Achi news desk-
Concessions for civil servants.
– Photo: Amar Ojala
expansion
The Ministry of Finance’s ‘Ministry of Expenditure’ issued a relief order for state employees. The ministry memo issued on April 1 states that if any amount was deposited into an employee’s account as part of an overpayment, it will not be returned. In this case, the overpayment amount limit has been kept at Rs 2 lakh. If by mistake money was transferred to the account of a government employee, he will not be bothered. If there was an overpayment, it was mandatory to issue an order to restore it within a month. In this regard, the Ministry of Finance cited Regulation 15 of the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules (DFPR), 2024. It states that government employees may be exempted from recovering overpayments made by a ministry or department. However, for this the department concerned will have to meet certain conditions.
Cases of overpayment take a long time
Cases of overpayment are constantly being discovered in various offices and departments in the central government. In some cases notification is given as soon as possible, while in many cases the files continue to circulate from one table to another for a long time. Many such cases have been discovered in which an employee retires, but his overpayment case has not been resolved. After retirement, he is required to recover. In May 2022, the Supreme Court said in a ruling that it is not possible to collect an additional payment that was paid to an employee after his retirement on the grounds that he was given a supplement due to some mistake.
What does the Supreme Court order say?
Clerk of Justice SA Nazeer and Justice Vikram Nath said, stay in recovery of additional payment is allowed by the courts. This is not because of any right of the workers, but according to a judicial discretion to save the workers from the distress caused to them. If the additional amount was not paid due to any misrepresentation or fraud on the part of the employee, if the excess payment was paid by the employer by applying an incorrect principle of calculation of wages and benefits or on the basis of any particular interpretation of the rule. Then if found to be incorrect, the overpayment made is non-refundable. The Supreme Court said that a government employee, especially one in the lower ranks of the service, spends whatever amount he receives on the upkeep of his family. The Supreme Court ruled that where the employee knows that the payment received by him is higher than the amount due or was paid illegally or where the improper payment was quickly discovered, the court will not grant him relief from recovery.
As per the Ministry of Finance Memorandum, the Financial Advisor ‘FA’ will send the overpayment file to the Secretary of the Ministry/Department concerned. In that the FA will recommend waiving the additional payment. Such cases will be dealt with under Rule 15 of the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules (DFPR), 2024. The Departmental Director and any other subordinate authority in the Government of India to whom powers may be entrusted by or by special order of the President may waive the collection of the overpaid amount.
What are the conditions?
In this case the department will have to meet certain conditions. The date of issuing the order to recover an overpayment will be an important input for making a decision regarding a discount. An overpayment recovery order as mentioned must be issued within one month from the date of discovery of the overpayment. According to Rule 15 of DFPR 2024, a department of the Government of India can waive collection of overpayment up to Rs 2 lakh. Ministries/departments must examine all proposals in accordance with the provisions set forth in Regulation 15 of the DFPR. They must ensure that in cases of exemption, there is no gross negligence on the part of any government employee that may require disciplinary action by a higher authority.
Financial advisors recommend discount cases
If any office/department believes that the loss caused by an overpayment is due to some defect in the existing rules or procedures, this will be brought to the attention of the department/office that has the authority to correct said rules or procedures. Guidelines in this regard have also been issued by DoPT. The orders issued on 02.03.2016 by the office/administrative office will be strictly followed while considering exemption from additional payments paid to government employees. Any case of exemption should be recommended by a financial advisor. It must be approved by the Administrative Secretary.
In cases where there is a waiver of recovery from the court’s order, the ministries/departments must verify that there are reasonable justifications not to appeal the aforementioned court’s order. If any recovery, which is subsequently revoked, is due to a misinterpretation of rules or procedures, the office/department will review all existing cases in a similar manner to examine the need for a waiver of recovery in future cases. In the event of a misinterpretation of rules or procedures, the office/department will take appropriate measures to ensure the correction of such deficiencies. If any inquiry is made to determine responsibility, the final report can be recorded as well as the action taken by the office.
If a misinterpretation of rules or procedures (for example, incorrect wage determination) remains undetected for a long time, the office/department may document appropriate justification as to why such cases were not noticed during regular inspections. In this regard, internal audit files, etc., should be consulted. Cases involving recovery exemption of more than Rs 2 lakh should be referred to DoPT. Such cases may be sent along with the complete task list (attached to this office memo) along with a detailed note that includes the information given in Section-3. DoPT says that even if any recovery order is given by the court, study it thoroughly. See that the employee keeps his word. It is not his fault and it is appropriate to appeal the court order, so appeal it. That is, the government employee must not be harmed.
