Payment Procedures & Vouchers

Payment Procedures & Vouchers

Quick Answer: Every federal payment must be backed by a properly prepared payment voucher (PV) on a prescribed treasury form, supported by full particulars and documents, checked by the Checking Officer, entered in the Vote Book, pre-payment audited by Internal Audit, and paid electronically — unless the Minister of Finance has granted a specific exemption. The Accounting Officer approves payments and is personally responsible for compliance, while virement between line items requires the approval of the National Assembly.

The Payment Voucher (PV) and What It Must Contain

A payment voucher is the single documentary basis of every federal payment. FR 601 is blunt: "No payment shall be made for a service for which a voucher has not been prepared." The voucher must be made out in favour of the person(s) to whom the money is actually due, on a prescribed treasury form.

FR 604 lists the supporting documents that must accompany a PV:

• Accounting Officer approval
• Letters of award / contract documents
• Job orders / Local Purchase Orders (LPO)
• Delivery notes
• Store Received Voucher (SRV)
• Job Completion Certificates
• Invoices
• Letters of authority
• Time sheets

Form and integrity rules (FR 605, FR 611):

• Prepared in ink, ball pen, or typewritten (electronic/digital signatures are permitted).
• Amounts written in both figures and words.
• No erasures and no correction fluid (Tippex) — FR 3008 makes this an offence.
• An alteration to the amount (words or figures) invalidates the voucher; a fresh voucher must be prepared.
• Other alterations must carry the full signature of the certifying officer; facsimile stamps are not acceptable (FR 607).

The Checking and Payment Chain

A PV moves through a defined control chain before any naira leaves the Treasury:

FR 612 sets the conditions a Sub-Accounting Officer must confirm before payment:

• (a) Certified for payment by the authorised officer;
• (b) Stamped "Checked and passed for payment";
• (c) Not more than 90 days old since preparation (2023 draft; the 2009 edition framed it as three months);
• (d) Accompanied by a proper schedule;
• (e) Stamped "Entered in the Vote Book" and signed by the officer maintaining the Vote Book.

After payment, FR 622 requires all original vouchers, attached invoices, warrants, and supporting documents to be stamped "PAID" immediately, to prevent re-use or double payment.

E-Payment Policy

Since the e-payment policy took effect around 2012 (and is now codified at FR 621 in the 2023 draft and FR 631 in the 2009 edition), all payments by MDAs and other arms of government must be made through electronic means, except where the Minister of Finance grants an exemption on the recommendation of the Accountant-General of the Federation. Cash or cheques may not be received for services rendered unless so approved.

The sanctions for non-compliance are severe (Chapter 32, Part V — FR 3229–3231):

• Any MDA that pays by cheque or cash without exemption has its budgetary and other allocations suspended.
• Any officer who makes such a payment commits serious misconduct and is disciplined under the Public Service Rules.
• The use of duplicate vouchers to make payment is prohibited — only audited original vouchers are the basis of payment (FR 628/629).

The Auditor-General has repeatedly flagged infractions: payments totalling billions of naira have been made without vouchers or supporting documents, prompting the recommendation that all MDAs be fully on the GIFMIS platform and that manual payment vouchers be abolished.

The Accounting Officer's Role in Approval and Virement

The Accounting Officer approves payments for completed projects in line with approved public procurement thresholds. Where the amount exceeds ₦100 million, the Accounting Officer must seek the endorsement of the Political Head (Minister or Board Chairman) — a guardrail against unilateral high-value approvals.

Virement is the reallocation of funds from one budget line item to another within the same financial year (FR 309). Key rules:

• Virement warrants are issued only after the approval of the National Assembly; the Accounting Officer initiates the application, which is collated and forwarded by the Minister in charge of Budget matters to the National Assembly on or before the tenth month of the budget year.
• Virement is strictly within the same administrative code for recurrent expenditure, or within the same economic programme for capital (FR 310, FR 325).
• Virement from a recurrent line item to a capital line item is prohibited (FR 317).
• Virement may not create a new line item or reintroduce items disallowed by the Estimates Committee or the National Assembly.
• Virement may not be used to cure audit queries on improper expenditure already incurred (FR 310).
• Applications for establishment/grading matters must be made not later than the first quarter of the financial year.
• FR 318 makes it personal: officers controlling votes are personally responsible for ensuring that expenditure against the line item from which provision was transferred does not exceed the reduced balance.

Why This Matters for COMPRO

Payment-procedure questions dominate the Financial Regulations domain because the PV is where theory meets cash. A candidate must know the documents that support a PV, the stamps that must appear on it, the time limits at each stage (48 hours checking, 2 days internal audit, 90 days voucher validity), and that e-payment is mandatory. Virement questions test the principle that the Accounting Officer cannot reallocate funds unilaterally — the National Assembly is the final approver. Remember: no voucher, no payment; no e-payment, no payment.