Appropriations

Refunds of Revenue

1) The Accounting Head shall approve all refunds unless legislation governing the collection of revenue by a particular agency, states otherwise. If the refund relates to revenue received in the preceding year, approval must be obtained from the Chief Accountant.

2) Every refund of revenue shall be made on a payment voucher and shall show the following details -

(a) details of the overpayment, including the payee and the amount;

(b) the number, date and name of payer on the original receipt; and

(Finance Instructions 2005 s(31))

Refunding Revenue

If a situation arises where revenue needs to be refunded, the revenue officer (or other responsible officer) shall immediately notify the Accounting Head in writing. Details to be included are as follows:

o amount of revenue to be refunded;

o circumstances necessitating the refund;

o receipt number, date, payer and revenue allocation code charged;

o date of lodgement.

All relevant documents such as the original receipt and a copy of the lodgement form should be forwarded to the Accounting Head.
The Accounting Head may direct the accounts officer to raise a payment voucher for refund of revenue outlining the details as in 5.7.1. If the amount has not yet been banked, the Accounting Head may approve instead that the receipt be cancelled and the amount refunded from collections. The original and duplicate receipts shall be marked “cancelled” and filed in order in the receipt book.
Where refunds are for the current year, the Accounting Head shall be the authorising officer. Where refunds are for the preceding year, the Chief Accountant shall be the authorising officer. A copy of the refund voucher must be forwarded the Chief Accountant for approval.

· If a refund occurs for revenue collected in the current year, the revenue account code shall be debited with a corresponding credit to the “bank account”. If it is a refund of revenue collected in the previous year, the “Miscellaneous Refund” account shall be debited.