Rule 294 — General Financial Rules 2017 (amended July 2024) - Rule 294 - Chapter 10
Original Rule Text
Rule 294
Due date of a withheld increment. In
the absence of any specific order
withholding an ordinary increment under
FR 24 before the date on which it falls due
for payment, the period of one year
should be counted from the date on which
it falls due and not with reference to the
date on which the Increment Certificate is
signed by the competent authority. Even
where an increment is withheld, the time-
limit should be reckoned from the date on
which it falls due after taking into account
the period for which it is withheld.
What This Means
This rule clarifies how to determine the exact date when a government employee's annual pay raise, known as an increment, becomes due. Normally, an increment is granted one year after the previous one.
The key point is that this one-year period is always counted from the actual date the increment is supposed to be paid, not from the date when the official paperwork, like the Increment Certificate, is signed by the authority. This means that even if there's an administrative delay in processing the certificate, it doesn't push back the employee's next increment date.
Furthermore, if an employee's increment is temporarily stopped or 'withheld' as a disciplinary measure, the rule specifies how to calculate the next increment. You still start counting from the original due date, but you must add the exact period for which the increment was withheld. This ensures the employee serves the full penalty period before their next increment becomes eligible.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1The due date for an annual increment is calculated one year from its actual payment due date.
- 2The date on which the Increment Certificate is signed does not influence the increment's due date.
- 3If an increment is withheld, the period of withholding must be added to the original due date to determine the next increment's eligibility.
- 4This rule ensures consistent and fair calculation of increment due dates, irrespective of administrative delays.
- 5The rule applies even when an increment is withheld under provisions like FR 24.
Practical Example
Consider Ms. Priya Sharma, an Assistant Section Officer in the Ministry of Defence. Her annual increment was due on August 1, 2023. Due to a heavy workload in her department, her Increment Certificate was only signed by the competent authority on August 15, 2023.
According to Rule 294, her next increment will still be due on August 1, 2024, not August 15, 2024. The delay in signing the certificate does not affect the calculation of her next increment's due date. Now, imagine Mr. Rajesh Kumar, another officer, whose increment was due on September 1, 2023, but it was withheld for a period of six months due to a minor disciplinary issue. His increment was effectively withheld from September 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024. His next increment will then be due on September 1, 2023 (original due date) + 6 months (withholding period) = March 1, 2024. Therefore, his subsequent annual increment will be due on March 1, 2025.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.