial Secretary, on receipt of the stock verifier's report, may
require the accounting officer concerned to answer to any discrepancy, defect, damage
or deficiency discovered by the stock verifier.
PART 25
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Nature of non-current assets
119. (1) Non-current assets are assets that, by their nature, have useful lives
extending over more than one fiscal year, and include all major items of furniture and
equipment for either Government offices, quarters, plant, equipment, and larger tools
for Government works, vehicles and launches, owned by the Government of
Montserrat.
(2) Such assets are required to be retained until they are finally written-off and
disposed of because they are either unserviceable or are of no further use to the
Government; and while the overall responsibility for such assets or equipment rests
with the relevant Accounting officer, the public officers to whom the assets are issued
have the primary responsibility over their custody, maintenance, safeguarding and
proper use until they are returned to store.
(3) When the occupant of an office, quarter or location, or other person having
charge or use of the equipment or furniture changes, there shall be an appropriate
hand-over to the incoming public officer.
Recording of assets
120. A register, in a form approved by the Accountant General shall be maintained
for all assets, and all such assets shall also be appropriately marked or engraved to
ensure that they are easily identifiable as Government assets.
Use of Government vehicles or conveyances
121. (1) Journeys may only be made in Government vehicles, launches or other
conveyances when use of such vehicle, launch or conveyance has been approved by
the relevant accounting officer or other public officer designated by the accounting
officer to give such approval.
(2) The approval referred to in subregulation (1) shall be conveyed to the
public officer in writing, with copies to the Accountant General.
(3) The public officer approving the journey shall ensure that the most
economical vehicle or conveyance is used, commensurate with the duty to be
performed, and shall satisfy himself that the distances travelled, time taken, are
reasonable having regard to the conditions under which the work is executed or
performed.
(4) Except with the express prior approval of the Financial Secretary, relevant
accounting officer or appointing authority, no Government vehicle, launch or other
conveyance may be used by any person for travel from home to place of work or for
any other private purpose.

Hire or loan of assets
122. (1) Except where an authorised procedure exists and standard hire charges are
in operation, Government property, plant or equipment may only be loaned or hired
out to public officers or to the public in very exceptional circumstances.
(2) The loaning or hiring of Government property, plant or equipment under
subregulation (1) of this Regulation shall—
(a) be with the prior written approval of the relevant accounting officer; and
(b) be supported by an agreement signed by the hirer on a form approved
by the Attorney General,
and the hire charges must be paid before the plant, equipment or other non-current
asset is released.
Maintenance and security of assets
123. Accounting officers are responsible to keep secure and maintain assets under
their control in a reasonable state of repair in order to keep them suitable for purposes
for which they were purchased.
Sale of assets
124. (1) No uniforms and equipment of a uniformed service which has become
unserviceable or which are no longer required for public purposes shall be sold to any
person, public officer or to the public.
(2) Where assets have become unserviceable or which no longer require for
public purpose, no assets shall be sold to any person, public officer or to the public.
(3) Such a sale may only be made where the sale—
(a) falls within the terms of a formal government contract, such as the
sale of materials to a government workers contractor;
(b) is made in accordance with a standing arrangement;
(c) is otherwise made with the prior written authority of the Accountant
General, which shall be given only in exceptional circumstances when
no other source of supply is readily available, and the accounting
officer concern is satisfy that the items can be spared; and
(d) complies with the Procurement Regulations, and any Regulations
made under it or any other written law for the disposal of assets.
(4) Where authority has been duly obtained for the sale of any assets or non-
current assets other than within the terms of a contract or in accordance with a
standing arrangement, the assets shall not be supplied to the purchaser until payment
in full has been received.
(5) Any Government mark or crest appearing on such assets shall be
obliterated before the property is sold.

(6) In this Regulation, “uniformed services” means the Royal Montserrat
Police Service, the Montserrat Defence Forces and such other institution or body as
may be specified in general instructions issued by the Accountant General under
section 8(2) of the Act. (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
Boards of Survey of Assets
125. (1) At the end of each financial year, Boards of Survey of Assets may be
appointed to check the assets held by Ministries, departments and agencies of the
Government.
(2) The appointment, composition and reporting of the Boards of Survey of
Assets shall be as detailed in regulation 99.
PART 26
ACCIDENTS
Appointment of Accident Investigation Board
126. The Financial Secretary may appoint an Accident Investigation Board to
inquire into the causes and costs of any accidents reported to him and to assess the
extent of any responsible or negligence on the part of any driver or operator
responsible for or in control of the vehicle or plant involved.
Accident reports
127. Whenever an accident involving a government vehicle or plant occurs, the
driver or operator as the case may be shall immediately notify the police and complete
an accident report and submit such report to the accounting officer.
Assessment of damage
128. The accounting officer, on receiving an accident report, shall immediately
refer the reports to the officer in charge of the mechanical workshop or garage for an
assessment of the damage or damages sustained and an estimate of the cost of repair,
or, in the case where the vehicle or plant is beyond repairs, the cost of replacement.
Report to be submitted to Accident Investigation Board
129. Except where the accident is referred to the Court by the Police, the accounting
officer shall submit the accident report together with the assessment made by the
officer in charge of the mechanical workshop or garage and police report, if any, to the
Accident Investigation Board. Where the matter has been referred to the Court, the
Accounting Officer is obliged to await the decision of the Court and at that time all the
documents including the Court decision shall be submitted to the Accident
Investigation Board.
Proceedings by the Accident Investigation Board
130. (1) The Accident Investigation Board may summon any person to give any
evidence or explanation concerning the accident which it may consider to be
necessary.

(2) The Accident Investigation Board shall submit a report on its findings
together with any recommendations as to the action to be taken against the driver or
operator responsible for the accident, to the accounting officer.
Action to be taken
131. (1) The accounting officer shall submit the accident report and the Accident
Investigation Board's report together with his recommendations on the extent of any
surcharge against the driver or operator responsible for the accident, to the Financial
Secretary after consultation with the Attorney General’s Chambers.
(2) Any surcharge imposed on the driver or operator by the Minister shall be
recovered in accordance with any directions given by the Financial Secretary.
Claims by government
132. Where the Accident Investigation Board recommends that a claim be made
against any person or insurance company in respect of any liability for an accident, the
accounting officer shall prepare the claim and submit it to the Attorney General for his
approval before it is issued.
Claims against government
133. In the event of a claim being made against the government for liability in
respect of an accident, the claim shall be investigated by the Accounting Officer and
both his report and the claim referred immediately to the Attorney General for his
advice on the action to be taken.
Repairs to damaged plant or vehicle
134. As soon as possible after an assessment has been made by the officer in charge
of the mechanical workshop or garage and except as may be advised by the Accident
Investigation Board or Attorney General, the accounting officer shall proceed to carry
out repairs to the vehicle or plant involved in the accident. An accounting officer must
ensure that cost to Government is minimised.
PART 27
MISCELLANEOUS
Penalties
135. In accordance with section 52 of the Act a public officer who—
(a) without reasonable excuse fails to provide by the due date any
information that the Financial Secretary required under section 7 of
the Act, such matter may be reported by the Financial Secretary to the
responsible authority under the public service law for appropriate
action; (Amended by Act 9 of 2011)
(b) causes a loss of or deficiency in public money and damage to public
property, the amount of loss or deficiency and the value of the
property lost or destroyed and the cost of replacing or repairing the

damage to that property as the case may be, shall be a debt due to the
Government and may be recovered from the public officer either
administratively or through a court of competent jurisdiction.
Surcharge
136. (1) Notwithstanding anything in these Regulations, where, in pursuance of
Part 10 of the Act—
(a) a loss or deficiency in public moneys or other moneys that has been advanced to or was under the control of a public officer occurs; or
(b) a loss or deficiency of or damage to public property or other property
occurs while in the care of a public officer, and the Minister is
satisfied after due enquiry, that the negligence or misconduct of the
public officer caused or contributed to the loss or deficiency,
the amount of the loss or deficiency; the value of the property lost or destroyed; the
cost of replacing or repairing the damage to that property, as the case may be, shall be
a debt due to the Government, and may be recovered from the public officer either
administratively or through a court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) Where the negligence or misconduct of the public officer is not the sole
cause of the loss, deficiency or destruction resulting in an action under subregulation
(1) of this Regulation, the amount recoverable from the public officer may be
restricted to only the cost of replacing or repairing the loss, deficiency, damage or
destruction that the Minister considers, after due enquiry, to be just and equitable,
having regard to the contribution made by the public officer to that loss, deficiency,
damage or destruction.
(3) In this Regulation, reference to a public officer includes a person who at
the time of the loss, deficiency or damage was a public officer.
Forms
137. The Accountant General may prescribe such forms as are required for the
efficient working of these Regulations. ___________


PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY)
(PROCUREMENT) REGULATIONS
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PART 1
PRELIMINARY

REGULATION
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
3. Application
PART 2
GENERAL PROVISIONS
4. Qualification of suppliers
5. Evaluation and disqualification of suppliers
6. Prequalification proceedings and documents
7. Form of communication
8. Rules concerning documentary evidence provided by suppliers
9. Record of procurement process
10. Publication of contract awards
11. Inducements from suppliers
12. Rules regulating obstacles against the participation of suppliers
13. Splitting procurement contracts
14. Language of documents
PART 3
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE FOR
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
15. Establishment of a Public Procurement Board
16. Functions of the Public Procurement Board
17. Secretariat of the Public Procurement Board
18. Appointment of Departmental Tender Committees
19. Procurement by corporations and certain other bodies

PART 4
METHODS OF PROCUREMENT OF GOODS, CONSTRUCTION
AND SERVICES AND CONDITIONS FOR USE
20. Open tendering
21. Restricted tendering
22. Request for quotations
23. Single-source procurement
PART 5
PROCEDURE FOR SOLICITING TENDERS
Subpart 1 – Invitation to Tender
24. Procedure for soliciting tenders
25. Two-stage tendering
26. Tender documents
27. Clarification and modification of tender documents
Subpart 2 – Submission of Tenders
28. Submission of tenders
29. Deadline for submission of tenders
30. Periods of effectiveness of tenders; modification and withdrawal of tenders
31. Tender security
Subpart 3 – Evaluation of Tenders
32. Opening of tenders
33. Examination and evaluation of tenders
34. Rejection of all tenders
35. Prohibition of negotiations
36. Acceptance of tenders and entry into force of procurement contract
37. Notice to other suppliers
PART 6
METHOD OF PROCUREMENT FOR CONSULTING SERVICES
38. Request for proposal
39. Contents of the request for proposals
40. Criteria for the evaluation of proposals
41. Quality-based selection
42. Clarification and modification of request for proposal
43. Single source procurement
44. Cost verification
45. Negotiations

PART 7
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
46. Right to Review
47. Review by Public Procurement Board or Financial Secretary
48. Appeal to Complaints Commission
PART 8
MISCELLANEOUS
49. Information to be confidential
50. General or special direction of the Minister
51. Disclosure of interest in procurement process
52. Meaning of “publish”


PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY)
(PROCUREMENT) REGULATIONS – SECTION 58
(S.R.O.s. 11/2012, 17/2012 and 21/2012)
Commencement
[1 April 2012]
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
Short title
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Public Finance (Management and
Accountability) (Procurement) Regulations.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“Act” means the Public Finance (Management and Accountability) Act;
“construction” means all works associated with the construction, reconstruction,
demolition, repair or renovation of a building, structure or works, such as site
preparation, excavation, erection, building, installation of equipment or
materials, decoration and finishing;
“consulting services” means services of an intellectual nature which may not lead to
a physically measurable result;
“Departmental Tenders Committee” means a committee appointed under regulation
18;
“domestic supplier” means a supplier who has his principal place of business in
Montserrat;
“goods” include raw materials, products, equipment and other physical objects of
every kind and description, whether in solid, liquid, or gaseous form, and
electricity;
“Minister” means the Minister with responsibility for finance; and “Ministry” shall
be construed accordingly;
“open tendering” involves publicly publishing a request or invitation for tenders and
considering all submissions received in response to the invitation;
“prequalification document” means any document submitted to suppliers in
prequalification proceedings under regulation 6;
“procurement” means the acquisition of goods by any means including purchase, rental, lease or hire-purchase, and the acquisition of construction, consulting
and other services;
“procurement contract” means a contract between the procuring entity and a
supplier or contractor resulting from the procurement process;

“procuring entity” means any ministry, department, agency or other unit, or any
subdivision of the Government or a public organisation that engages in
procurement;
“public emergency” means a period of public emergency declared in accordance with
section 18 of the Montserrat Constitution Order 2010;
“Public Procurement Board” means the Public Procurement Board established
under regulation 15;
“public service law” means any law relating to the matters referred to in section
24(2)(a) to (c) of the Montserrat Constitution Order 2010;
“publish” has the meaning assigned in regulation 52;
“services” means services of a general nature other than consulting and construction
services;
“supplier” means according to the context, any party or potential party to a
procurement contract with the procuring entity and includes a consultant;
“tender document” means any document that seeks to solicit proposals, offers or
quotations from suppliers at any stage of the procurement process; and
“tender security” means a security provided to the procuring entity to secure the
fulfilment of any obligation under a procurement contract and includes such
arrangements as bank guarantees, surety bonds, stand-by letters of credit,
cheques on which a bank is primarily liable, cash deposits, promissory notes,
and bills of exchange.
Application
3. (1) These Regulations apply to all procurement by a procuring entity unless—
(a) the procurement is for purposes of national defence, public emergency or national security; or
(b) the regulations conflict with a provision of an international agreement.
(2) The application of these Regulations may be extended to the type of
procurement referred to in subregulation (1) if and to the extent that a procuring entity
expressly declares the application of the Regulations to suppliers in its initial tender
document.
PART 2
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Qualification of suppliers
4. (1) A supplier must qualify to participate in a procurement process by meeting
the following criteria to the extent that the procuring entity considers appropriate in a particular procurement process—
(a) the supplier possesses or has access to the technical competence, financial resources, equipment and other physical facilities, personnel,

managerial capability, experience and reputation, to complete the
procurement contract;
(b) the supplier has the legal capacity to enter into the procurement contract;
(c) the supplier is not insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up, its affairs are not being administered by a court or a judicial
officer and its business activities have not been suspended;
(d) the supplier is not the subject of legal proceedings for any of the matters mentioned in paragraph (c);
(e) the supplier has fulfilled or has made substantial arrangements satisfactory to the relevant authorities, to fulfil its obligations to pay
taxes and social security and other contributions of its employees;
(f) the supplier has not, and its directors or officers have not, been convicted of any criminal offence related to—
(i) its professional conduct;
(ii) the making of false statements; or
(iii) misrepresentations as to its qualifications to enter into a
procurement contract,
within a period of ten years preceding the commencement of the
procurement process;
(g) the supplier, its directors or officers have not been disqualified from a procurement process pursuant to suspension or debarment
proceedings in this or other jurisdictions;
(h) the supplier’s past performance substantiated by documentary evidence is satisfactory and warrants serious consideration for the
award of the procurement contract.
(2) If a supplier is a public officer or a public officer owns or has an interest in
a supplier, the public officer may only qualify to participate in a procurement process
if he declares his interest—
(a) to the procuring entity on submission of a prequalification application, where submission is required; or
(b) where the procuring entity does not engage in prequalification proceedings, to the Departmental Tender Committee or the Public
Procurement Board, on submission of his tender document.
(3) If a public officer in subregulation (2) does not declare his interest, he or
the supplier is liable to lose the procurement contract, if the tender is accepted.
(4) Subject to the right of a supplier to protect its intellectual property or trade secrets, the procuring entity may require suppliers or contractors participating in the
procurement process to provide appropriate documentary evidence or other
information to satisfy itself that the supplier is qualified in accordance with the criteria
listed in subregulation (1).

(5) A procuring entity shall set out in any prequalification document or tender
document the applicable criteria for qualification referred to in subregulation (1) and
the criteria shall apply equally to all suppliers.
(6) A procuring entity shall not impose a criterion, requirement or procedure
with respect to the qualifications of suppliers other than those identified in these
Regulations.
(7) The procuring entity shall not establish a criterion, requirement or
procedure with respect to the qualifications of suppliers that—
(a) discriminates against or among suppliers or against categories of
suppliers on the basis of nationality; or
(b) that is not justifiable for the performance of the procurement contract,
except when it is in the national interest to do so and this is expressed in the tender
documents.
Evaluation and disqualification of suppliers
5. (1) A procuring entity shall evaluate the qualifications of suppliers in
accordance with the qualification criteria and procedure set out in the prequalification
or tender documents.
(2) A procuring entity may disqualify a supplier from a procurement process
if it finds that the supplier knowingly submitted information concerning its
qualifications that was materially inaccurate, materially incomplete or false.
(3) If a supplier knowingly submits information concerning its qualification
which is materially inaccurate, materially incomplete or false on more than one
occasion, a procuring entity may, with the approval of the Public Procurement
Board—
(a) suspend the supplier, for a period of one to two years, from being considered for any procurement contract by the procuring entity; or
(b) debar the supplier from participation in any or a certain type of procurement process, subject to any condition it considers necessary.
Prequalification proceedings and documents
6. (1) A procuring entity may conduct prequalification proceedings with a view
to identifying suppliers that are qualified prior to the submission of tenders, proposals
or offers in any procurement process.
(2) If the procuring entity decides to engage in prequalification proceedings it
shall publish an invitation to prequalify which shall state—
(a) the method of obtaining prequalification documents; and
(b) the fee payable for the documents.
(3) A procuring entity shall provide prequalification documents to each
supplier who requests them in the manner provided in the invitation to prequalify and
who pays the applicable fee.

(4) The prequalification documents shall include the following information—
(a) instructions for preparing and submitting a prequalification application;
(b) a summary of the required terms and conditions of the procurement contract to be entered into at the conclusion of the procurement
process;
(c) any document or other information that must be submitted by suppliers as evidence of their qualifications;
(d) the manner and place for the submission of applications to prequalify;
(e) the deadline for submission, expressed as a specific date and time; and
(f) any other requirements that may be established by the procuring entity in conformity with these Regulations.
(5) A procuring entity shall ensure that the deadline for submission of a
prequalification application allows suppliers sufficient time to prepare and submit
their applications but should also take into account the needs of the procuring entity.
(6) A procuring entity shall respond in a timely manner to a justifiable query
by a supplier for clarification of the prequalification documents that is received by the
procuring entity within a reasonable time, prior to the deadline for the submission of
applications to prequalify.
(7) The response to any query in subregulation (6) shall, without identifying
the source of the query, be communicated to all suppliers who received
prequalification documents.
(8) A procuring entity shall only apply the criteria set out in prequalification
documents when evaluating each prequalification application and deciding whether a
supplier prequalifies to participate in the procurement process.
(9) A procuring entity shall promptly notify each supplier that submits a
prequalification application whether or not it has prequalified and shall, upon
request—
(a) make available to any member of the public, the names of all
suppliers that have prequalified; and
(b) communicate to any supplier that has not been prequalified, the grounds for its decision.
(10) Only prequalified suppliers are entitled to participate further in the
relevant procurement process.
(11) A supplier that has not satisfied the prequalification requirements may
request a review of the decision in accordance with Part 7.
Form of communication
7. (1) A document, notification, decision or other communication that these
Regulations require—
(a) a procuring entity to submit to a supplier; or

(b) a supplier to submit to a procuring entity,
shall be in a form, electronic or otherwise, that provides a record of the content of the
communication.
(2) If communication, referred to in subregulation (1), between the supplier
and the procuring entity occurs by a form of communication that does not provide a
record of the content of the communication, confirmation of the communication shall
be given to the recipient of the communication by the sender in a form which provides
a record of the confirmation.
(3) The procuring entity shall not discriminate against or among suppliers on
the basis of the form in which they transmit or receive documents, notifications,
decisions or other communications.
Rules concerning documentary evidence provided by suppliers
8. (1) If a procuring entity requires notarization or authentication of a document
provided by a supplier as evidence of the supplier’s qualifications in the procurement
process, the procuring entity shall not impose any requirement as to the authentication
or notarization of the documents other than those provided for by law.
(2) The procuring entity shall require authentication or notarization of
documents only from the bidder who submitted the lowest evaluated bid or the bidder
who has been recommended to be awarded the tender.
Record of procurement process
9. (1) The procuring entity shall maintain a record of the procurement process
including the following information for at least five years—
(a) a brief description of the goods, services, construction, or consulting services to be procured;
(b) the names, addresses and other relevant contact information of suppliers that submitted prequalification applications, tenders,
proposals, or quotations;
(c) the name and address of the supplier or contractor with which the procurement contract is entered into and the contract price;
(d) information relating to the qualification, or lack thereof, of suppliers or contractors that submitted prequalification applications, tenders,
proposals, offers or quotations;
(e) the price, or the basis for determining the price, and a summary of the other material terms and conditions of each prequalification
application, tender, proposal, offer or quotation;
(f) the means used to solicit suppliers and a record of any such advertisement;
(g) the time and place for the opening of tenders;
(h) the names of the suppliers or their representatives and members of the public attending the opening of tenders or proposals;

(i) the form of tender and those pages containing the original bill of quantities for construction;
(j) a summary of the evaluation and comparison of tenders, proposals, offers or quotations; and
(k) any other information required to be recorded by these Regulations.
(2) The portion of the record referred to in subregulation (1)(a) and (b) shall, on request, be made available to any person—
(a) (i) after a tender has been accepted; and
(ii) a notice under regulation 10 has been published; or
(b) after the procurement process has been terminated.
(3) After a tender has been accepted or the procurement process has been
terminated, the record referred to in subregulation (1)(c) to (j) shall, be made available on request, to suppliers that applied for prequalification or tenders.
(4) A court of competent jurisdiction may, at any stage of the procurement
process, on the application of a supplier that submitted a prequalification application,
tender, proposal or quotation, order the procuring entity to disclose a portion of the
record referred to in subregulation (1), but, subject to the conditions of the order, the
procuring entity shall not disclose information—
(a) if its disclosure would—
(i) be contrary to law;
(ii) impede law enforcement;
(iii) not be in the public interest;
(iv) prejudice legitimate commercial interests of the other parties; or
(v) inhibit fair competition; or
(b) relating to the examination or evaluation of tender proposals,
but non-disclosure shall not be construed as preventing the disclosure of scoring
sheets or rankings, or any other documents that provide a qualitative or quantitative
comparison of the tender proposals.
(5) The procuring entity shall not be liable to suppliers for damages solely for
a failure to maintain a record of the procurement process in accordance with this
regulation if the procuring entity has acted in good faith.
Publication of contract awards
10. A procuring entity shall, within ten days of awarding a procurement contract,
publish a notice of the contract, if the value of the contract exceeds—
(a) $10,000 for procurement of services; or
(b) $20,000 for any other procurement.

Inducements from suppliers
11. A procuring entity or the Public Procurement Board shall reject a tender or
proposal, if the supplier that submitted it offers, gives or agrees to give, to any current
or former officer or employee of the procuring entity—
(a) a gratuity in any form;
(b) an offer of employment; or
(c) any other thing or service or value;
as an inducement with respect to an act or decision of, or procedure followed by, the
procuring entity in connection with the procurement process and the rejection of the
tender or proposal and the reasons for the rejection shall be recorded in the record of
the procurement process under regulation 9 and promptly communicated to the
supplier.
Rules regulating obstacles against the participation of suppliers
12. (1) A procuring entity shall not include or use in the prequalification
documents or tender documents—
(a) a specification, plan, drawing or design setting out the technical or quality characteristic of goods, services or construction;
(b) a requirement concerning testing and test methods, packaging,
marking or labelling or conformity certificate; or
(c) a symbol, terminology or description of goods,
if it creates an obstacle, including obstacles based on nationality, to the participation
of suppliers in the procurement process.
(2) Subject to subregulation (3), a specification, plan, drawing, design and
requirement shall be based on the relevant objective technical and quality
characteristics of the goods, services, or construction to be procured.
(3) There is no requirement for or reference to a particular trade mark, name,
patent, design, type, specific origin or producer in a specification, plan, drawing,
design or requirement, unless there is no other sufficiently precise or intelligible way
of describing the characteristics of the goods, services, or construction to be procured.
(4) Where there is a requirement for or reference to a particular trade mark,
name, patent, design, type, specific origin or producer, the words such as “or
equivalent” must be included.
(5) Standardized features, requirements, symbols and terminology relating to
the technical and quality characteristics of the goods, services, or construction to be
procured shall be used, where available, in formulating any specifications, plans,
drawings and designs to be included in the tender documents.
(6) Regard shall be had for the use of standardized trade terms, where available, in formulating the terms and conditions of all relevant aspects of the tender
documents and the procurement contract to be entered into as a result of the
procurement process.

Splitting procurement contracts
13. A procuring entity shall not—
(a) split or cause a procurement contract to be split; or
(b) divide or cause a procurement contract to be divided,
into separate procurement contracts where the sole purpose for doing so is to avoid the
application of any provision of these Regulations.
Language of documents
14. All solicitations, invitations to tenders and other documents required under
these Regulations shall be in English and may also be in any other language that the
procuring entity specifies.
PART 3
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE FOR
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
Establishment of a Public Procurement Board
15. (1) There is established a body known as the Public Procurement Board.
(2) The Public Procurement Board shall consist of the Deputy Financial
Secretary, who shall be an ex officio member and Chairperson, and five other members of personal and professional integrity, appointed by the Deputy Governor as
follows—
(a) a representative from the Ministry with responsibility for development policy;
(b) a person with legal training, competence and experience;
(c) a person with at least five years experience in finance or public auditing;
(d) a person who has shown competence in business or administration; and
(e) a person not in active practice who possesses technical expertise in engineering, architecture or other relevant technical field.
(3) A director, head of a department, a representative of a donor agency or a
designated representative of a procuring entity may attend meetings of the Public
Procurement Board when matters concerning the relevant procuring entity are being
considered but shall not be entitled to vote.
(4) A term of membership on the Public Procurement Board shall be three
years except in the case of the Deputy Financial Secretary.
(5) Three members, including the Chairman, shall constitute a quorum at
meetings of the Public Procurement Board. (Amended by S.R.O. 21/2012)

Functions of the Public Procurement Board
16. (1) The Public Procurement Board shall be responsible for—
(a) exercising jurisdiction over tenders, the value of which, exceeds $100,000;
(b) maintaining efficient record keeping and quality assurance systems;
(c) making rules governing procurement to carry out the provisions of these Regulations;
(d) determining the forms of documents for procurement including, but not limited to—
(i) standard bidding documents;
(ii) prequalification documents;
(iii) procurement contracts;
(iv) anti-collusion statements to be signed by suppliers;
(v) evaluation forms; and
(vi) procurement manuals, guidelines, and procedures;
(e) organising training seminars regarding procurement;
(f) reporting annually to the Minister on the effectiveness of the
procurement processes, and recommending any amendment to these
Regulations that may be necessary to improve the effectiveness of the
procurement process;
(g) reviewing decisions of procuring entities, upon request, as provided for in regulation 46; and
(h) adjudicating proceedings for the suspension or debarment of a supplier from procurement proceedings.
(2) The Public Procurement Board shall submit to the Financial Secretary,
reports of its decisions and other activities every quarter and at any other time that the
Financial Secretary requires. (Amended by S.R.O. 17/2012)
Secretariat of the Public Procurement Board
17. (1) The Ministry shall provide to the Public Procurement Board, a secretariat,
which is responsible for the operational and day-to-day activities of the Public
Procurement Board.
(2) The Ministry shall ensure that the secretariat receives the training and
other resources necessary to discharge its responsibilities.
Appointment of Departmental Tender Committees
18. (1) The Public Procurement Board shall appoint a Department Tenders
Committee for each procuring entity which, subject to the functions of the Public
Procurement Board under regulation 16, shall have jurisdiction for and oversee the

administration of procurement by the relevant Ministry, department, agency or public
organisation if the value of the procurement contract is less than $100,000.
(2) A Departmental Tenders Committee shall consist of—
(a) an accounting officer, who shall be the Chairman of the Committee; and
(b) two other persons, one of whom shall be an employee of the procuring entity,
appointed after consultation with the relevant Minister.
(3) A Departmental Tenders Committee shall prepare tender documents, using
standardized forms and criteria prepared by the Public Procurement Board, for
tenders subject to its jurisdiction; and may, with the approval of the Public
Procurement Board, make such minor alterations or modifications to the forms and
criteria as are deemed necessary.
(4) A Departmental Tenders Committee shall determine whether suppliers
satisfy the qualification requirements under regulation 33 and shall submit to the
Public Procurement Board reports of decisions, justifications for decisions and the
minutes of meetings when decisions are taken.
(5) Each procuring entity for which a Departmental Tenders Committee has
been appointed is responsible for its operational and day-to-day activities and shall
ensure that its officers receive the training and other resources necessary to discharge
their responsibilities. (Amended by S.R.O. 17/2012)
Procurement by corporations and certain other bodies
19. (1) A corporations or other body in which the controlling interest is vested in
the Crown may conduct procurement proceedings according to its own rules or
regulations, provided that, those rules and regulations are approved by the Public
Procurement Board.
(2) Despite subregulation (1), if the rules or regulations of the corporation or
other public body conflict materially with these Regulations, these Regulations shall
prevail.
(3) The Public Procurement Board may review the rules and regulations of the
corporation or public body referred to in subregulation (1) from time to time, and may
approve or revoke its approval of the rules and regulations unconditionally or subject
to certain amendments.
(4) A corporation or other body that receives funds from the Consolidated
Fund for a specific procurement shall for that procurement, follow the procedures set
out in these Regulations.

PART 4
METHODS OF PROCUREMENT OF GOODS, CONSTRUCTION
AND SERVICES AND CONDITIONS FOR USE
Open tendering
20. (1) A procuring entity shall, subject to subregulation (2), use public tendering
for the procurement of goods, construction and services.
(2) A procuring entity may use a method of procurement other than open
tendering proceedings in accordance with regulations 21, 22 and 23, and shall include
in the record kept under regulation 9 a statement of the grounds and circumstances on
which it relies to justify the use of that particular method of procurement.
Restricted tendering
21. (1) A procuring entity may engage in procurement by means of restricted
tendering in accordance with this regulation when—
(a) the goods, construction or service by reason of its highly complex or specialized nature, is available only from a limited number of
suppliers or contractors;
(b) the estimated cost of the procurement contract is below $20,000; or
(c) the time and cost required to examine a large number of tenders
would be disproportionate to the value of the goods, construction or
service to be procured.
(2) If a procuring entity relies on the ground in subregulation (1)(a) to engage in restricted tendering, all suppliers from whom the goods, construction or service is
available shall be invited to submit tenders.
(3) When a procuring entity relies on any other ground to engage in restricted
tendering, the procuring entity shall select suppliers from whom to solicit tenders in a
non-discriminatory manner and shall select sufficient suppliers to ensure effective
competition, but not fewer than two.
(4) When the restricted tendering procedure is used—
(a) all the steps and requirements applicable to open tendering prescribed in this Part shall be complied with except that only suppliers invited
by the procuring entity can submit tenders; and
(b) the procuring entity shall cause a notice of the restricted tendering to be published.
Request for quotations
22. (1) The procuring entity may engage in procurement by means of a request for
quotations for the procurement of readily available goods and services—
(a) that are not specifically produced or provided to the particular
specifications of the procuring entity; and
(b) for which there is an established market,

provided that, the estimated value of the procurement contract does not exceed
$20,000.
(2) Before awarding a procurement contract under this Regulation, the
procuring entity shall obtain and compare quotations from as many qualified suppliers
as reasonably practicable, but not fewer than two.
(3) The procuring entity shall use its best efforts to check prices on the
internet and other sources to ensure the reasonableness of quoted prices and shall at
least once quarterly, publish the price of its procurements that exceed the price of
$5,000.
(4) Each supplier is permitted to give only one price quotation, which it is not
permitted to change, and the procuring entity is not permitted to engage in
negotiations with a supplier with respect to a quotation submitted by the supplier.
(5) The procurement contract shall be awarded to the supplier that—
(a) submitted the lowest priced quotation; and
(b) complied with all the requirements of the request.
(6) The procuring entity shall keep a record of all quotations received.
Single-source procurement
23. A procuring entity may engage in single-source procurement if—
(a) the goods or construction is available only from a particular supplier, or a particular supplier has exclusive rights with respect to the goods
or construction, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists;
(b) the services, by reason of their highly complex or specialized nature, are available from only one source;
(c) owing to a public emergency or national disaster, there is an urgent need for goods, services or construction, and it is impractical to use
the prescribed methods of procurement because of the time involved
in using those methods;
(d) the procuring entity, having procured goods, services, equipment or
technology from a supplier, determines that additional supplies must
be procured from that supplier for reasons of standardization or
because of the need for compatibility with existing goods, services,
equipment or technology, taking into account—
(i) the effectiveness of the original procurement in meeting the
needs of the procuring entity;
(ii) the limited size of the proposed procurement in relation to the
original procurement;
(iii) the reasonableness of the price; and
(iv) the unsuitability of alternatives to the original procurement; or
(e) the procuring entity applies regulation 3(2), to procurement involving national defence or national security and determines, as a result of

national security concerns, that single-source procurement is the most
appropriate method of procurement.
PART 5
PROCEDURE FOR SOLICITING TENDERS
Subpart 1 – Invitation to Tender
Procedure for soliciting tenders
24. (1) A procuring entity shall solicit tenders by causing an invitation to tender to
be published.
(2) The invitation to tender shall contain the following information—
(a) the name and address of the procuring entity;
(b) the nature, quantity and place of delivery of the goods to be supplied, the nature and location of the construction to be effected or the nature
of the services and the location where they are to be provided;
(c) the desired time for the supply of the goods or for completion of construction or the timetable for the provision of services;
(d) the criteria and procedures to be used under regulation 4 for evaluating the qualifications of suppliers;
(e) the means of obtaining the tender documents and the place from which they may be obtained;
(f) the price, if any, charged by the procuring entity for tender documents;
(g) the language or languages in which the tender documents are available;
(h) a copy of the anti-collusion statement prescribed by the Public Procurement Board; and
(i) the place and deadline for the submission of tenders.
Two-stage tendering
25. (1) Subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Board, a procuring
entity may engage in open tendering by means of two-stage tendering—
(a) when the complex nature of the procurement contract makes it difficult for the procuring entity to—
(i) formulate detailed specifications for the goods or construction; or
(ii) in the case of services, identify the characteristics or elements of the service;
(b) in order to obtain the most satisfactory solution for the procurement
needs or to a problem;

(c) when it is necessary to negotiate with suppliers because of the technical character of the goods or construction or because of the
nature of the service; or
(d) when it seeks to enter into a procurement contract for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development.
(2) Two-stage tendering may be preceded by pre-qualification proceedings in
accordance with regulation 6.
(3) During the first stage of a two-stage tender, suppliers shall be invited to
submit—
(a) technical proposals on the basis of a conceptual design or performance-based specifications provided in the tender documents;
or
(b) proposals or offers as to possible solutions to a problem or the procurement needs of the procuring entity,
without submitting prices and these proposals may then be subject to further
specification on technical and commercial requirements.
(4) During the second stage, suppliers shall be invited to submit final
technical proposals with prices on the basis of revised tender documents, following the
first stage.
Tender documents
26. (1) The procuring entity shall provide tender documents to suppliers in
accordance with the procedure and requirements specified in the invitation to tender
and subject to the payment of the prescribed fee.
(2) If pre-qualification proceedings have been conducted, the procuring entity
shall provide tender documents to each pre-qualified supplier.
(3) The tender documents shall include, at least, the following information—
(a) instructions for preparing tenders;
(b) the criteria and procedures, in conformity with the provisions of
regulation 4;
(c) the requirements as to documentary evidence or other information that must be submitted by suppliers to demonstrate their qualifications;
(d) the description, nature and technical or quality characteristics of the goods, construction or services to be procured, in conformity with
regulation 12, and any incidental services to be performed; the
location where the construction is to be effected or the services are to
be provided; and the desired or required time, if any, when the goods
are to be delivered, the construction is to be completed or the services are to be provided;
(e) the criteria to be used to determine the successful tender, including the
relative weight to be assigned to each criterion;

(f) the terms and conditions of the procurement contract, to the extent they are already known to the procuring entity, and the contract form,
if any, to be signed by the parties;
(g) the manner in which the tender price is to be formulated and expressed, including a statement as to whether the price is to cover
elements other than the cost of the goods, construction or services,
such as any applicable transportation and insurance charges, customs
duties and taxes;
(h) the currency or currencies in which the tender price is to be formulated and expressed;
(i) the language or languages, in conformity with regulation 14, in which tenders are to be prepared;
(j) any requirements of the procuring entity with respect to the issuer and the nature, form, amount and other principal terms and conditions of
any tender security to be provided by suppliers;
(k) any requirements for any security for the performance of the procurement contract to be provided by the supplier, including
securities such as labour and materials bonds;
(l) if applicable, a statement that a supplier may not modify or withdraw its tender prior to the deadline for the submission of tenders without
forfeiting its tender security;
(m) the manner, place and deadline for the submission of tenders, in conformity with regulation 28;
(n) the means by which, pursuant to regulation 27, suppliers may seek clarification of the tender documents and a statement as to whether
the procuring entity intends, at this stage, to convene a meeting of
suppliers;
(o) the period of time during which tenders shall be in effect, pursuant to regulation 30;
(p) the place, date and time for the opening of tenders, pursuant to
regulation 32;
(q) the procedures to be followed for opening and examining tenders;
(r) the currency that will be used for the purpose of evaluating and comparing tenders pursuant to regulation 33 and either the exchange
rate that will be used for the conversion of tenders into that currency
or a statement that the rate published by a specified financial
institution prevailing on a specified date will be used;
(s) references to these Regulations and other legislation directly pertinent to the procurement process, provided, however, that the omission of any such reference shall not constitute grounds for review under Part
7 or give rise to liability on the part of the procuring entity;

(t) the name, functional title and address of one or more officers or employees of the procuring entity who are authorised to communicate
directly with and to receive communications directly from suppliers
in connection with the procurement process;
(u) notice of the right provided under Part 7 to seek review of an unlawful act or decision of, or procedure followed by, the procuring entity in
relation to the procurement process;
(v) if applicable, a statement pursuant to regulation 34 that the procuring entity reserves the right to reject all tenders;
(w) any formalities that will be required for a procurement contract to
enter into force, once a tender has been accepted, including, where
applicable—
(i) the execution of a written procurement contract pursuant to
regulation 36;
(ii) the approval by the Governor acting on the advice of Cabinet;
and
(iii) the estimated period of time following the dispatch of the notice
of acceptance that will be required to obtain the approval; and
(x) any other requirements established by the procuring entity in conformity with these Regulations and any other legislation relating
to the preparation and submission of tenders and to other aspects of
the procurement process.
Clarification and modification of tender documents
27. (1) A supplier may request a clarification of the tender documents from the
procuring entity and the procuring entity shall—
(a) respond within a reasonable time to any request for clarification that is received so as to enable the supplier to make a timely submission of
its tender; and
(b) communicate the clarification to all suppliers to whom the procuring
entity has provided tender documents, without identifying the source
of the query.
(2) If the procuring entity convenes a meeting of suppliers prior to the
submission of tenders, it shall prepare minutes of that meeting containing the queries
submitted at the meeting for clarification of the tender documents and its responses to
those queries, without identifying the sources of the queries.
(3) The procuring entity shall promptly provide the minutes of a meeting held
under subregulation (2) to all suppliers to whom tender documents were given, to
enable those suppliers to take the minutes into account in preparing their tenders.
(4) At any time prior to the deadline for submission of tenders, the procuring
entity may, for any reason, whether on its own initiative or as a result of a request for
clarification by a supplier, modify the tender documents, and may extend the deadline
for submission of tenders.

Subpart 2 – Submission of Tenders
Submission of tenders
28. (1) Subject to subregulation (2), a supplier shall submit three signed written
originals of each tender, by delivery, in a sealed envelope addressed to—
(a) if the value of the tender is less than $100,000, the relevant Departmental Tender Committee; or
(b) if the value of the tender is $100,000 or more, the Public Procurement Board.
(2) The supplier shall clearly mark on the envelope the name, functional title
and address of the procuring entity or the representative of the procuring entity who is
authorised to communicate with and to receive communications directly from
suppliers in connection with the procurement process.
(3) Without prejudice to the right of a supplier to submit a tender in the form
referred in a subregulation (1), a tender may alternatively be submitted in any other
form specified in the tender documents that provides a record of the content of the
tender and at least a similar degree of authenticity, security and confidentiality.
(4) A procuring entity shall record the time and date when the tender was
received, and on request, provide the supplier with a receipt containing that
information. (Amended by S.R.O. 17/2012)
Deadline for submission of tenders
29. (1) The procuring entity shall fix—
(a) the place; and
(b) a specific date and time as the deadline,
for the submission of tenders.
(2) If pursuant to regulation 27, the procuring entity issues a clarification or
modification of the tender documents, or holds a meeting with suppliers, it shall, prior
to the deadline for the submission of tenders, extend the deadline if necessary to afford
suppliers reasonable time to take the clarification or modification, or the minutes of
the meeting, into account in their tenders.
(3) A procuring entity may, in its absolute discretion, prior to the deadline for
the submission of tenders, extend the deadline where it considers, based on
documentary evidence, that suppliers were prevented from meeting the deadline by
factors beyond their control.
(4) A procuring entity shall promptly give notice of any extension of the
deadline to each supplier to whom it provided the tender documents.
(5) A tender received by the procuring entity after the deadline for the
submission of tenders shall be so marked, returned to the supplier and shall not be
opened except for the purpose of ascertaining the name and address of the supplier.

Periods of effectiveness of tenders; modification and withdrawal of tenders
30. (1) Tenders shall be in effect during the period of time specified in the tender
documents.
(2) Prior to the expiration of the period of effectiveness of tenders, the
procuring entity may request a supplier to extend such period for an additional
specified period of time.
(3) A supplier may refuse the request without forfeiting its tender security,
and the effectiveness of its tender will terminate upon the expiration of the unextended
period of effectiveness.
(4) A supplier who agrees to an extension of the period of effectiveness of its
tender shall extend or procure an extension of the period of effectiveness of tender
security provided by it or provide new tender security to cover the extended period of
effectiveness of its tender and a supplier whose tender security is not extended, or that
has not provided a new tender security, is considered to have refused the request to
extend the period of effectiveness of its tender.
(5) Unless otherwise specified in the tender documents, a supplier may
modify or withdraw its tender prior to the deadline for the submission of tenders
without forfeiting its tender security and the modification or notice of withdrawal is
effective if it is received by the procuring entity prior to the deadline for the
submission of tenders.
Tender security
31. (1) When a procuring entity requires suppliers to provide a tender security—
(a) the requirement shall apply equally to all the suppliers;
(b) the tender documents may stipulate that the issuer of the tender security and the confirmer, if any, of the tender security, as well as the
form and terms of the tender security, must be acceptable to the
procuring entity;
(c) the procuring entity shall not reject a tender on the grounds that the tender security was not issued by an issuer in Montserrat if the tender
security and the issuer otherwise conform to the requirements
specified in the tender documents;
(d) a supplier may, prior to submitting a tender, request the procuring entity to confirm the acceptability of a proposed issuer of a tender
security, or of a proposed confirmer, if required;
(e) the procuring entity shall respond promptly to a request under paragraph (d);
(f) confirmation by the procuring entity of the acceptability of a proposed issuer or of any proposed confirmer does not preclude the procuring entity from rejecting the tender security on the ground that the issuer
or the confirmer, as the case may be, has become insolvent or
otherwise lacks creditworthiness;

(g) the procuring entity shall specify in the tender documents any requirements with respect to the issuer and the nature, form, amount
and other principal terms and conditions of the required tender
security.
(2) The procuring entity shall not make a claim to the amount of the tender
security, and shall promptly return, or procure the return of, the tender security
document, after any one of the following events—
(a) the expiration of the tender security;
(b) the entry into force of a contract and the provision of a security for the performance of the contract, if such a security is required by the
tender documents;
(c) the termination of the tendering proceedings without entry into force of a procurement contract; or
(d) the withdrawal of the tender prior to the deadline for the submission of tenders, unless the tender documents stipulate that no such
withdrawal is permitted.

Subpart 3 – Evaluation of Tenders
Opening of tenders
32. (1) Tenders shall be opened—
(a) at the time specified in the tender documents as the deadline for the submission of tenders; or
(b) at the time specified in the last extension of the deadline,
at the place and in accordance with the procedures specified in the tender documents.
(2) All suppliers who have submitted tenders, or their representatives, may
attend the opening of tenders.
(3) The name and address of each supplier whose tender is opened and the
tender price shall, be announced to those persons present at the opening of tenders,
and communicated, on request, to suppliers that have submitted tenders but are not
present or represented at the opening of tenders, and recorded immediately in the
record of the tendering process kept under regulation 9.
Examination and evaluation of tenders
33. (1) The procuring entity shall promptly transmit all tenders received from
suppliers after the opening of tender under regulation 32 to—
(a) the Departmental Tenders Committee if the value of the tender is less than $100,000; or
(b) the Public Procurement Board if the value of the tender is $100,000 or
more.

(2) A Departmental Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board
shall, using only the evaluation criteria outlined in the tender documents—
(a) evaluate tenders transmitted under subregulation (1);
(b) determine the successful tender; and
(c) convey its recommendation to the procuring entity within a reasonable period of time after it determines the successful tender, but not longer
than fourteen days unless a review has been sought under regulation
46.
(3) The Public Procurement Board or the Departmental Tender Committee
may co-opt up to 2 persons with relevant technical experience if the nature of the
procurement or the evaluation criteria is such that such experience is necessary for the
performance of its functions under subregulation (2).
(4) A person who is co-opted under subregulation (3) may advise the Board or
Committee but that person is not entitled to vote and shall not be provided with more
information than is required for the performance of an advisory function.
(5) The advice of a person co-opted under subregulation (3) shall be given or
recorded in writing and signed by that person.
(6) The successful tender shall be the lowest evaluated tender ascertained on
the basis of the criteria specified in the tender documents.
(7) In determining the lowest evaluated tender, a Departmental Tenders
Committee or the Public Procurement Board shall, to the extent that it is practical,
express all evaluation criteria in monetary terms based on the assigned weight to each
criterion and may consider the following—
(a) the tender price;
(b) the cost of operating, maintaining and repairing the goods or construction;
(c) the time for delivery of the goods, completion of construction or provision of the services;
(d) the terms of payment and of guarantees in respect of the goods,
construction or services;
(e) the effect that acceptance of a tender would have on the balance of payments position and foreign exchange reserves of Montserrat;
(f) the counter-trade arrangements offered by suppliers;
(g) the extent of local content, including manufacture, labour and materials, in goods, construction or services being offered by
suppliers;
(h) the potential for economic development offered by tenders, including domestic investment or other business activity, the encouragement of
employment, the reservation of certain production for domestic
suppliers, the transfer of technology and the development of
managerial, scientific and operational skills; and

(i) national defence, public emergency and security considerations.
(8) The Departmental Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board
may, within a reasonable period of time, ask suppliers for clarifications of their
tenders in order to assist in the examination and comparison of tenders but shall not
seek, offer or permit a change to a matter of substance in the tender, including changes
in price and changes aimed at making a non-responsive tender responsive.
(9) Despite subregulation (8), the Departmental Tenders Committee or the
Public Procurement Board shall correct purely arithmetical errors or oversights that
are capable of being corrected without affecting the substance of the tender that are
discovered during the examination of tenders and shall give prompt notice of any such
correction to the supplier that submitted the tender.
(10) A Departmental Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board
shall reject a tender if—
(a) the supplier that submitted the tender is not qualified;
(b) the supplier that submitted the tender does not accept a correction of an arithmetical error made pursuant to subregulation (9);
(c) the tender is not responsive; or
(d) the circumstances referred to in regulation 11 exist.
(11) For the purpose of this regulation—
“responsive tender” means a tender which conforms to the requirements and
conditions of the tender documents without material deviation or qualification;
and
“material deviation or qualification” means a deviation or qualification which
would—
(a) detrimentally affect the scope, quality or performance of the goods, service or construction identified in the tender document; or
(b) change the supplier’s risk and responsibilities under the procurement contract.
(Amended by S.R.O. 17/2012)
Rejection of all tenders
34. (1) A procuring entity may reject all tenders at any time prior to the
acceptance of a tender, subject to, if so specified in the tender documents, approval by
the Public Procurement Board.
(2) Where the procuring entity rejects the tenders under subregulation (1), it
shall—
(a) promptly give notice of the rejection of all tenders to all suppliers who submitted tenders; and
(b) upon request, communicate to any supplier who submitted a tender
the grounds for its rejection of all tenders, but is not required to justify
those grounds.

(3) A procuring entity shall not incur any liability towards suppliers that have
submitted tenders, solely because it invoked subregulation (1).
Prohibition of negotiations
35. (1) A procuring entity or a person engaged in the procurement process on
behalf of a procuring entity shall not prior to the determination of the successful
tender, engage in negotiation with a supplier in respect of a tender submitted by the
supplier.
(2) A person who breaches subregulation (1) commits a summary offence and
is liable—
(a) in the case of a member of a procuring entity who participated in the commission of the offence, to a fine of $5,000 and to revocation of
his appointment; or
(b) in the case of a person, to a fine of $2,000 and to revocation of his appointment.
(3) In the case of a public officer, in addition to the penalties imposed under
subregulation (2), he is subject to dismissal from the public service or any other
punishment prescribed by the public service law.
Acceptance of tenders and entry into force of procurement contract
36. (1) Subject to regulation 34, the tender that has been determined to be the
successful tender shall be accepted and the procuring entity shall give—
(a) a notice of acceptance of the tender; and
(b) a copy of the procurement contract, if the supplier is required to sign a written procurement contract,
to the supplier who submitted the tender within twenty one days of receipt of the
recommendation under subregulation 33(2)(c).
(2) Despite subregulation (6), the tender documents may require the supplier
whose tender has been accepted to sign a written procurement contract conforming to
the tender and in such case, the procuring entity and the supplier shall sign the
procurement contract within a reasonable period of time after the notice referred to in
subregulation (1) is given to the supplier.
(3) Subject to subregulation (4), where a written contract is required to be
signed pursuant to subregulation (2)—
(a) the contract enters into force when the contract is signed by the supplier and by the procuring entity; and
(b) neither the procuring entity nor the supplier shall take any action that interferes with the entry into force of the contract or with its
performance between the time when the notice referred to in subregulation (1) is given to the supplier and the entry into force of
the contract.

(4) A procuring entity shall file the signed original of all procurement
contracts at the office of the Attorney General and copies shall be distributed to the—
(a) supplier;
(b) Accountant General;
(c) Ministry of Finance;
(d) Auditor General.
(5) Except as provided in subregulation (3) a procurement contract in
accordance with the terms and conditions of the successful tender enters into force
when the notice referred to in subregulation (1) is given to the supplier who submitted
the tender, provided that, notice is given while the tender is in force.
(6) For the purpose of this Regulation, notice is given when it is properly
addressed or otherwise directed and transmitted to the supplier, in the form of
communication prescribed by regulation 7.
(7) If the supplier whose tender has been accepted fails to sign a written
contract, if required to do so, or fails to provide any required security for the
performance of the procurement contract within a reasonable time, the procuring
entity may, subject to the approval of the Departmental Tenders Committee or Public
Procurement Board, withdraw the offer of tender to that supplier and offer it to the
supplier who provided the second lowest evaluated tender.
(8) Despite subregulation (7) and regulation 34, the procuring entity may,
subject to the approval of the Departmental Tenders Committee or Public Procurement
Board, reject all remaining tenders.
Notice to other suppliers
37. The procuring entity shall—
(a) upon the entry into force of the procurement contract; and
(b) if required by the tender documents, upon the provision by the supplier of a tender security for the performance of the contract,
give notice to the other suppliers, specifying the name and address of the supplier that
has entered into the contract and the contract price.
PART 6
METHOD OF PROCUREMENT FOR CONSULTING SERVICES
Request for proposal
38. (1) A procuring entity shall request proposals for consulting services or,
where applicable, applications to prequalify by causing a notice to be published,
seeking expressions of interest in submitting a proposal.
(2) The notice shall contain, at a minimum, the name and address of the
procuring entity, a brief description of the consulting service to be procured, the
means of obtaining the request for proposals or prequalification documents and the

price, if any, charged for the request for proposals or for the prequalification
documents.
Contents of the request for proposals
39. The request for proposals shall include comparable information to that
required for invitations to tender under regulation 24 and a statement of the manner in
which the proposals are to be prepared and submitted and the draft procurement
contract.
Criteria for the evaluation of proposals
40. (1) The Public Procurement Board shall evaluate the proposals based on
technical quality of the proposal, and shall take into account such considerations as the
consultant’s relevant experience and the expertise of its staff, the proposed work
methodology and the price of the proposal.
(2) The method of selection shall be stated in the request for proposals and
shall be based on—
(a) a combination of quality and price, according to the relative weights stated in the request for proposals;
(b) the quality of the technical proposal within a predetermined fixed budget specified in the request for proposals; or
(c) the best financial proposal submitted by a bidder that has obtained the minimum qualifying score.
Quality-based selection
41. A procuring entity may select a consultant based exclusively on the technical
quality of the submitted proposal where the consulting services are of an exceptionally
complex nature, will have a considerate impact on future projects, or may lead to the
submission of proposals, which are difficult to compare.
Clarification and modification of request for proposal
42. (1) A consultant may request clarification of the request for proposals from
the procuring entity prior to the deadline for submission of proposals and the
procuring entity shall respond to a request for clarification within a reasonable time so
as to enable the consultant to make a timely submission of its proposal and shall,
without identifying the source of the request, communicate the clarification to all
consultants to whom the request for proposals was provided.
(2) At any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, the
procuring entity may, for any reason, whether on its own initiative, or as a result of a
request for clarification by the consultant, modify the request for proposals by issuing
an amendment and the amendment shall be communicated promptly to all consultants
to which the procuring entity has provided the request for proposals and shall be binding on them.
(3) If the procuring entity convenes a meeting prior to the submission of
proposals, it shall prepare minutes of the meeting outlining the requests submitted at

the meeting for clarification of the request for proposals, and its responses to those
requests, without identifying the sources of the requests.
(4) The procuring entity shall promptly provide the minutes of the meeting to
all consultants participating in the procurement process, so as to enable those
consultants to take the minutes into account in preparing their proposals.
(5) The relevant provisions of these Regulations apply, as they apply to the
procurement of goods or construction, mutatis mutandis to the procurement of services.
Single-source procurement
43. A procuring entity may engage in single-source procurement where the
services to be procured require that a particular consultant be selected due to the
consultant’s unique qualifications or where it is necessary to continue a project with
the same consultant.
Cost verification
44. Procurement contracts may be awarded only if the selected contractor agrees to
be subjected to cost verification during the performance of the consulting services and
the procurement contract shall indicate the accounting obligations of the contractor
including the obligation to present appropriate accounts or documents allowing the
determination of the cost of the services.
Negotiations
45. (1) A procuring entity may, with the approval of the Public Procurement
Board, negotiate the terms of the contract with the selected consultant but shall not,
under any circumstances—
(a) engage in negotiations with more than one consultant simultaneously; or
(b) permit less than two persons to conduct the negotiations on its behalf.
(2) When a procuring entity engages in negotiations with a consultant, the
procuring entity shall record the details of all negotiations with the consultant and
forward a copy of those records to the Public Procurement Board.
PART 7
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Right to review
46. (1) A supplier who claims to have suffered, or that he is likely to suffer loss
or injury due to a breach of a duty imposed on a procuring entity by these Regulations
may seek review under this Part.
(2) Despite subregulation (1), the following is not subject to review—
(a) the method of procurement selected;

(b) a decision of the procuring entity to reject all tenders under regulation 34; or
(c) an omission referred to in regulation 26(3)(s).
(3) A supplier shall submit a request for review in writing within seven
business days of the date of the notice of award of the procurement contract under
regulation 37.
(4) A request for review after the period stipulated in subregulation (3) will
not be entertained.
(5) The request for review must be submitted to—
(a) the Chairperson of the Public Procurement Board, if the procurement contract has not entered into force; or
(b) the Financial Secretary, if the procurement contract has entered into force.
Review by the Public Procurement Board or Financial Secretary
47. (1) Within fourteen days from the date on which a complaint is received by
the Public Procurement Board or the Financial Secretary, the Public Procurement
Board or the Financial Secretary shall either—
(a) resolve the matter by mutual agreement with the supplier; or
(b) issue a written decision and reason for the decision to the supplier.
(2) When a written decision is issued under subregulation (1), the Public
Procurement Board or the Financial Secretary shall inform the supplier that a written
request for an appeal of its decision may be lodged with the Complaints Commission
within fourteen days of the supplier’s receipt of the decision.
(3) The decision of the Public Procurement Board or the Financial Secretary
shall be final unless a written request for appeal is lodged within the fourteen day
period referred to in subregulation (2).
Appeal to Complaints Commission
48. (1) Upon receipt of a written request for appeal, the Complaints Commission
shall request all records in respect of the relevant procurement process from the
procuring entity, the Public Procurement Board or the Financial Secretary.
(2) The Complaints Commission shall recommend, in writing, appropriate
resolution of the complaint and reasons for its recommendation within fourteen days
of receipt of the request for appeal and a copy of the recommendation shall be given to
the supplier, the procuring entity, the Public Procurement Board and the Financial
Secretary.
(3) The decision of the Complaints Commission shall be final and
immediately binding upon the procuring entity and Public Procurement Board.
(4) This Regulation shall not be construed as authorising the Complaints
Commission to award a procurement contract.

PART 8
MISCELLANEOUS
Information to be confidential
49. (1) A Departmental Tenders Committee or the Public Procurement Board
(each hereinafter in this Part referred to as “a body”), or a person concerned with the
administration of these Regulations, shall regard as secret and confidential all
documents, information and things disclosed to them in the execution of any provision
of these Regulations and shall not divulge such information or the contents of any
document to any person except to the extent necessary to discharge its or his functions
under these Regulations or any other written law or for the purpose of prosecuting an
offence or other legal proceedings.
(2) A member of a body or person referred to in subregulation (1) who
violates subregulation (1) commits a summary offence and is liable—
(a) in the case of a member of a body who participated in the commission of the offence, to a fine of $5,000, dismissal or revocation of his
appointment; or
(b) in the case of a person, to a fine of $2,000, dismissal or revocation of his appointment.
(3) A person who receives any information or any document or part of a
document, having solicited the information, knowing or having reasonable ground to
believe at the time he receives it, that it is communicated to him in contravention of
this Regulation, is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of
$3,000 and to imprisonment for six months.
(4) Any person who, with the intention of gaining any advantage or
concession for himself or any other person, offers—
(a) a member of a body or an officer thereof; or
(b) a person referred to in subregulation (1),
a gift of money or other thing with respect to a matter that is expected to come before
the body or person, commits an offence and is, in addition to being disqualified from
being awarded a contract, liable to a fine of $5,000.
(5) Despite anything contained in any other written law, a person who—
(a) attempts to commit;
(b) conspires with any other person to commit;
(c) solicits, incites, aids, abets or counsels any other person to commit or;
(d) causes or procures or attempts to cause or procure the commission of,
an offence under subregulation (4) is, in addition to being disqualified from being awarded a contract, liable to be charged, tried, convicted and punished in all respects
as if he were a principal offender.

(6) A member of a body or a person concerned with the administration of the
body is not personally liable for any act of the body done in good faith in the course of
its operations or administration.
General or special direction of the Minister
50. (1) In the exercise of its powers and the performance of its functions, the
procuring entity, the Public Procurement Board and the Departmental Tenders
Committee shall conform with any general or special directions given to it by Cabinet.
(2) All directions given by the Cabinet must be in writing and must be in
relation to the economy, development, national defence, security and other matters of
public interest or support some principle aimed at improving the level of transparency,
equity and fairness.
(3) The Cabinet may only give directions to a procuring entity, the Public
Procurement Board or the Departmental Tenders Committee prior to the deadline for
submission of a tender.
Disclosure of interest in procurement process
51. (1) It shall be the duty of a member of a body who is in any way directly or
indirectly, interested in any deliberations of that body regarding the bidding process,
to declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the body.
(2) The declaration required to be made by this regulation shall be made by
the member at the meeting of the body at which the matters referred to in
subregulation (1) are being considered for the first time or at the earliest opportunity
thereafter.
(3) A member of a body shall not vote in respect of any of the matters referred
to in subregulation (1) in which he is directly or indirectly interested and if he shall so
vote his vote shall not be counted nor shall he be counted in the quorum at the
meeting.
(4) Any member of a body who fails to comply with or contravenes this
regulation shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine of $200,000 and to
imprisonment for 6 months.
Meaning of “publish”
52. (1) Where a document or information is required to be published in these
Regulations, the requirement for publication is satisfied if the contents of the
document or the information is disseminated on an internet website created or
designated by the Public Procurement Board for matters related to procurement
proceedings and at least one of the following—
(a) a newspaper of nationwide circulation;
(b) a public notice board designated by the Public Procurement Board for this purpose; or
(c) a local public radio or television broadcast station.

(2) A document or information that is required to be published under
regulations 10 and 21 shall also be notified in the next issue of the Gazette after publication, as required under subregulation (1), and shall include a statement of the
date, place and method in which the document or information was published. _____________



PUBLIC FINANCE (MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY)
(FORMS) (SURCHARGE) REGULATIONS – SECTION 58
(S.R.O. 63/2012)
Commencement
[10 December 2012]
Short title
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Public Finance (Management and
Accountability) (Forms) (Surcharge) Regulations.
Forms
2. (1) The form for use in surcharging a public officer is set out in the Schedule.
(2) The form must be prepared in quadruplicate and issued as follows—
(a) the original copy to the public officer surcharged;
(b) a copy to the Accounting Officer of the Ministry or Department within which the public officer is employed;
(c) a copy to the Accountant General; and
(d) a copy to the Auditor General.
Service
3. The form in regulation 2 must be served personally on the public officer who
is surcharged.
__________

SCHEDULE
GOVERNMENT OF MONTSERRAT
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
NOTICE OF SURCHARGE
---------------------
Issued in accordance with Part 10 of the Public Finance (Management and
Accountability) Act, (Cap. 17.07) and section 136 of the Public Finance
(Management and Accountability) Regulations (Cap. 17.07).
Name of Public Officer surcharged: ………………………….
Post of Public Officer: ………………………….
Ministry/Department: ………………………….
Name of Accounting Officer of
Ministry/Department: ………………………….
Grounds for surcharge: (see section 47 of the Act)



(The particulars are attached.)
Calculation of Surcharge
Annual basic salary of Public
Officer: ……………….…….
Amount of moneys lost:
and/or
Value of public stores lost or
damaged:
……………….……..

…………………….....
Total claimed: ………………………..


Total surcharged:
(must not exceed 1/10 of the officer’s
annual salary)
………………….……..
Method of repayment: (monthly installments must not exceed ¼ of
the officer’s gross monthly salary or pension)


Right of Appeal
Please note that you have the right to appeal to the Public Service Commission
against the surcharge made against you, within one month from the date on which
you are notified of the surcharge.

Appeal against surcharge to be
lodged on or before: (dd/mm/yyyy)


Dated this ………. day of ….......……………, 20…


…………………………
Financial Secretary


Acknowledgement of Receipt of Notice of Surcharge

I, (name of public officer) acknowledge receipt of this ‘Notice of
Surcharge’ issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of
Montserrat, under Part 10 of the Public Finance (Management and
Accountability) Act (Cap 17.07) and section 136 of the Public Finance
(Management and Accountability) Regulations (Cap. 17.07) and
delivered to me personally.

Signature:………………………..
Name of Public Officer:
………………

Date: …………………..
Witnessed by (signature):
…………………
Name: …………………………...

Date: …………………..
Delivered by (signature):
…………………
Name: …………………………...

Date: …………………..
_____________