Determination and authorisation of the amounts of pension and gratuity under Central Civil Services Pension Rules 2021

Determination and authorisation of the amounts of pension and gratuity under Central Civil Services Pension Rules 2021 – Various stages of preparation and completion Pension payment processes from the level of applicant (retiring central government employee / family of central government employee to the Pension granting authority

CHAPTER X

Determination and authorisation of the amounts of pension and gratuity

53. Processing of pension cases in the online pension sanctioning system.- (1) Unless otherwise exempted by a general or special order of the Government, the pension case of a Government servant shall be processed through ‘Bhavishya’.

(2)(a) In the case of a department or office or person exempted from the purview of Bhavishya in accordance with sub-rule (1), the details or documents in respect of the person due to retire shall be transmitted in physical mode and his pension case shall be processed manually.

(b) In a case or cases where a particular action or activity cannot be performed under Bhavishya, such action or activity shall be performed manually.

54. Preparation of list of Government servants due for retirement.- (1) Every Head of Department shall have a list prepared by 15th day of every month, of all Government servants who are due to retire within the next fifteen months of that date.

(2) A copy of every such list shall be supplied to the Accounts Officer concerned before the last day of every month.

(3) In the case of a Government servant retiring for reasons other than by way of superannuation, the Head of Office shall inform the Accounts Officer concerned not later than ten days from the date of issue of order regarding retirement of Government servant.

55. Intimation to the Directorate of Estates regarding issue of “No Demand Certificate”.- (1) Immediately after preparing the list of Government servants due to retire within the next fifteen months, the Head of Office shall obtain from each such Government servant, who was or is in occupation of a Government accommodation (hereinafter referred to as the allottee), the complete details regarding the Government accommodation, as prescribed by the Directorate of Estates and shall  send these details to the Directorate of Estates, at least one year before the anticipated date of retirement of the Government servant for issuing a `No demand certificate’ in respect of the period preceding eight months of the retirement of the allottee.

(2) Immediately after the orders for retirement of a Government servant for reasons other than by way of superannuation, the Head of Office shall also obtain from such Government servant, the details regarding the Government accommodation held by him from time to time, if any.

(3) The Head of Office shall, within ten days of receipt of the details from the Government servant, send these details to the Directorate of Estates along with a copy of intimation sent by him to the Accounts Officer under sub-rule (3) of rule 54 for issuing a `No demand certificate’, if the Government servant concerned was or is an allottee of Government accommodation.

(4) A Government servant, referred to in sub-rule (1), if he is not in occupation of any residential accommodation and had also not been allotted any residential accommodation during his service, shall submit a declaration to the Head of Office to this effect one year before his retirement on superannuation.

(5) A Government servant, referred to in sub-rule (2), if he is not in occupation of any residential accommodation and had also not been allotted any residential accommodation during his service, shall submit a declaration to the Head of Office to this effect immediately after the competent authority has approved such retirement or the retirement has become effective, as the case may be.

(6) The Head of Office, after verification of the records, shall issue the ‘No Demand Certificate’ in respect of a  Government servant referred to in sub-rule (4) and sub-rule (5). No separate ‘No Demand Certificate’ from the Directorate of Estates shall be necessary in such a case.

Explanation.- The term ‘Directorate of Estates’, wherever occurring in these rules, shall also include any other office or agency concerned with allotment and maintenance of accommodation for Government servants in a Department or office.

56. Preparation for processing of pension case.- Every Head of Office shall undertake the preparatory work for processing of pension case one year before the date on which a Government servant is due to retire on superannuation, or on the date on which he proceeds on leave preparatory to retirement, whichever is earlier.

57. Stages for the processing of pension case on superannuation.- (1) The Head of Office shall divide the period of preparatory work of one year referred to in Rule 56 in the following three stages, namely:

(a) First Stage. Verification of service,

(i) the Head of Office shall go through the service book of the Government servant and satisfy himself as to whether the certificates of verification for the service subsequent to the service verified under rule 30 are recorded therein;

(ii) in respect of the unverified portion or portions of service, he shall verify the portion or portions of such service, as the case may be, based on pay bills, acquittance rolls or other relevant records, such as last pay certificate and pay slip for month of April (which shows verification of  service for the previous financial year) and record necessary certificates in the service book;

(iii) If the service for any period is not capable of being verified in the manner specified in sub-clause (i) and sub-clause (ii), that period of service having been rendered by the Government servant in another office or Department, the Head of Office under which the Government servant is at present serving shall refer the said period of service to the Head of Office in which the Government servant is shown to have served during that period for the purpose of verification;

(iv) on receipt of communication referred to in sub-clause (iii), the Head of Office in that office or Department shall verify the portion or portions of such service, in the manner as specified in sub-clause (ii), and send necessary certificates to the referring Head of Office within two months from the date of receipt of such a reference:

Provided that in case a period of service is incapable of being verified, it shall be brought to the notice of the referring Head of Office simultaneously;

(v) if no response is received within the time referred to in the preceding sub-clause, such period or periods shall be deemed to qualify for pension;

(vi) if at any time thereafter, it is found that the Head of Office and other concerned authorities had failed to communicate any non-qualifying period of service, the Secretary of the administrative Ministry or Department shall fix responsibility for such non-communication;

(vii) the process specified in sub-clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) shall be completed eight months before the date of superannuation;

(viii) if any portion of service rendered by a Government servant is not capable of being verified in the manner specified in sub-clause (i) or sub clause (ii) or sub-clause (iii) or sub-clause (iv) or sub-clause (v), the Government servant shall be asked to file a written statement on plain paper within a month, stating that he had in fact rendered service for that period, and shall, at the foot of the statement, make and subscribe to a declaration as to the truth of that statement;

(ix) the Head of Office shall, after taking into consideration the facts in the written statement referred to in sub-clause (viii) admit that portion of service as having been rendered for the purpose of calculating the  pension of that Government servant; and

(x) if a Government servant is found to have given any incorrect information willfully, which makes him or her entitled to any benefits which he or she is not otherwise entitled to, it shall be construed as a grave misconduct.

(b) Second Stage.- Making good the omissions in the service book,-

(i) the Head of Office while scrutinizing the certificates of verification of service, shall also identify if there are any other omissions, imperfections or deficiencies which have a direct bearing on the determination of emoluments and the service qualifying for pension;

(ii) every effort shall be made to complete the verification of service, as specified in clause (a) and to make good the omissions, imperfections or deficiencies referred to in sub-clause (i);

(iii) any omission, imperfection or deficiency which is incapable of being made good and the periods of service about which the Government servant has submitted no statement and the portion of service shown as unverified in the service book which it has not been possible to verify in accordance with the procedure laid down in clause (a) shall be ignored and service qualifying for pension shall be determined on the basis of the entries in the service book;

(iv) for the purpose of calculation of emoluments and average emoluments, the Head of Office shall verify from the service book the correctness of the emoluments drawn or to be drawn during the last ten months of service;

(v) in order to ensure that the emoluments during the last ten months of service have been correctly shown in the service book, the Head of Office shall verify the correctness of emoluments only for the period of twenty four months preceding the date of retirement of a Government servant, and not for any period prior to that date.

(c) Third Stage.- As soon as the second stage is completed, but not later than eight months prior to the date of retirement of the Government servant, the Head of Office shall,-

(i) furnish to the retiring Government servant a certificate regarding the length of qualifying service proposed to be admitted for the purpose of pension and gratuity and also the emoluments and the average emoluments proposed to be reckoned for retirement gratuity and pension;

(ii) direct the retiring Government servant to furnish to the Head of Office the reasons for non-acceptance, supported by the relevant documents in support of his claim within two months if the certified service and emoluments as indicated by the Head of Office are not acceptable to him;

(iii) advise the retiring Government servant to submit Form 4 and Form 6 along with an undertaking to the Bank in Format 9, a common nomination form for arrears of pension and commuted value of pension in Form A appended to the Payment of Arrears of Pension (Nomination) Rules, 1983 and an option form for availing Fixed Medical Allowance or out-patient medical facility provided by the Government.

(2)(a) The Government servant shall submit to the Head of Office duly completed Form 4 and Form 6 along with an undertaking to the Bank in Format 9, a common nomination form for arrears of pension and  commuted value of pension in Form A appended to the Payment of Arrears of Pension (Nomination) Rules, 1983 and an option form for availing Fixed Medical Allowance or out-patient medical facility provided by the Government, not later than six months prior to his date of retirement.

(b) The Government servant shall also apply in Form 6, if he so desires, for commutation of a percentage of pension in accordance with the Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981.

(3)(a) Where the Head of Office is satisfied that the Government servant is not in a position to submit the forms referred to in sub-rule (2) on account of any bodily or mental infirmity, the Head of Office may allow the spouse of the Government servant or, in the absence of the spouse, the member of the family eligible to receive family pension on death of Government servant, to submit Form 4 and Form 6.

(b) If there is no member of the family eligible to receive family pension on death of Government servant, a member of the family in whose favour a nomination was made by the Government servant for payment of gratuity, may be allowed to submit Form 4 and Form 6:

Provided that where the said forms are submitted by the spouse or any other member of the family, the Government servant shall not be entitled to the benefit of commutation of a percentage of pension until he himself subsequently applies for such commutation in accordance with the Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981.

58. Submission of forms by Government servant retiring for reasons other than superannuation.- (1) A Government servant, who is retiring or has retired for reasons other than superannuation, shall submit to the Head of Office duly completed Form 4 and Form 6 along with an undertaking to the Bank in Format 9, a common nomination form for arrears of pension and commuted value of pension in Form A appended to the Payment of Arrears of Pension (Nomination) Rules, 1983 and an option form for availing Fixed Medical Allowance or out-patient medical facility provided by the Government, immediately after the competent authority has approved such retirement or the retirement has become effective, as the case may be.

(2)(a) Where the Head of Office is satisfied that the Government servant is not in a position to submit the forms referred to in sub-rule (1) on account of any bodily or mental infirmity, the Head of Office may allow the spouse of the Government servant or, in the absence of the spouse, any other member of the family eligible to receive family pension on death of Government servant, to submit Form 4 and Form 6.

(b) If there is no member of the family eligible to receive family pension on death of Government servant, a member of the family in whose favour a nomination was made by the Government servant for payment of gratuity, may be allowed to submit Form 4 and Form 6:

Provided that where the forms are submitted by the spouse or any other member of the family, the Government servant shall not be entitled to the benefit of commutation of a percentage of pension until he himself subsequently applies for such commutation in accordance with the Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981.

59. Completion of pension case.- (1) In cases under rule 57, the Head of Office shall complete Part I of Form 7 along with the check list and the pension calculation sheet not later than four months before the date of retirement of a Government servant. In cases under rule 58, the Head of Office shall complete Part I of Form 7 along with the check list and the pension calculation sheet within two months after submission of Form 4 and Form 6 by a Government servant or his or her spouse or member of  his or her family, as the case may be.

(2) In the case of a Government servant who has died after retirement and in respect of whom Forms referred to in rule 57 or rule 58 have not been submitted, action shall be taken in accordance with sub-rule (5) of rule 80.

60. Forwarding of pension case to Accounts Officer.- (1) After complying with the requirement of rules 57, 58 and 59, the Head of Office shall forward the pension case to the Accounts Officer and shall also send to the Accounts Officer,-

(i) copies of Form 4, Form 6 and an undertaking to the Bank in Format 9, signed and submitted by the Government servant;

(ii) copies of Form 7 (including the check list and the pension calculation sheet) and the covering letter in Format 10, and

(iii) duly completed and up-to-date service book of the Government servant along with any other documents relied upon for the verification of service.

(2) The particulars of the Government dues referred to in rule 67 ascertained and assessed by the Head of Office and the amount to be withheld, if any, as per the intimation of Directorate of Estates under sub rule (5) of rule 68 shall also be furnished to the Accounts Officer in Format 10 so that the dues are recovered out of the gratuity before its payment is authorised.

(3) The Head of Office shall retain a copy of each of the Forms referred to in sub-rule (1) and sub-rule (2) for his records.

(4) The pension case and the papers referred to in sub-rule (1) and sub rule (2) shall be forwarded to the Accounts Officer not later than four months before the date of superannuation of a Government servant and in cases other than retirement on superannuation not later than two months after the date of submission of Form 4 and Form 6.

61. Intimation to Accounts Officer regarding any event having bearing on pension or any Government dues.-

(1) If, after the pension case and pension papers have been forwarded to the Accounts Officer under rule 60, any event occurs which has a bearing on the amount of pension admissible, the fact shall be promptly reported to the Accounts Officer by the Head of Office.

(2) If, after the particulars of Government dues have been intimated to the Accounts Officer under sub-rule (2) of rule 60, any additional Government dues come to the notice of the Head of Office, such dues shall be promptly reported to the Accounts Officer.

62. Provisional pension for reasons other than Departmental or Judicial proceedings. (1) Where, in a case of retirement on superannuation, after a Government servant or his or her spouse or a member of his or her family, as the case may be, has submitted the Forms in accordance with sub-rule (2) or sub-rule (3) of rule 57 but,-

(i) in spite of following the procedure laid down in rule 57, it is not possible for the Head of Office to forward the pension case and pension papers referred to in rule 60 to the Accounts Officer within the period specified in sub-rule (4) of that rule; or

(ii) the pension case and pension papers forwarded to the Accounts Officer have been returned by the Accounts Officer to the Head of Office for eliciting further information before issuing pension payment order and order for the payment of gratuity,

and the Government servant is likely to retire before his pension and gratuity or both can be finally assessed and settled in accordance with the provisions of these rules, the Head of Office shall rely upon such information as may be available in the official records and shall determine the amount of provisional pension and the amount of provisional retirement gratuity.

(2) In a case of retirement otherwise than on superannuation, on receipt of Forms from Government servant or his or her spouse or a member of his or her family in accordance with sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2) of rule 58, the Head of Office shall rely upon such information as may be available in the official records and shall determine the amount of provisional pension and the amount of provisional retirement gratuity.

(3) Where the amount of pension and gratuity cannot be determined for reasons other than the departmental or judicial proceedings and a provisional pension and provisional gratuity is required to be sanctioned in accordance with sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2), the Head of Office shall do the following, namely:-

(a) issue a letter of sanction addressed to the Government servant endorsing a copy thereof to the Accounts Officer authorising,

(i) 100 per cent. of pension as provisional pension from the date following the date of retirement; and

(ii) 100 per cent. of the gratuity as provisional gratuity withholding ten per cent of gratuity.

(b) specify in the letter of sanction, the amount recoverable from the gratuity as assessed under rule 67 and after issuing the letter of sanction referred to in clause (a), the Head of Office shall draw,

(i) the amount of provisional pension; and

(ii) the amount of provisional gratuity after deducting therefrom the amount specified in sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) and the dues, if any, specified in rule 68, in the same manner as pay and allowances of the establishment are drawn by him.

(4) A sanction for provisional pension under sub-rule (3) shall be issued not later than ten days after the date of retirement of Government servant in cases covered under sub-rule (1) and within one month from the date of submission of forms in cases covered under sub-rule (2).

(5) The amount of provisional pension and gratuity payable under sub rule (2) or sub-rule (3) shall, if necessary, be revised on the completion of the detailed scrutiny of the records.

(6)(a) The payment of provisional pension shall not continue beyond the period of six months from the date of retirement of a Government servant or from the date of submission of Form 4 and Form 6 by the Government servant, whichever is later, and if the amount of final pension and the amount of final gratuity had been determined by the Head of Office in consultation with the Accounts Officer before the expiry of the said period of six months, the Accounts Officer shall,-

(i) issue the pension payment order; and

(ii) direct the Head of Office to draw and disburse the difference between the final amount of gratuity and the amount of provisional gratuity paid under sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub-rule (3) after adjusting the Government dues, if any, which may have come to notice after the payment of provisional gratuity.

(b) If the amount of provisional pension disbursed to a Government servant under sub-rule (3) is, on its final assessment, found to be in excess of the final pension assessed by the Accounts Officer, it shall be open to the Accounts Officer to adjust the excess amount of pension out of gratuity withheld under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-rule (3) or recover the excess amount of pension in instalments by making short payments of the pension payable in future.

(c) (i) If the amount of provisional gratuity disbursed by the Head of Office under sub-rule (3) is more than the amount finally assessed, the retired Government servant shall not be required to refund the excess amount actually disbursed to him.

(ii) The Head of Office shall ensure that chances of disbursing the amount of gratuity in excess of the amount finally assessed are minimized and the officials responsible for the excess payment shall be accountable for the overpayment.

(7) If the final amount of pension and gratuity have not been determined by the Head of Office in consultation with the Accounts Officer within a period of six months referred to in clause (a) of sub-rule (6), the Accounts Officer shall treat the provisional pension and gratuity as final and issue pension payment order immediately on the expiry of the period of six months.

(8) As soon as the pension payment order has been issued by the Accounts Officer under clause (a) of sub-rule (6) or sub-rule (7), the Head of Office shall release the amount of withheld gratuity under sub-clause  (ii) of clause (a) of sub-rule (3) to the retired Government servant after adjusting Government dues which may have come to notice after the  payment of provisional gratuity under sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub rule (3).

(9) If a Government servant is or was an allottee of Government accommodation, the withheld amount should be paid on receipt of `No Demand Certificate’ from the Directorate of Estates.

(10) It shall be the responsibility of the Head of Office to ensure that in cases where there is a delay in issue of Pension Payment Order, a provisional pension and provisional gratuity is sanctioned in accordance with this rule.

63. Authorisation of pension and gratuity by the Accounts Officer.- (1)(a) On receipt of pension case and pension papers referred to in rule 60, the Accounts Officer shall apply the requisite checks, record the account enfacement in Part II of Form 7 and assess the amount of pension, family pension and gratuity and issue the pension payment order not later than two months in advance of the date of the retirement of a Government servant on attaining the age of superannuation.

(b) In the cases of retirement otherwise than on attaining the age of superannuation, the Accounts Officer shall apply the requisite checks, complete Part II of Form 7, assess the amount of pension, family pension and gratuity, assess dues and issue the pension payment order within forty five days of the date of receipt of pension papers from the Head of Office.

(c) While applying the requisite checks, the Accounts Officer shall verify the correctness of emoluments only for the period of twenty-four months preceding the date of retirement of a Government servant, and not for any period prior to that date.

(d) The Accounts Officer shall indicate in the Pension Payment Order, the name of the spouse of the Government servant, if alive, as family pensioner:

Provided that in the case of a Government servant whose family includes more than one wife who is alive, the Accounts Officer shall indicate, in the Pension Payment Order, the names of all the wives with their respective share in the family pension:

Provided further that in the case of a Government servant whose family includes a wife, who is alive, and a child or children from a wife who is not alive or from a divorced wife or from a void or voidable marriage, the Accounts Officer shall indicate, in the Pension Payment Order, only the name of wife who is alive with her share in the family pension, then on death of the pensioner, the share of family pension indicated in the Pension Payment Order shall initially become payable to the surviving widow and on receipt of a communication from the Head of Office, the Accounts Officer shall issue a revised Pension Payment Authority, indicating the names of all the members of family who are eligible for family pension on the date of death of the pensioner with their respective share in the family pension, in accordance with rule 50.

(e) The Accounts Officer shall also indicate in the Pension Payment Order, the names of the permanently disabled child or children and dependent parents and disabled siblings as family pensioners if there is no other member of family to whom family pension may become payable before such disabled child or children or dependent parents or disabled siblings.

(f) On receipt of a written communication from the Head of Office on an application in Form 8 from an existing pensioner or family pensioner, the Accounts Officer shall also indicate in the Pension Payment Order, the names of the permanently disabled child or children and dependent parents and disabled siblings as family pensioners if there is no other member of family to whom family pension may become payable before such disabled child or children or dependent parents or disabled siblings.

(g) Where an intimation regarding marriage or remarriage after retirement has been received from a retired Government servant in accordance with clause (f) of sub-rule (15) of Rule 50, the Head of Office, after due verification, forward the papers to the Account Officer and the Account Officer shall take the said intimation on record and, if there is no child or children from an earlier marriage or if the child or children from an earlier marriage are not eligible for family pension, issue a Revised Pension Payment Authority including the name of such spouse as family pensioner in the pension payment order.

(h) The Pension Disbursing Authority shall commence disbursement of family pension, as authorized in the Pension Payment Order, to the members of family referred to in clause (c), (d), (e) or (f), in accordance with the provisions of rule 79 and in the order indicated in rule 50.

(2) The amount of gratuity as determined by the Accounts Officer under Clause (a) of sub-rule (1) shall be intimated to the Head of Office with the remarks that the amount of the gratuity may be drawn and disbursed by the Head of Office to the retired Government servant after adjusting the Government dues, if any, referred to in rule 67 and the amount to be withheld, if any, as per the intimation of Directorate of Estates under sub rule (5) of rule 68.

(3) The amount of gratuity withheld under sub-rule (5) of rule 68 shall be adjusted by the Head of Office against the outstanding licence fee intimated by the Directorate of Estates and the balance, if any, refunded to the retired Government servant.

(4)(a) The Accounts Officer shall forward a copy of the Pension Payment Order or the Revised Pension Payment Authority issued under this rule along with the undertaking in Format 9 to the Central Pension Accounting Office, not later than two months from the date of receipt of pension papers from the Head of Office, for issuing a Special Seal of Authority.

(b) The Central Pension Accounting Office shall issue the Special Seal of Authority and forward the same to the Pension Disbursing Authority along with the copy of the Pension Payment Order or the Revised Pension Payment Authority issued by the Accounts Officer and the undertaking in Format 9, not later than twenty one days from the date of receipt of the Pension Payment Order or the Revised Pension Payment Authority from the Accounts Officer, in accordance with the orders issued by the Controller General of Accounts.

(c) The Pension Disbursing Authority shall take action to disburse the pension to the retired Government servant on the date on which it becomes due, in accordance with the orders issued by the Controller General of Accounts and Central Pension Accounting Office.

(5)(a) In case, any departmental or judicial proceedings are pending against the Government servant, a provisional pension as provided in sub-rule (5) of rule 8 shall be authorised by the Accounts Officer and no gratuity shall be paid to the Government servant until the conclusion of the departmental or judicial proceedings and issue of final orders thereon and after the conclusion of departmental or judicial proceedings and  issue of final orders thereon, the Head of Office shall forward the copy of final orders passed by the competent authority along with the details in Form 7-A, not later than thirty days from the date of issue of the said orders.

(b) On receipt of the copy of final orders passed by the competent authority and the details in Form 7-A from the Head of Office, the Accounts Officer shall take further action to authorise the final pension to the retired Government servant in accordance with the orders passed by the competent authority in regard to the departmental or judicial proceedings within thirty days of the date of receipt of the said Form 7-A.

64. Government servants on deputation.- (1) In the case of Government servant who retires while on deputation to another Central Government Department, action to authorise pension and gratuity in accordance with the provisions of these rules shall be taken by the Head of Office of the borrowing Department.

(2) If, a Government servant retires from service, while on deputation to a State Government or while on Foreign Service, action to authorise pension and gratuity in accordance with the provisions of these rules shall be taken by the Head of Office or the Cadre authority which sanctioned deputation to the State Government or to foreign service.

65. Interest on delayed payment of gratuity, pension and family pension.- (1) In all cases where provisional pension or provisional family pension or provisional gratuity has not been sanctioned in accordance with these rules or where the payment of pension or family pension or gratuity has been authorised later than the date when its payment becomes due, including in the cases of retirement otherwise than on superannuation, and it is clearly established that the delay in payment was attributable to administrative reasons or lapses, interest shall be paid on arrears of pension or family pension or gratuity at the rate and in the manner as applicable to General Provident Fund amount in accordance with the instructions issued from time to time:

Provided that no interest under this sub-rule shall be payable if the delay in payment was caused on account of failure on the part of the Government servant or the pensioner or the member of the family of the  Government servant to comply with the procedure laid down by the Government for processing the pension or family pension case.

(2) Every case of delayed payment of pension or family pension or gratuity (including provisional pension or family pension or gratuity) in respect of employees of a Ministry or Department and the employees of its attached and subordinate offices shall be considered by the Secretary of that Ministry or Department or any other officer, not below the level of Joint Secretary to the Government of India, authorised by him for this purpose, and where the Secretary or the officer authorised by him is satisfied that the delay in the payment of pension or family pension or gratuity was caused on account of administrative reasons or lapse, the said Secretary or the officer authorised by him shall sanction payment of interest.

(3)(a) The administrative Ministry or the Department or the office shall issue sanction for the payment of interest after the Secretary or the officer authorised by him has sanctioned the payment of interest under sub-rule (2).

(b) The payment of interest on delayed payment of gratuity or pension or family pension shall be paid within two months from the date on which payment of interest has been sanctioned by Secretary or the officer authorised by him.

(4) In all cases where the payment of interest has been sanctioned by the Secretary of the administrative Ministry or the Department or the officer authorised by him, such Ministry or the Department or Office shall fix the responsibility and take disciplinary action against the Government servant or servants who are found responsible for the delay in the payment of gratuity or pension or family pension on account of administrative lapses: Provided that payment of interest under sub-rule (3) shall be made without waiting for the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings, if any.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-rule (1), the period for which interest shall be payable for the delay in payment of pension or gratuity shall be determined in the following manner, namely:-

(a) In the case of a Government servant who retires on superannuation, interest shall be payable from the date following the date of expiry of a period of three months from the date of retirement, up to the date of payment of arrears of pension or gratuity or both;

(b) In the case of a Government servant who retires or is retired otherwise than on superannuation or is absorbed in a public sector undertaking or an autonomous body or dies during service or after retirement, interest shall be payable from the date following the date of expiry of a period of three months from the date of retirement or absorption or death, as the case may be, up to the date of payment of arrears of pension or gratuity;

(c) In the case of a Government servant to whom provisional pension was paid and retirement gratuity was not paid on retirement in accordance with clause (c) of sub-rule (4) of rule 8 on account of departmental or judicial proceedings pending against him on the date of retirement and who is exonerated of all charges on conclusion of such departmental or judicial proceedings, interest shall be payable on retirement gratuity and arrears of pension, if any, from the date following the date of expiry of a period of three months from the date of retirement up to the date of payment of arrears of pension and gratuity;

(d) In the case of a Government servant to whom provisional pension was paid and retirement gratuity was not paid on retirement in accordance with clause (c) of sub-rule (5) of rule 8 on account of departmental or judicial proceedings pending against him on the date of retirement and despite him not having been fully exonerated of all charges on conclusion of such departmental or judicial proceedings, the competent authority decides to allow payment of pension and retirement gratuity, either in full or in part, interest shall be payable on retirement gratuity and arrears of pension, if any, from the date of expiry of a period of three months from the date on which the order for payment of pension and gratuity is issued by the competent authority up to the date of payment of pension and gratuity.

(e) In the case of a Government servant to whom provisional pension was paid and gratuity was not paid on retirement in accordance with clause (c) of sub-rule (5) of rule 8 on account of departmental or judicial proceedings pending against him on the date of retirement and such departmental or judicial proceedings are dropped consequent on his  death, interest shall be payable on arrears of pension, family pension and  gratuity from the date of expiry of a period of three months from the date of death up to the date of payment of such arrears of pension, family pension and gratuity.

(f) Where arrears of pension or gratuity become payable to a Government servant on account of enhancement of the amount of pension authorised or the amount of gratuity paid on retirement consequent on retrospective revision of emoluments or liberalization in the provisions relating to grant of pension or gratuity, interest shall be payable on arrears of pension or gratuity to the Government servant from the date of expiry of a period of three months from the date of issue of the order revising the emoluments or liberalizing the provisions relating to grant of pension or gratuity, as the case may be, up to the date of payment of arrears of pension or gratuity.

66. Revision of pension after authorisation.- (1) The pension authorised under rule 44 and family pension authorised under rule 50 may be revised by the Government in accordance with any general order issued in implementation of decisions taken on the recommendations of the Central Pay Commissions, or otherwise, and the pension or family pension so revised shall thereafter be the basic pension or basic family pension for grant of additional pension under sub-rule (5) of rule 44 or additional family pension under sub-rule (3) of rule 50 or dearness relief under rule 52.

(2) Subject to the provisions of rule 7 and rule 8, pension or family pension once authorised after final assessment or revised under sub-rule (1) shall not be revised to the disadvantage of the Government servant, unless such revision becomes necessary on account of detection of a clerical error subsequently:

Provided that no revision of pension or family pension to the disadvantage of the pensioner or family pensioner shall be ordered without the concurrence of the Department of Pension and Pensioner’s Welfare if the clerical error is detected after a period of two years from the date of authorisation or revision of pension or family pension.

(3) The question whether the revision has become necessary on account of a clerical error or not shall be decided by the administrative Ministry or Department.

(4) If, consequent on revision of pension or family pension under sub-rule (2), an excess payment of pension or family pension is found to have been made to the pensioner or family pensioner and if such excess payment is not on account of any misrepresentation of facts by the pensioner or family pensioner, the administrative Ministry or Department shall examine in consultation with the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) whether or not recovery of such excess payment can be waived off and issue appropriate orders in accordance with the relevant rules and instructions in this regard.

(5) Where the administrative Ministry or Department decides not to waive off the excess payment of pension or family pension, the retired Government servant concerned or family pensioner shall be served with a notice by the Head of Office requiring him to refund the excess payment of pension within a period of two months from the date of receipt of notice by him.

(6) In case the Government servant fails to comply with the notice, the Head of Office shall, by order in writing, direct that such excess payment shall be adjusted in instalments by short payments of pension in future, in one or more instalments, as the Head of Office may direct.

67. Recovery and adjustment of Government dues.– (1) It shall be the duty of the Head of Office to ascertain and assess Government dues payable by a Government servant due for retirement on superannuation and by the Government servant who has retired or is retiring otherwise than on attaining the age of superannuation.

(2) The Government dues as ascertained and assessed by the Head of Office which remain outstanding till the date of retirement of the  Government servant, shall be adjusted against the amount of the retirement gratuity becoming payable.

Explanation.- The expression ‘Government dues’ includes –

(a) dues pertaining to Government accommodation including arrears of licence fee as well as damages (for the occupation of the Government accommodation beyond the permissible period after the date of retirement of the allottee, subletting, unauthorised occupation, transfer to an ineligible office, etc.) and dues or arrears in respect of electricity, water and PNG charge, if any;

(b) dues other than those pertaining to Government accommodation, namely, balance of house building or conveyance or any other advance, overpayment of pay and allowances or leave salary and arrears of income  tax deductible at source under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961).

(3) Only the Government dues as referred to in sub-rule (2) shall be adjusted against the amount of retirement gratuity payable to the retired Government servant and any other dues which are not Government dues in terms of sub-rule (2) shall not be recoverable from the amount of retirement gratuity.

68. Adjustment and recovery of dues pertaining to Government accommodation.- (1)(a) In the case of a Government servant who is due for retirement on superannuation, the Directorate of Estates, on receipt of intimation and details from the Head of Office under sub-rule (1) of rule 55 for issue of a No Demand Certificate, shall scrutinise its records and inform the Head of Office within two months, if any licence fee was recoverable from the Government servant in respect of the period prior to eight months of his retirement.

(b) In the case of a Government servant who has retired or is retiring otherwise than on attaining the age of superannuation, the Directorate of Estates shall inform the Head of Office within one month from the date of receipt of intimation and details from Head of Office under sub-rule (2) of rule 55, if any licence fee was recoverable from the Government servant up to the date of retirement.

(c) If no intimation in regard to recovery of outstanding licence fee is received by the Head of Office by the stipulated date, it shall be presumed that no licence fee was recoverable from the allottee in respect of the period preceding eight months of the date of his superannuation or up to the date of retirement in other cases.

(2) In the case of retirement on superannuation, the Head of Office shall ensure that licence fee for the next eight months, that is upto the date of retirement of the allottee, is recovered every month from the pay and allowances of the allottee.

(3) Where the Directorate of Estates intimates the amount of licence fee recoverable in respect of the period mentioned in sub-rule (1), the Head of Office shall ensure that outstanding licence fee is recovered in  instalments from the current pay and allowances of the allottee and where the entire amount is not recovered from the pay and allowances,  the balance shall be recovered out of the gratuity before its payment is authorised.

(4) The Directorate of Estates shall also inform the Head of Office the amount of licence fee for the retention of Government accommodation for the permissible period beyond the date of retirement of the allottee and the Head of Office shall adjust the amount of that licence fee from the amount of the gratuity together with the unrecovered licence fee, if any, mentioned in sub-rule (3).

(5) If in any particular case, it is not possible for the Directorate of Estates to determine the outstanding licence fee, that Directorate shall inform the Head of Office that ten per cent of the gratuity may be withheld pending receipt of further information.

(6) The recovery of licence fee (where it is not possible for the Directorate of Estates to determine the outstanding license fee) as well as damages (for occupation of the Government accommodation beyond the  permissible period after the date of retirement of allottee) shall be the responsibility of the Directorate of Estates and the withheld amount of  gratuity under sub-rule (5) above of the retiring Government employee, who was in occupation of Government accommodation, shall be paid immediately on production of ‘No Demand Certificate’ from the Directorate of Estates after actual vacation of the Government accommodation.

(7)(a) The Directorate of Estates shall ensure the No Demand Certificate shall be given to the Government servant within a period of fourteen days from the date of submission of application for the said certificate after actual vacation of the Government accommodation.

(b) If the Directorate of Estates fails to issue the No Demand Certificate within fourteen days from the date of the application, the allottee shall be entitled to payment of interest (as per the rate and manner applicable to General Provident Fund deposit determined from time to time by the  Government of India) on the excess withheld amount of gratuity which is required to be refunded after adjusting the arrears of licence fee and damages, if any, payable by the allottee till the date of issue of No Demand Certificate or the date of expiry of the period of fourteen days from the date of application for No demand certificate, whichever is earlier.

(c) The interest shall be payable by the Directorate of Estates through the concerned Account Officer of the retired Government servant from the date of application for the said certificate after vacation of the Government accommodation, up to the date of refund of excess withheld amount of gratuity.

(8) If after adjustment from the withheld amount of gratuity, if any,  mentioned under sub-rule (5), or if no amount of gratuity was withheld  under sub-rule (5), any amount on account of licence fee or damages (for overstay or unauthorised occupation or subletting or transfer to an ineligible office etc.) or dues on account of electricity, water or PNG charges, remaining unpaid, may be ordered by the Directorate of Estates to be recovered through the concerned Account Officer from the dearness relief without the consent of the pensioner and in such case no dearness relief shall be disbursed until full recovery of such dues has been made

Explanation.- For the purpose of this rule, the licence fee shall also  include any other charges payable by the allottee for any damage or loss caused by him to the accommodation or its fittings.

69. Adjustment and recovery of dues other than dues pertaining to Government accommodation.- (1) For the dues other than the dues pertaining to occupation of Government accommodation as referred to in clause (b) of subrule (2) of rule 67, the Head of Office shall take steps to assess the dues one year before the date on which a Government servant is due to retire on superannuation or on the date on which he proceeds on leave preparatory to retirement, whichever is earlier, in the case of retirement on superannuation and immediately on retirement or  when the fact of retirement of the Government servant is known to the Head of Office, whichever is earlier, in the case of retirement otherwise than on superannuation.

(2) The assessment of Government dues referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be completed by the Head of Office eight months prior to the date of the retirement of the Government servant, in the case of retirement on superannuation, and within thirty days after the date of retirement in the case of retirement otherwise than on superannuation.

(3) The dues as assessed under sub-rule (2) including those dues which come to notice subsequently and which remain outstanding till the date of retirement of the Government servant, shall be adjusted against the amount of retirement gratuity becoming payable to the Government  servant on his retirement.

70. Date of retirement to be notified.- (1) When a Government servant retires from service,

(a) a notification in the Official Gazette in the case of a Gazetted Government servant; or

(b) an office order in the case of a non-gazetted Government servant,

shall be issued specifying the date of retirement within a week of such date and a copy of every such notification or office order, as the case may be, shall be forwarded immediately to the Accounts Officer:

Provided that where a notification in the Official Gazette or an office order, as the case may be, regarding the grant of leave preparatory to retirement to a Government servant is issued, a further notification or  office order that the Government servant has actually retired on the expiry of such leave shall not be necessary unless the leave is curtailed and the retirement is for any reason ante-dated or postponed.

(2) Unless specific orders for extension of service are issued by the competent authority, the Government servant shall be deemed to have retired from service on the date on which he attains the age of superannuation and failure on the part of the office to issue a notification or office order under sub-rule (1) shall not make the Government servant entitled to continue in service beyond the date of superannuation.

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