III — RECORDS OF SERVICE

DIVISION 7

[Rules made under F.R. 74 (a) (iv)]

GAZETTED GOVERNMENT SERVANTS

S.R. 196. A record of the services of a Gazetted Government servant will be kept by such Audit Officer and in such form as the Comptroller and Auditor-General may prescribe.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDER

Service Books of GOs to be maintained by the respective Head of Office.— It has been decided in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General, that the service records including leave accounts of Gazetted Officers will be transferred by the Accounts-General / Pay and Accounts Officers to the departmental authorities, the arrangements in this regard synchronizing with the general scheme of separation of accounts from audit.

NON-GAZETTED GOVERNMENT SERVANTS

Service Books

S.R. 197. A Service Book in such form as the Comptroller and Auditor-General may prescribe must be maintained for every non-Gazetted Government servant holding a substantive post on a permanent establishment or officiating in a post or holding a temporary post with the following exceptions:—

(a) Government servants the particulars of whose service are recorded in a history of services or a service register maintained by an Audit Officer.

(b) Government servants officiating in posts or holding temporary posts, who are recruited for purely temporary or officiating vacancies not likely to last for more than one year and are not eligible for permanent appointment.

(c) Permanent subordinate non-pensionable servants in State railways, for whom a special form of record has been prescribed.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDER

Revision of the Form of Service Book.— The question of revision of the existing Form of Service Book has been under consideration of this Department and it has since been decided after consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, to revise the form as per the specimen enclosed (not printed). The revised Form of Service Book will be applicable only to new entrants in Government service. In the case of existing Government servants, the new Service Book may be used when the existing stock is exhausted and in that case the existing entries need not be rewritten in the new Form. The revised format of the Service Book is enclosed (not printed) and a copy of the same has been uploaded on DoP&T website.

S.R. 198. In all cases in which a Service Book is necessary under Rule 197, such a book shall be maintained for a Government servant from the date of his first appointment to Government service. It must be kept in the custody of the Head of the Office in which he is serving and transferred with him from office to office.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S DECISIONS

(1) Service book of the Government servants should be maintained in duplicate.— (1) The Service Book of a Government servant shall be maintained in duplicate. First copy shall be retained by the Head of the Office and the second copy should be given to the Government servant for safe custody as indicated below:—

(a) To the existing employees — within six months of the date on which these rules become effective.

(b) To new appointees — within one month of the date of appointment.

(2) In January each year, the Government servant shall hand over his copy of the Service Book to his office for updation. The office shall update and return it to the Government servant within thirty days of its receipt.

(3) In case the Government servant’s copy is lost by the Government servant, it shall be replaced on payment of a sum of ₹ 500.

(2) Implementation of e-service book in all Ministries / Departments.— The Service Book of a Government servant is a document to record all the events in his/her entire service period and career recording each and every administrative action of the Government servant right from the stage of his recruitment till his retirement to reflect the history of service of a Government employee. As per SRs 198 and 199, such a Service Book is to be maintained for a Government servant from the date of his/her first appointment and is required to be kept in the custody of the Head of Office in which he is serving and transferred with him from office to office.

2. It has been decided to switch over to electronic format for maintenance of Service Book. The e-service book module is presently available under the e-Office Mission Mode Project. The data entered in e-service book is available

to the employees to enable them to cross-check and report any discrepancies. The Controller General of Accounts (CGA) was requested to accept e-service book as a legal tender. The CGA has agreed to accept the e-service book as legal tender for all purposes and accordingly issued instructions to all Controllers of Accounts.

3. All Ministries / Departments are advised to adopt the e-service book as the same will be treated as legal tender for all purposes.

(3) Transfer of Service Book from parent Department to present Department on Technical Resignation.— As per SR-198, the Service Book is to be maintained for a Government servant from the date of his/her first appointment to Government service and it must be kept in the custody of the Head of Office in which he is serving and transferred with him from office to office.

S.R. 199. Every step in a Government servant’s official life must be recorded in his Service Book and each entry must be attested by the Head of his Office, or if he himself is the Head of an Office, by his immediate superior. The Head of the Office must see that all entries are duly made and attested and that the book contains no erasure or overwriting, all corrections being neatly made and properly attested.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S DELEGATIONS

(1) In relaxation of the provision of SR 199, the Heads of the Offices are permitted to delegate to subordinate Gazetted Officers under them powers to attest entries in Service Books of all Gazetted Officers (except their own Service Books) for the maintenance of which the Heads of Offices are responsible.

The subordinate Gazetted Officers who are delegated powers to attest entries in the Service Books of Gazetted Officers are also authorized—

(i) to keep these documents in their custody, and

(ii) to attest entries in the leave accounts:

Provided that the Head of the Office concerned remains responsible for the proper maintenance of and attestation of entries in Service Books and leave accounts and for their custody. The Head of the Office should scrutinize at least ten per cent of these documents every year and initial the same in token of having done so.

The powers to attest entries in Service Books and leave accounts shall not be exercised by those Gazetted Officers who have been delegated such powers in respect of entries in their own Service Books and leave accounts. The entries in their Service Books should be attested by the Head of the Office who will also be responsible for their custody.

(2) The Superintendents / Accountants (non-Gazetted) in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department are delegated powers to attest entries in the Service Books and leave account of non-Gazetted staff, other than those on the first page of the Service Book and annual verification of the services.

These powers will not, however, be exercised by them in respect of entries in their own Service Books and leave accounts and will be subject to the condition that the Gazetted Officers, who are delegated powers to attest entries on the first page of Service Book, continue to inspect ten per cent of the Service Books and initial them in token of their having done so.

NOTE.— This delegation is subject to the following further conditions:—

(i) Entries regarding increments, fixation of pay, etc., should be based on the increment certificates, pay fixation statements, etc., duly approved by the Branch Officer.

(ii) In the case of leave, the title to leave should be verified by the Branch Officer-in-charge of Administration before the sanction to leave is accorded.

(3) The following officers of the Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department who are not Heads of Offices, are authorized to attest the entries in Service Books (except their own Service Books) which are required to be maintained by their Heads of Offices:—

(i) Post Office Accountants in the selection grade and Junior / Assistant Accounts Officers (in the Engineering Divisions);

(ii) Head Record Clerk, RMS;

(iii) Any Gazetted Officer or a Superintendent in the Grade ‘A’ Circle Office (₹ 350-450 old scale) or any officer in the selection grade authorized by the Head of the Office, if there is no Accountant in the selection grade in the office.

The above-mentioned officers who have been authorized to attest entries in Service Books and Service Rolls are also authorized (i) to keep these documents in their custody, and (ii) to attest entries in the leave accounts, provided that the Head of the Office concerned remains responsible for the proper maintenance of, and attestation of entries in, Service Books and Service Rolls and Leave Accounts and for their custody. In order to ensure that the Head of the Office does exercise general supervision in this matter, it is ordered that the Head of the Office should inspect at least ten per cent of these documents every year and initial them in token of having done so.

(4) The Junior / Assistant Accounts Officers, attached to whatever offices, are delegated with the following powers:—

(i) To attest entries in Service Books and Service Rolls including entries about verification of services;

(ii) To maintain Service Books, Service Rolls and Leave Accounts and keep them in their custody; and

(iii) To attest entries in leave accounts.

2. The delegation of these powers is subject to the condition that the Head of the Office remains responsible for the proper maintenance and custody of Service Books, Service Rolls and Leave Accounts and for the attestation of entries in these documents; and that he inspects at least ten per cent of these documents, every year and initials them in token of having done so.

(5) The Assistant Postmasters (Accounts) attached to Head Post Offices are delegated with the following powers in respect of those offices except for themselves:—

(i) to attest the entries in Service Books and Service Rolls;

(ii) to keep the documents in their custody;

(iii) to attest the entries in the Leave Accounts; and

(iv) to re-attest the descriptive particulars every 5 years.

2. This delegation is subject to the conditions that the Head of Office shall remain responsible for the proper maintenance of the Service Books, Service Rolls and leave accounts, for the attestation of entries in these documents and for their custody and he shall inspect at least ten per cent of these documents every year and initial them in token of having done so.

(6) The Assistant Accountants (Lower Selection Grade) in GPOs are delegated with the following powers in respect of staff of those offices except for themselves:—

(i) to attest the entries in Service Books;

(ii) to keep the documents in their custody;

(iii) to attest the entries in the leave accounts; and

(iv) to re-attest the descriptive particulars every 5 years as required by Rule 288 (f) of the P. & T., FHB, Vol. I (Second Edition).

2. This delegation is made subject to the conditions that the Head of the Office shall remain responsible for the proper maintenance of the Service Book and Leave Accounts for the attestation of entries in these documents and for their custody and that he shall inspect at least ten per cent of these documents every year and initial them in token of having done so.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDERS

(1) Declarations and Pay fixation memos to be pasted in Service Books.— The declarations of Government servants electing the scales of pay and statements showing the fixation of initial pay in the relevant scales of pay in support of the entries in the Service Books should be pasted in the Service Books themselves.

(2) Entries regarding Outfit Allowance.— With a view to enable the Audit Officer to exercise a check over the payment of Outfit Allowance to non-Gazetted staff serving in Indian Missions and posts abroad, it has been decided that a note of every such payment (i.e., Bill No., amount and date of encashment) with its authority should be recorded in the body of the Service Book of the non-Gazetted Government servant in chronological order along with other entries.

(3) Alteration of Date of Birth.— See Note 6 below F.R. 56.

(4) Attestation by a lower authority to which power to sanction leave is delegated by the Appointing Authority.— In view of the fact that the authority competent to fill up the post of the Government servant, if it were vacant, has been empowered to delegate its power to sanction leave to another authority to the extent it considers necessary, the power to attest entries in the leave accounts of non-Gazetted Government servants may be exercised by the authority to which the power to sanction leave is delegated. However, to ensure the proper maintenance of leave accounts by the lower authorities to whom the power to sanction leave is delegated, it has been decided that the Heads of Offices should inspect at least 10 per cent of the leave accounts every year and initial them in token of their having done so.

(5) Entries regarding counting of past service for pension treating resignation as technical formality.— See Government of India’s Decision below Rule 26, CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 — Swamy’s Pension Compilation.

(6) GPF Account No. to be entered in Service Book.— It has been decided in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General that as soon

as a Government servant is admitted to a Provident Fund, Account Number allotted to him should be entered on the right hand top of Page 1 of his Service Book by means of a rubber stamp.

(7) CGEGI Scheme nomination to be pasted in the Service Book.— The nomination made by the members of the “Central Government Employees’ Group Insurance Scheme, 1980” shall be countersigned by the Head of Office and pasted on their Service Books. The Head of Office shall also make an entry in the Service Book that the nomination has been duly received.

(8) Form No. 13 of CGEGI Scheme to be kept in the Service Book.— It has been decided that Form No. 13 as in the pro forma shown below should invariably be included in the Service Books of all the existing members as well as the new members admitted to the Scheme hereafter.

Every year, in the month of January and at the time of transfer of the members of the Scheme, the Head of the Office shall record a certificate as given below, in Remarks Column (Col. No. 7) of the Form No. 13 over his dated signatures—

“Subscription at the rate of ₹ ……… appropriate to Group ……… of the Scheme recovered from pay and allowances for the period from January ……… to December ……… .”

2. All other events in the nature of promotion, transfer on deputation / foreign service, absorption in PSUs / Autonomous Bodies, retirement, etc., occurring during the service career of the member of the Scheme, shall also be recorded in the appropriate column (Column No. 6) of Form No. 13 and duly attested by the Appropriate Authority over his dated signature.

Form No. 13

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES’ GROUP INSURANCE SCHEME, 1980

(9) ‘Home town’ declaration under LTC Scheme to be kept in the Service Book.— The declaration of ‘Home town’ under the Leave Travel Concession Scheme, made by a Government servant will be kept in the Service Book or other appropriate service record of the Government servant.

(10) Inclusion of Aadhaar (Unique Identification) number in Service Book of Government servants.— The undersigned is directed to invite attention to the provisions of the Supplementary Rules which relate to maintaining records of service of a Government employee. As per provisions of SR 199, every step of a Government servant’s official life must be recorded in his Service Book and each entry attested by the Head Of Office. As per SR 202, Heads of Offices are to obtain the signatures of the Government servants in token of their having inspected their Service Books annually. Further Rule 32 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 provides for issuing a communication on completion of 18 years of service, as part of preparatory work for sanctioning pensionary benefits. The Service Books at present contains details of bio-data, posting details, qualifying service, security details, HBA, CGHS, CGEGIS, LTC, etc.

2. It has been decided to include the respective Aadhaar numbers also of all Government servants in their Service Books. The e-Service Book format already provides fields for Aadhaar number of the Government servant.
3. All Ministries / Departments of the Government of India are requested to ensure that the Service Books of all employees have an entry of the employees’ Aadhaar number. The attached and subordinate offices under their control may also be suitably instructed for compliance.

D.G., P. & T.’S ORDER

With regard to the annual inspection of at least 10 per cent of the Service Books and Service Rolls as required, an Assistant Postmaster-General should be considered as the Head of the Office so far as the Circle Office, Return Letter Office and the Stock Depot are concerned.

S.R. 200. Every period of suspension from employment and every other interruption of service must be noted, with full details of its duration, in an entry made across the page of the Service Book and must be attested by the Attesting Officer. It is the duty of the Attesting Officer to see that such entries are promptly made.

S.R. 201. Personal certificates of character must not, unless the Head of the Department so directs, be entered in a Service Book but, if a Government

servant is reduced to a lower substantive post, the reason of the reduction must be briefly shown.

S.R. 202. It shall be the duty of every Head of Office to initiate action to show the Service Books to the Government servants under his administrative control every year and to obtain their signature therein in token of their having inspected the Service Books. A certificate to the effect that he has done so in respect to the preceding financial year should be submitted by him to his next superior officer by the end of every September. The Government servants shall inter alia ensure before affixing their signature that their services have been duly verified and certified as such. In the case of a Government servant on foreign service, his signature shall be obtained in his Service Book after the Audit Officer has made therein necessary entries connected with his foreign service.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDERS

(1) Annual verification of services.— At a fixed time early in the year, the Service Books shall be taken up for verification by the Head of Office who, after satisfying himself that the services of the Government servants concerned are correctly recorded in each of the Service Book, shall record in each case a certificate in the following form over his signature:—

“Service verified from ……… (the date and the record from which the verification is made) up to ……… (date).”

NOTE 1.— The verification of service referred to above is intended to ensure that the Head of the Office has satisfied himself that the Government servant’s entire service, whether permanent, quasi-permanent, provisional, temporary or officiating, as recorded in the Service Book, is completely borne out by actual facts.

NOTE 2.— Questions affecting pension or the pensionable service of a Government servant which for their decision depend on circumstances known at the time, should be considered as soon as they arise and should not be left over for consideration until the Government servant retires or is about to retire. Definite decisions should be arrived at on all such questions in consultation with the Audit Officer and/or the Accounts Officer, as the case may be, where necessary and recorded in the Service Book quoting reference to the orders of the Competent Authority.

NOTE 3.— The detailed rules regarding the maintenance of Service Books are contained in the Supplementary Rules 197 to 203.

NOTE 4.— No certificate of verification need be recorded by the Head of Office in respect of periods of foreign service, if any. The entry made in the Service Book by the Audit Officer under the provisions of Supplementary Rule 203 will be sufficient for this purpose.

(2) Need for proper maintenance of Service Book to eliminate delay in payment of pension.— The following procedure shall be followed in regard to the maintenance of Service Books so as to eliminate any delay in the sanctioning and payment of pension:—

1. It shall be the responsibility of the officers maintaining the Service Book to make annual verification and also to complete and certify the Service Books in respect of previous service in the 25th year of service or 5 years’ before the retirement, whichever is less.
2. The orders of the Competent Authority, where required on the nature of service, as for example, periods of leave, breaks in service, etc., should be obtained and recorded in the Service Book. The entries made in the Service Book should be shown to the Government servant and his signature obtained in the book.
3. The orders of the Competent Authority regarding the counting or otherwise of periods of extraordinary leave or periods preceding breaks in service as qualifying for pension should be obtained invariably at the same time as the occasion arises and not later. Such orders should be noted in the Service Book. Unless otherwise shown in the Service Book, it will be presumed that the orders of Competent Authority have been obtained and the periods of extraordinary leave and periods preceding break in service will count for pension.
4. Any omission or lapse on the part of the Administrative Authority to observe the procedure in Clauses (1) to (3) above is likely to result in overpayments such as those consequent on period of extraordinary leave being allowed to count for pension and breaks getting automatically condoned. Suitable disciplinary action will be taken in cases where loss has been caused to the State as a result of lapses on the part of the concerned authorities.

(3) Verification and communication of qualifying service after 18 years’ service or 5 years before retirement.— See Rule 32, CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 in Swamy’s Pension Compilation.

S.R. 203. If a Government servant is transferred to foreign service, the Head of his Office or Department must send his Service Book to the Audit Officer. The Audit Officer will return it after noting in it, under his signature, the order sanctioning the transfer, the effect of the transfer in regard to leave admissible during foreign service and any other particulars which he may consider to be necessary. On the Government servant’s re-transfer to Government service, his Service Book must again be sent to the Audit Officer, who will then note in it, over his signature, all necessary particulars connected with the foreign service including the fact of recovery

of leave and pension contributions. No entry relating to the time spent in foreign service may be attested by any authority other than the Audit Officer.

AUTHORS’ NOTE.— As the function of watching the recovery of leave salary and pension contributions has been taken over by the PAO as a result of departmentalization of Accounts, the words ‘Pay and Accounts Officer’ may be read for the words ‘Audit Officer’.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDER

(1) Procedure for noting and attesting entries regarding period of foreign service with Government of Bhutan.— According to the instructions contained in S.R. 203, all entries connected with the foreign service in the Service Book are required to be noted / attested by the Accounts Officer. The entries regarding proceeding to and returning from foreign service as well as recovery of foreign service contributions are made by the Accounts Officer to ensure that the period spent in foreign service counts for pension and there may not be any difficulty in granting pension to such a Government servant at the time of his retirement from Government service.

2. In the case of transfer of Government employees to foreign service under Government of Bhutan, no pension contributions are recovered from that Government as these have been waived by the Government of India, vide orders contained in the Ministry of External Affairs, Letter No. E. 1/227/12/65-BH, dated the 15th February, 1966. The entire period spent in foreign service thus counts for pension in India. So far as the leave taken during the period of foreign service to the Government of Bhutan is concerned, the leave earned by the Government servant during the period of deputation is sanctioned by that Government who is also responsible for the payment of the leave salary. It is, therefore, immaterial whether the entries regarding proceeding on and returning from foreign service are made in the Service Book by the Accounts Officer or the Head of Office. It has accordingly been decided that in the case of non-Gazetted Officers / decentralized Gazetted Officers (Section Officers of the Ministry / Departments, etc.), on foreign service to the Government of Bhutan, necessary entries in the Service Books of such officers may be made and attested by the Heads of Offices concerned instead of the Accounts Officer.

S.R. 204. Deleted.

S.R. 205. Deleted.