Guidelines in the Conduct of the Examination of Books of Accounts of National Collecting Officers (NCOs) and Local Treasurers (LTs)

September 29, 2022 BTr TREASURY CIRCULAR NO. 3-2022 TO : Heads of National Government Agencies (NGAs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Local Chief Executives, All National Collecting Officers and Cashiers, Provincial/City/Municipal Treasurers, Bureau of the Treasury Regional Directors and Provincial/District Office Heads and All Others Concerned SUBJECT : Guidelines in the Conduct of the Examination of Books of Accounts of National Collecting Officers (NCOs) and Local Treasurers (LTs) 1.0 PURPOSE 1.1 To ensure compliance of NCOs/LTs with existing rules and regulations on frequency, completeness and timeliness of deposits of national collections to the National Treasury and other issuances pertaining to National Collections and Public Bonding Law; acEHCD 1.2 To clarify the responsibilities of National Collecting Officers (NCOs)/Local Treasurers (LTs); 1.3 To clearly define the scope of the BTr's examination of books of accounts and the role and responsibilities of the NCOs/LTs and the BTr Provincial/District Offices (POs/DOs) in the conduct of the examination; 1.4 To ensure compliance by NCOs/LTs with the Daily Threshold of Accumulated Collections to be deposited to the National Treasury as required by DOF Order No. 52-96 and Section 2 of COA-MOF Joint Circular No. 1-81, and any amendments thereto. 2.0 DEFINITION OF TERMS 2.1 National Collections (NC) refer to all fees, charges, assessments, and revenues collected by departments, bureaus, offices or agencies in the exercise of their functions for remittance to the National Treasury. 2.2 National Collecting Officers (NCOs) shall refer to any NGA official or employee, appointed or designated by a competent authority to perform the function of collection and deposit of national collections. 2.3 Local Treasurers (LTs) shall refer to Provincial, City and Municipal Treasurers, or any official or employee appointed by the Secretary of Finance through the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to perform cash management functions for the local government units. 2.4 Examiners shall refer to Treasury Operations Officers (TOOs), or any personnel of the Bureau of the Treasury Provincial or District Office, authorized by the Regional Director and Provincial/District Head to conduct examination of books of accounts. EcTCAD 2.5 Provincial/District Office (PO/DO) Heads shall refer to the Chief Treasury Operations Officer/Officer-in-Charge/In-Charge of Office having direct supervision and functional control of the BTr Provincial/District Office. 3.0 GENERAL PROVISIONS 3.1 All government collecting agencies/offices through their NCOs/LTs shall deposit their collections to the Authorized Government Depository Bank (AGDB) following guidelines set under Treasury Circular No. 2-2022 dated 31 May 2022; 3.2 All NCOs/LTs shall deposit their collections intact on a daily basis or not later than the next banking day to the National Treasury per DOF Department Order No. 52-96. Where collections are minimal and daily deposit thereof becomes costly and impractical, the NCOs shall follow the provisions of COA-MOF Joint Circular No. 1-81 and any amendments thereto; 3.3 All NCOs/LTs shall be subjected to the examination of books of accounts conducted by the Bureau of the Treasury. 4.0 SPECIFIC GUIDELINES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4.1 NCOs/LTs shall: 4.1.1 Deposit daily collections for the day intact to the assigned BTr Clearing Account with Authorized Government Depository Bank (AGDB) in accordance with Treasury Circular No. 02-2022; 4.1.2 Ensure that the total amount of daily deposits is equal to the amount of the corresponding deposit slip; 4.1.3 Make themselves available during the conduct of the examination of books of accounts by the BTr Examiners; 4.1.4 Produce the cash book and related accountable forms necessary in the examination, as follows: a. Cash Books or Cash Receipts Record (CRR); b. List of Deposited Collections (LDC); c. Official Receipts (ORs); d. Validated Deposit Slips (DS); e. Copy of approved fidelity bond; f. Monthly Report of Collections and Deposits (MRCD); and, g. Other relevant documents on collections to aid the examination (e.g., inventory of bank accounts, etc.). SDHTEC 4.1.5 Certify the correctness and truthfulness of the amounts of collections remitted/unremitted as indicated in the examination report provided by the BTr Examiners. 4.2 National Government Agencies (NGAs)/Local Government Units (LGUs) shall: 4.2.1 Make sure that National Collections are deposited daily or as prescribed to the assigned BTr Clearing Account with AGDBs; 4.2.2 Coordinate all ongoing initiatives or plans of NGAs to adopt electronic national collection and payment schemes/framework to the BTr through the Asset Management Service (AMS). 4.3 BTr District/Provincial Office (DO/PO) shall: 4.3.1 Regularly conduct the examination of books of accounts of NCOs/LTs in accordance with the procedures for the examination of the books of accounts set in the Treasury Office Order (TOO); 4.3.2 Monitor compliance of NCOs/LTs with existing rules and regulations on frequency, completeness and timeliness of deposit of national collections to the National Treasury and other issuances pertaining to National Collections and Public Bonding Law; 4.3.3 Copy furnish the NCOs/LTs of the examination report of the BTr Examiner and ensure their concurrence to the correctness and truthfulness of the amounts of collections remitted/unremitted as indicated in the examination report; 4.3.4 Issue a Demand Letter (Annex A) through the PO/DO Heads to the NCOs/LTs for failure to deposit any unremitted amount fifteen (15) days after receipt of the examination report or depending on the requirements of MOF-COA Joint Circular No. 1-81 and any amendments thereto; 4.3.5 Enjoin government collecting agencies to adopt electronic national collection and payment scheme/framework. The Asset Management Service (AMS) of the Bureau shall serve as the focal point for all correspondences with National Government Agencies which have ongoing initiatives or plans in adopting digital payments for government disbursements and collections. 5.0 SCOPE OF BTr EXAMINATION 5.1 The following collection items/transactions are subject to examination: 5.1.1 Government Agencies/Offices' collections and fund balances due for remittance to the National Treasury, such as but not limited to: HSAcaE a. Collections from Taxes, Fees, Permits & Licenses; b. Collection from Fines & Penalties; c. Alien Registration Fees from Bureau of Immigration; d. Ante and Post Mortem Fees or Veterinary Inspection Fees from National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS); e. Proceeds from sale of bid documents and other collection/fees from procuring activities; f. All unutilized funds/unexpended balances from current/special accounts expressly created and authorized by law as an exemption to EO 338 maintained by government offices and agencies that are required to be remitted to the National Treasury at the end of the year; g. Balances from Unauthorized/Dormant Accounts; and, h. All interest income earned by deposits of NGAs shall be remitted quarterly to the National Treasury, unless expressly provided by law that interest earnings of the account shall accrue to the fund for which the account was opened or maintained. 5.1.2 Local Government Units (LGUs) collections and fund balances from: a. Livestock Development Fund; b. Bail Bonds; c. Building Permit Fees; and, d. Unutilized funds from completed projects/programs. For the schedule and rates of National Government share for the enumerated items above and are due for remittance to the National Treasury, reference shall be made to existing and latest relevant issuances. 5.2 The scope of actual examination shall start from the last examination date conducted by the BTr or COA, whichever is the latest and shall end on the last working day prior to the date of the conduct of the examination; 5.3 The Examiners shall confine themselves to the verification of accounts of national revenue collections and determination of compliance with the circulars, memoranda and orders pertaining to national collections and fidelity bonding. 6.0 REPORTING REQUIREMENT All NCOs/LTs shall accomplish and submit the Monthly Report of Collections and Deposits (MRCD) to the concerned BTr District/Provincial Office in their area on or before the 10th day of the ensuing month per DOF Order No. 23-99. Please refer to Annex B for the revised MRCD format. AScHCD 7.0 PENAL CLAUSE Failure to comply with the provisions of this Circular may be a ground for administrative and disciplinary sanctions against any erring public officer or employee as provided under existing laws or regulations. 8.0 SEPARABILITY/REPEALING CLAUSE 8.1 Provisions of existing orders, circulars, memoranda, and all other issuances which are not consistent with this Circular are hereby repealed and/or modified accordingly. 8.2 Cases not covered by this Circular shall be referred to the Treasurer of the Philippines for resolution. 8.3 Should any portion or provision of this Circular be held invalid, the other provisions, as far as they can be separable, shall remain in full force and effect. 9.0 EFFECTIVITY This Circular shall take effect immediately. (SGD.) ROSALIA V. DE LEON Treasurer of the Philippines ANNEX A Date NAME OF ACCOUNTABLE OFFICER Position/Designation Name of Agency/Office DEMAND LETTER RE: UNREMITTED NATIONAL COLLECTIONS Dear Mr./Ms. ___________ This letter will serve as a formal notice for your failure to deposit the collections accruing to the account of the National Government as determined during the conduct of examination of books of accounts by Treasury Operations Officer _____________on __________. HESIcT The total amount of ____________________ (in words) (P0.00) has not been remitted as of to date. In order to protect the interest of the NG, we demand immediate remittance of the full amount by _______ (date) . Your immediate attention is highly appreciated. Thank you. Very truly yours, ______________________ Provincial/District/Head ANNEX B Monthly Report of Collections & Deposits (MRCD)