In
exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the
Constitution and of all other powers enabling him in this behalf, the Governor
of Meghalaya, hereby makes the following Rules, namely: (a) These Rules may be
called the Meghalaya Civil Services General Provident Fund Rules, 2020. (b) They shall be deemed
to have come into force with effect from the date of publication in the
official gazette. (1) In these Rules unless
the context otherwise requires: (a) "Accounts
Officer" means the officer assigned by Government or the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India, as the case may be, to maintain the provident fund
account of the subscriber. (b) "Emoluments"
means pay, leave salary or subsistence grant, as defined in the Fundamental
Rules and includes leave salary or subsistence grant, if admissible, and any
remuneration of the nature of pay received in respect of foreign service. (c) "Family" in
relation to a Government servant means - (i) Wife or wives, in the
case of a male Government servant; (ii) Husband, in the case
of a female Government servant; (iii) Sons including
step-sons and adopted sons; (iv) Daughters including step-daughters
and adopted daughters; (v) Father, including
adoptive father and step father; (vi) Mother, including
adoptive mother and step mother; (vii) Brothers including
step-brothers; (viii) Sisters including
step-sisters; (ix) Children of
pre-deceased son(s) and, or, daughter(s). NOTE
- Child means a legitimate child and includes an adopted child, where adoption
is recognised by the personal law governing the subscriber. (d) "Fund"
means the General Provident Fund. (e) "Leave"
means any variety of leave recognised by the Fundamental Rules. (f) "Year"
means a financial year. (g) "Fundamental
Rules" means the Meghalaya Fundamental Rules and Subsidiary Rules, 1984. (2) Any other expression
used in these Rules which is defined either in the Provident Funds Acts, 1925
(19 of 1925), or in the Fundamental Rules is used in the sense therein defined. (3) Nothing in these
Rules shall be deemed to have the effect of terminating the existence of the
General Provident Fund as heretofore existing or of constituting any new fund. State
Government's Decision An
Adopted child ceases to be included in the family of the natural Father - An
adopted child is, for the purposes of these Rules, the child of the adoptor and
ceases to be the child and dependent of the natural father. It has accordingly
been decided that in a case in which a person has given his child in adoption
to another person and, if, under the personal law of the adoptor, adoption is
legally recognised as conferring the status of a natural child, such a child
should, for the purposes of the Provident Fund Rules, be considered as excluded
from the family of the natural father. CONSTITUTION
OF THE FUND (1) The Fund shall be
maintained in rupees. (2) All sums paid into
the fund under these Rules shall be credited in the books of the Government to
an account named "The General Provident Fund". Sums, of which payment
has not been taken within six months after they become payable under these
Rules, shall be transferred to "Deposits" at the end of the year and
treated under the ordinary rules relating to deposits. CONDITIONS
OF ELIGIBILITY All
Government servants, other than those eligible for admission to the
Contributory Provident Fund, shall be required to subscribe to the compulsory
General Provident Fund: Provided
that such Government servant, as has been required or permitted to subscribe to
a Contributory Provident Fund, and retains his right to subscribe to such a
fund, shall not be eligible to join or continue as subscriber to the Fund. State
Government employees joining office on or after 01.04.2010 are not eligible to
subscribe to General Provident Fund as they are governed by the New Defined
Contribution Pension Scheme. NOMINATIONS (1) A subscriber shall,
at the time of joining the Fund, send to the Accounts Officer, through the Head
of Office, a nomination conferring on one or more persons the right to receive
the amount that may stand to his credit in the Fund in the event of his death,
before that amount has become payable, or having become payable, has not been
paid: Provided,
further, that a subscriber, who has a family at the time of making the
nomination, shall make such nomination only in favour of a member or members of
his family. Provided,
further, that the nomination made by the subscriber in respect of any other
provident fund to which he was subscribing before joining the Fund shall, if
the amount to his credit in such other fund has been transferred to his credit
in the Fund, be deemed to be a nomination duly made under this Rule, until he
makes a fresh nomination in accordance with this Rule. (2) If a subscriber
nominates more than one person under Sub-rule (1), he shall specify, in the
nomination, the amount or share payable to each of the nominees in such manner
as to cover the whole of the amount that may stand to his credit in the Fund at
any time. (3) Every nomination
shall be in one of the forms set forth in the First Schedule as is appropriate
in the circumstances. (4) A Subscriber may, at
any time, cancel a nomination by sending a notice in writing to the Accounts
Officer. The subscriber shall, along with such notice, or separately, send a
fresh nomination made in accordance with the provisions of this Rule. (5) A subscriber may
provide in a nomination: - (a) in respect of any specified
nominee, that in the event of his predeceasing the subscriber, the right
conferred upon that nominee shall pass to such other person or persons as may
be specified in the nomination, provided that such other person or persons
shall, if the subscriber has other members of his family, be such other member
or members; where the subscriber confers such a right on more than one person
under this Clause, he shall specify the amount or share payable to each of such
persons in such a manner as to cover the whole of the amount payable to the
nominee. (b) that the nomination
shall become invalid in the event of a contingency specified therein: Provided
that, if at the time of making the nomination, the subscriber has no family, he
shall provide in the nomination that it shall become invalid in the event of
his subsequently acquiring a family: Provided,
further, that, if at the time of making the nomination, the subscriber has only
one member of the family, he shall provide in the nomination that the right
conferred upon the alternate nominee under Clause (a) shall become invalid in
the event of his subsequently acquiring other member or members in his family. (6) Immediately on the
death of a nominee, in respect of whom no special provision has been made in
the nomination under Clause (a) of Sub-rule (5), or on the occurrence of any
event by reason of which the nomination becomes invalid in pursuance of Clause
(b) of Sub-rule (5), or the proviso thereto, the subscriber shall send to the
Accounts Officer a notice in writing canceling the nomination, together with a
fresh nomination made in accordance with the provisions of this Rule. (7) Every nomination
made, and every notice of cancellation given, by a subscriber shall, to the
extent that it is invalid, take effect on the date on which it is received by
the Accounts Officer. NOTE
- In this Rule, unless the context otherwise requires, a "person" or
"persons" shall include a company or association or body of
individuals, whether incorporated or not. State
Government's Decisions: Decision
No. (1)- Right of a nominee can pass to a non-family member- If
a subscriber has no family, or has no other person, except the nominee
constituting his family, as defined in the Rules, the person to whom the right
of nominee should pass, named in the last column, can be someone other than a
member of his family. Decision
No. (2)- Nomination made while in service can be changed even after retirement
so long as the amount remains unpaid- So
long as the amount at the credit of the subscriber is not actually paid, it
retains the character of Provident Fund and hence there should be no objection
to the subscriber changing the nomination in this regard even after
retirement/discharge, etc., provided the changes or revised nominations are
made and notified in accordance with the proviso of the relevant Provident Fund
Rules. Decision
No. (3)- Fresh nomination not compulsory along with cancellation of existing
nomination- A
question arose whether a nomination, duly made and which was valid in
accordance with the Rules of a Provident Fund, could be cancelled by the
subscriber by merely giving a notice of its cancellation in writing to the
Accounts Officer of the Fund without simultaneously replacing it by another
valid nomination OR whether the old nomination subsisted, by virtue of Proviso
to Rule 5 of the General Provident Fund Rules, for so long as it was not
replaced by another valid nomination. It
has been held, as the Proviso to Rule 8 (4) is directory and not mandatory,
that failure to send a fresh nomination along with the notice does not make the
notice ineffectual. Section 5 (1) (a) of the Provident Fund Act, 1925, provides
that any nomination, duly made in accordance with the Rules of the Fund, can at
any time be expressly cancelled by notice given in the manner and to the
authority prescribed by these Rules. Sub-rule (4) of Rule 5 prescribes the
manner in which, and the authority to whom, the notice of cancellation is to be
given. The additional provision that a fresh nomination should be sent along
with a notice does not affect the validity or otherwise of the notice. The
Proviso thus does not constitute a condition for the validity of the notice. It
follows, therefore, that once a notice is given, complying with the above
requirements, it operates as a valid and effective notice provided it is given
in clear and un-ambiguous terms. In
view of the above, it has been decided that it would not be in order to make
the payment of the deposits in the General Provident Fund on the basis of the
nomination which is expressly cancelled by the subscriber by a notice given in
clear and un-ambiguous terms, but which is not replaced by another valid
nomination. After receiving such a notice of cancellation of a nomination, the
nomination should be cancelled forthwith and returned to the subscriber. If the
subscriber fails to furnish, along with the notice of cancellation, or
separately in due course, a fresh nomination which is in accordance with the
Rules and the Provident Fund Deposit becomes payable as a result of the death
of the subscriber, the payment should be made in accordance with the Rules of
the Fund as if no valid nomination subsists. Decision
No. (4)- Nomination of a subscriber held valid even if he dies before it
reaches the Accounts Officer- According
to the General Provident Fund Rules, a subscriber is required to send his
nomination to the Accounts Officer and the nomination, if valid, is to take
effect from the date it is received by the Accounts Officer. A doubt was
expressed by the Accountant General whether the nomination could be held
effective having regard to the fact that on the date of death of the
subscriber, the nomination had not been received by the Accounts Officer. It
has been held that the nomination of Provident Fund submitted to the Head of
Office, before the death of the subscriber, should be treated as valid
nomination, notwithstanding the fact that it did not reach the Accounts Officer
before the subscriber's death. An
account shall be opened in the name of each subscriber in which shall be shown
- (1) His subscriptions; (2) Interest, as provided
by Rule 11, on subscription; (3) Advances and
withdrawals from the Fund. State
Government's Decisions Decision
No. (1)- Provident Fund Account Numbers to be entered in Service Books- It
has been brought to the notice of the Government that in many cases, Provident
Fund Account numbers were not shown in the Last Pay Certificates of Government
servants transferred from one office to another, resulting in a number of Provident
Fund credits remaining unadjusted in the subscribers accounts for long periods
and accumulation of unposted items in the Accounts Offices. As soon as a
Government servant is admitted to Provident Fund, the Provident Fund Account
number allotted to him should invariably be entered on the right hand top page
1 of his Service Book by means of rubber stamp or any other appropriate means. Decision
No. (2)- The Service Books of transferred Government servants should be made
available by the old offices to the new offices, with the Provident Fund
Account numbers duly entered therein, immediately, or as soon as possible,
after their transfer, but not later one month after such transfer. CONDITIONS
AND RATES OF SUBSCRIPTIONS (1) A subscriber shall
subscribe monthly to the Fund except during the period when he is under
suspension: Provided
that a subscriber may, at his option, not subscribe during leave which either
does not carry any leave salary or carries leave salary equal to or less than
half pay or half average pay: Provided,
further, that a subscriber, on re-instatement after a period passed under
suspension, shall be allowed the option of paying in one lump sum or in
installments, any sum not exceeding the maximum amount of arrear subscriptions
payable for that period. NOTE 1
- The holder of a seasonal post in an establishment need not subscribe to the
Fund, during the period of his unemployment. NOTE 2
- A subscriber need not subscribe during a period treated as non-duty. (2) The subscriber shall
intimate his option not to subscribe during the leave referred to in the first
Proviso to Sub-rule (1) in the following manner: (a) if he is an officer
who draws his own bills, by making no deduction on account of subscription in
his first pay bill drawn after proceeding on leave: (b) if he is not an
officer who draws his own pay bills, by written communication to the Head of
his Office before he proceeds on leave. Failure
to make due and timely intimation shall be deemed to constitute an option to
subscribe. The
option of a subscriber intimated under this Sub-rule shall be final. (3) A subscriber who has,
under Rule 19 withdrawn the amount standing to his credit in the Fund shall not
subscribe to the Fund after such withdrawal, unless he returns to duty. (4) Notwithstanding
anything contained in Sub-rule (1), a subscriber shall not subscribe to the
Fund for the month in which he quits service unless, before the commencement of
the said month, he communicates to the Head of Office in writing his option to
subscribe for the said month. (5) Subscription to the
General Provident Fund will be stopped 6 (six) month prior to the date of
superannuation or retirement of the subscriber from service. State
Government's Decisions Decision
No. (1)- Whole or part of the bonus amount may be deposited in the Provident
Fund Accounts- The
Governor of Meghalaya is pleased to decide that, in relaxation of Rule 7 (1),
Rule 8 (1)(b) and Rule 8 (4) of the General Provident Fund Rules, 1985 and the
corresponding Rules of the Contributory Provident Fund Rules, such of the
subscribers to the General Provident Fund Rules and Contributory Provident Fund
who are entitled to the Productivity Linked Bonus may, if they so desire,
deposit the whole or a part of the amount admissible under the scheme in their
respective Provident Fund accounts. Decision
No. (2)- (i) Subscribers who want to continue their subscription which has been
stopped under Sub-rule (5) above shall submit their application for option to
the Head of office concerned giving details of name, designation and General
Provident Fund Account Number before six months of the actual date of
retirement/superannuation. (ii)
As stoppage of subscriptions to the General Provident Fund may cause some
adverse effect in respect of Government employees liable to pay Income Tax, it
is decided to allow them as a countervailing measures to increase their
subscriptions if they so desire, for the period of six months prior to the
month of stoppage in such manner that they get the full Income Tax rebate. (iii)
No advance shall be sanctioned once the subscriptions are stopped. While
sanctioning advances prior to the period of stoppage, the Heads of
offices/sanctioning authorities shall fix the number of installments or
recoveries in such a manner that the advance(s) along with interest incurred
thereon is/are recovered in full prior to the stoppage of subscriptions so that
there may not be any recovery of the advance(s) during the period of the last
six months referred to in Sub-rule (5) of Rule 7 above. In other words, no
transaction shall arise during the relevant period mentioned above. (1) The amount of
subscription shall be fixed by the subscriber himself, subject to the following
conditions namely: (a) It shall be expressed
in whole rupees. (b) It may be any sum so
expressed, not less than 10% of his emoluments and not more than his
emoluments: Provided
that, in the case of a subscriber who has previously been subscribing to a
Government Contributory Provident Fund at the higher rate of 15 5/8 %, it may
be any sum so expressed, not less than 10%, of his emoluments and not more than
his emoluments: (c) When a Government
servant elects to subscribe at the rate of 10%, the fraction of a rupee will be
rounded to the nearest whole rupee, 50 p. counting as the next higher rupee. (2) For the purpose of
Sub-rule (1) the emoluments of a subscriber shall be (a) in case of a
subscriber who was in Government service on the 31st March of the preceding
year, the emoluments to which he was entitled on that date: Provided
that: (i) If the subscriber was
on leave on the said date and elected not to subscribe during such leave, or
was under suspension on the said date, his emoluments shall be the emoluments
to which he was entitled on the first day after his return to duty; (ii) If the subscriber was
on deputation out of the State on the said date, or was on leave on the said
date and continues to be on leave and has elected to subscribe during such
leave, his emoluments shall be the emoluments to which he would have been
entitled had he been on duty in the State; (b) In the case of a
subscriber who was not in government service on the 31st March of the preceding
year, the emoluments to which he was entitled on the day he joins the Fund. (3) The subscriber shall
intimate the fixation of the amount of his monthly subscription in each year in
the following manner: - (a) If he was on duty on
the 31st March of the preceding year, by the deduction which he makes in this
behalf from his pay bill for that month; (b) If he was on leave on
the 31st March of the preceding year, and elected not to subscribe during such
leave, or was under suspension on that date, by the deduction which he makes in
this behalf from his pay bill after his return to duty; (c) If he has entered
government service for the first time during the year, by the deduction which
he makes in this behalf from his pay bill for the month during which he joins
the fund; (d) If he was on leave on
the 31st March of the preceding year, and continues to be on leave and has
elected to subscribe during such leave, by the deduction which he causes to be
made in this behalf from his salary bill for that month; (e) If he was on foreign
service on the 31st March of the preceding year, by the amount credited by him
into the Treasury on account of subscription for the month of April in the
current year. (4) The amount of
subscription so fixed may be (a) Reduced once at any
time during the course of the year; (b) Enhanced twice during
the course of the year; or (c) Reduced and enhanced
as foresaid: Provided
that when the amount of subscription is so reduced it shall not be less than a
minimum prescribed in Sub-rule (1): Provided,
further, that if a subscriber is on leave without pay, or leave on half pay,
for a part of a calendar month and he has elected not to subscribe during such
leave, the amount of subscription payable shall be proportionate to the number
of days spent on duty, including leave, if any, other than those referred to
above. State
Government's Decision Rate
of subscription once fixed is not to be varied during the year on account of
retrospective increase or decrease in rate of pay ordered subsequently. When
a subscriber is transferred to foreign service or sent on deputation out of the
State, he shall remain subject to the Rules of the Fund in the same manner as
if he were not so transferred or sent on deputation. (1) When emoluments are
drawn from a Government treasury in India, or from an authorised office of
disbursement outside India, recovery of subscriptions on account of these
emoluments, and of the principal and interest of advances, shall be made from
emoluments themselves. (2) When emoluments are
drawn from any other source, the subscriber shall forward his dues monthly to
the Accounts Officer. Provided
that in the case of a subscriber on deputation to a body corporated, owned or
controlled by Government, the subscriptions shall be recovered and forwarded to
the Accounts Officer by such body. (3) If a subscriber fails
to subscribe with effect from the date on which he is required to join the
Fund, or is in default in any month or months during the course of a year,
otherwise than as provided in Rule 7, the total amount due to the Fund on account
of arrears of subscription shall, with interest thereon at the rate provided in
Rule 11, forthwith be paid by the subscriber to the Fund or, in default, be
ordered by the Accounts Officer to be recovered by the deduction from the
emoluments of the subscriber by installments, or otherwise, as may be directed
by the authority competent to sanction an advance for the grant of which
special reasons are required under Sub-rule (2) of Rule 12: Provided
that subscribers whose deposits in the Fund carry no interest shall not be
required to pay any interest. State
Government's Decisions Decision
No. (1)- Procedure for recovery of interest on arrears of subscription- The
object of the recovering the arrears of subscriptions and interest thereon is
to restore the Provident Fund account to the position to which it would have
attained had the subscription been credited to the account from month to month
as they fell due for payment. While the recovery of interest on such arrears
pay, in lump sum, represents no difficulty, where recovery is effected in easy
installments, calculation of the amounts of additional interest on the
diminishing amount of arrears gives rise to practical difficulties owing, inter
alia, to the change in the rate of interest from year to year. In order to
remove these difficulties, it has now been decided that the additional amount
of interest on the diminishing amounts of arrears payable in monthly
installments should be calculated by determining the amount of interest which
the subscriber concerned would have earned, had he paid the arrears in lump sum
(during the period of the recovery of arrears in installments) and diminishing
from it, the amount of the interest earned on the amount of arrears of
installments, paid from month to month till the full recovery of arrears. Decision
No. (2)- The decision in paragraph 1 pre-page will apply in all cases of
recovery in installments of arrears of subscriptions to a Provident Fund. Past
cases in which arrears of subscriptions have already been recovered without
interest, on diminishing amount of arrears, need not to be reopened. However,
it will apply in cases in which arrears of subscription are still to be
recovered, or are under recovery, on the date of issue of these orders. Decision
No. (3)- Interest may also be allowed on the arrears of subscriptions and when
they are recovered it is not necessary that the arrear of subscription and
interest thereon should be recovered completely, before any interest is allowed
thereon. (1) Subject to the
provisions of Sub-rule (5), Government shall pay, to the credit of the account
of a subscriber, interest at such rate as may be determined for each year
according to the method of calculation prescribed from time to time by the
Government of Meghalaya. (2) Interest shall be
credited with effect from the last day in each year in the following manner: (i) Interest for twelve
months on the amount to the credit of a subscriber on the last day of the
preceding year, less any sums withdrawn during the current year. (ii) Interest from the
beginning of the current year up to the last day of the month preceding the
month of withdrawal on sums withdrawn during the current year. (iii) Interest from the
date of deposit up to the end of current year on all the sums credited to the subscribers
account after the last pay of preceding year. (iv) The total amount of
interest shall be rounded off to the nearest whole rupee (fifty paise counting
as the next higher rupee): Provided
that when the amount standing to the credit of a subscriber has become payable,
interest shall thereupon be credited under this Rule in respect only of the
period from the beginning of the current year, or from the date of deposit, as
the case may be, up to the date on which the amount standing to the credit of
the subscriber becomes payable. (3) In this Rule, the
date of deposit shall, (a) in the case of a
recovery from emoluments, be deemed to be the first day of the month in which
it is recovered, and (b) in the case of an
amount forwarded by the subscriber, be deemed to be the first day of the month
of receipt, if it is received by the Accounts Officer before the fifth day of
that month (c) if it is received on
or after the fifth day of that month, the first day of the next succeeding
month: Provided
that where there has been delay in the drawal of pay or leave salary and
allowances of a subscriber and consequently the recovery of his subscription
towards the Fund, the interest on such subscriptions shall be payable from the
month in which the pay or leave salary of the subscriber was due under the
Rules, irrespective of the month in which it was actually drawn: Provided
further that in the case of an amount forwarded in accordance with the Proviso
to Sub-rule (2) of Rule 10, the date of deposit shall be deemed to be the first
day of the month if it is received by the Accounts Officer before the fifteenth
day of that month: Provided,
further, that where the emoluments for a month are drawn and disbursed on the
last working day of the same month, the date of deposit shall, in the case of
recovery of his subscriptions, be deemed to be the first day of the succeeding
month. (4) In addition to any
amount to be paid under Rules 18, 19 or 20, interest thereon, up to the end of
the month preceding that in which the payment is made or up to the end of the
sixth month after the month in which such amount becomes payable, whichever of
these periods be less, shall be payable to the person to whom such amount is to
be paid: Provided
that where the Accounts Officer has intimated to that person (or his agent) a
date on which he is prepared to make payment in cash, or has posted a cheque in
payment to that person, interest shall be payable only up to the end of the
month preceding the date so intimated, or the date of posting the cheque, as
the case may be: Provided,
further, that where a subscriber, on deputation to a body corporate, owned or
controlled by the Government or an autonomous organisation registered under the
Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), is subsequently absorbed in such
a body with effect from a retrospective date, for the purpose of calculating
the interest due on the Fund accumulations of the subscriber, the date of issue
of the orders regarding absorption shall be deemed to be the date on which the
amount to the credit of the subscriber becomes payable. However, this shall be
subject to the condition that the amount recovered as subscription, during the
period commencing from the date of absorption and ending with the date of issue
of orders of absorption, shall be deemed to be subscription to the Fund only
for the purpose of awarding interest under the Sub-rule. NOTE
- Payment of interest on the Fund balance beyond a period of 6 months may be
authorised by (a) The Head of Accounts
Office (which expression includes the Pay and Accounts Officer where there is
one) up to a period of one year; and (b) The immediate
superior to the Head of Accounts Office (which expression includes a Controller
of Accounts, where there is one, or the Financial Adviser to the concerned
administrative Department) up to any period. After he has personally satisfied
himself that the delay in payment was occasioned by circumstances beyond the
control of the subscriber, or the person to whom such payment was to be made,
and in every such case the administrative delay involved in the matter shall be
fully investigated and appropriate action, is taken. (5) Interest shall not be
credited to the account of a subscriber if he informs the Accounts Officer that
he does not wish to receive it. However, if he subsequently asks for interest,
it shall be credited with effect from the first day of the year in which he
asks for it. (6) The interest on
amounts which, under Sub-rule (3) of Rule 10, Rule 18 or Rule 19, are replaced
to the credit of the subscriber in the Fund, shall be calculated at such rates
as may be successively prescribed under Sub-rule (1) of this Rule and so far as
may be in the matter described in this Rule. (7) In case a subscriber
is found to have drawn from the Fund an amount in excess of the amount standing
to his credit on the date of drawal, the overdrawn amount shall be repaid by
him, with interest thereon, at the rate determined under Sub-rule (1),
irrespective of whether the overdrawal occurred in the course of an advance, or
a withdrawal, or the final payment, from the Fund. The interest realised on the
overdrawn amount shall be credited to Government account under a distinct
sub-head "Interest on overdrawal from Provident Fund" to be opened
under the head 049 Interest Receipts-C-Other Interest Receipts of State
Government-Other Receipts. State
Government's Decision Decision
No. (1)- Allocation of Interest charges when a subscriber is transferred from
one Government to another- It
has been decided that where permanent transfers of officers are made from one Government
to another, the transferring Government should bear interest charges on the
officers' Provident Fund balances to the end of the month preceding that in
which such balances are transferred. This decision will have effect in the case
of further transfer, but any adjustments already made in accordance with this
principle, or otherwise, in the past, need not be disturbed. In cases of
temporary transfers, and of transfers of officers of joint cadres, the balances
may continue to be kept by the parent Government or the Government to which the
officer permanently belongs. Decision
No. (2)- Month to which interest is payable. Clarification of Sub-rule (4)- In
cases where the Accounts Officer concerned intimates direct to the subscriber
concerned, or his agent, the exact date on which he is prepared to make
payment, interest will be allowed up to the month preceding that date. In other
cases, where the Accounts Officer concerned cannot himself issue the payment
order on a Treasury where the subscriber, or his agent, desired to receive
payment, but has to get the authority issued by another Accounts Officer,
interest should be paid up to the month preceding the month in which payment is
actually made, provided the delay is not due to any reason for which the
subscriber could be held responsible. Decision
No. (3)- The amount of General Provident Fund subscriptions allowed as per
State Government Decision No. 2(i) of Sub-rule (5) of Rule 7 of the Meghalaya
Civil Services (General Provident Fund) (Amendment) Rule 1989 shall also earn
interest as per Rule 11 of the Meghalaya Civil Services (General Provident
Fund) Rules, 1985. (1) The appropriate
sanctioning authority may sanction the payment to any subscriber of an advance
consisting of a sum of whole rupees and not exceeding in amount three months
pay or half the amount standing to his credit in the Fund, whichever is lesser,
for one or more of the following purposes: (a) to pay expenses in
connection with the illness, confinement or a disability, including, where
necessary, the traveling expenses, of the subscriber and members of his family,
or any person actually dependent on him; (b) to meet the cost of
higher education, including, where necessary, the traveling expenses, of the
subscriber and members of his family, or any person actually dependent on him,
in the following cases, namely; (i) for education outside
India for academic, technical, professional or vocational course beyond the
High School stage; and (ii) for any medical,
engineering or other technical or specialised course in India beyond the High
School stage, provided that the course of study is not less than three years; (c) to obtain obligatory
expenses on a scale appropriate to the subscriber's status which, by customary
usage, the subscriber has to incur in connection with betrothal or marriages,
funerals or other ceremonies; (d) to meet the cost of
legal proceedings instituted by, or against, the subscriber, any member of his
family, or any person actually dependent upon him, the advance, in this case,
being available in addition to any advance admissible for the same purpose from
any other Government source; (e) to meet the cost of
the subscriber's defence where he engages a legal practitioner to defend
himself in an enquiry in respect of any alleged official misconduct on his
part; (f) to meet the cost of
purchase of a plot or construction of a house or flat (g) to meet the cost for
procurement of household items/consumer durables. (h) to meet the cost to visit
places of pilgrimage. (2) The Governor may, in
special circumstances, sanction the payment to any subscriber of an advance for
reasons other than those mentioned in Sub-rule (1). (3) An advance shall not,
except for special reasons to be recorded in writing, be granted to any
subscriber in excess of the limit laid down in Sub-rule (1) or until re-payment
of the last installment of any previous advance. (4) When an advance is
sanctioned under Sub-rule (3), before re-payment of last installment of any
previous advance is completed, the balance of any previous advance not
recovered shall be added to the advance so sanctioned and the installments for
recovery shall be fixed with reference to the consolidated amount. NOTE
1 - For the purpose of this Rule "Pay" is as defined in Rule 2 (b) NOTE
2 - The appropriate sanctioning authority for the purpose of this Rule is
specified in the Second Schedule. NOTE
3 - A subscriber shall be permitted to take an advance once in every six months
under item (b) of Sub-rule (1) of Rule 12. State
Government's Decision: Decision
No. (1)- Grant of advance/withdrawal to those transferred to foreign
service/deputation- Under the existing Rules/orders, all persons on deputation
from, or to, State Government departments continue to be governed by the
Provident Fund Rules of their respective parent departments and they will be
the authority competent to sanction advances/withdrawals from the Provident
Fund in respect of: (a) State Government
employees on deputation to Central Government. (b) State Government
employees on foreign service; and (c) Employees of State
Governments, autonomous bodies and Public Sector Undertakings on deputation to
the Central Government Department. During
the period of his deputation to a Central Government, a subscriber to the
General Provident Fund can be granted advance/withdrawals from the Provident
Fund by the concerned State Government, subject to the conditions prescribed in
the General Provident Fund Rules, vide paragraph 3 of the Second Schedule to
the said Rules. During
the period of a State Government employees' deputation on foreign service, the
competent authority in his parent department only can sanction
advances/withdrawals to him from his Provident Fund account. Decision
No. (2)- Advances permissible separately for betrothal ceremony and marriage.
See Decision No. (2) below Rule 16. Decision
No. (3)- Definition of pay in the case of a subscriber under suspension - In
the case of a subscriber who applies for a temporary advance while he is under
suspension and draws subsistence grant instead of pay, "pay" for the
purpose of Rule 12 (1) shall be that which he drew immediately before he was
placed under suspension. (1) An advance shall be
recovered from the subscriber in such number of equal monthly installments as
the sanctioning authority may direct, but such number shall not be less than
twelve, unless the subscriber so elects, and not more than twenty four. In
special cases, where the amount of advance exceeds three months' Pay of the
subscriber under Sub-rule (3) of Rule 12, the sanctioning authority may fix
such number of installments to be more than twenty four, but in no case more
than thirty-six. A subscriber may, at his option, repay more than one
installment in a month. Each installment shall be a number of whole rupees, the
amount of the advance being raised or reduced, if necessary, to admit of the
fixation of such installments. (2) Recovery shall be
made in the manner prescribed in Rule 10 for the realisation of subscriptions,
and shall commence with the issue of pay for the month following the one in
which the advance was drawn. Recovery shall not be made, except with the
subscribers consent, while he is in receipt of subsistence grant, or is on
leave for ten days or more in a calendar month, which either does not carry any
leave salary or carries leave salary equal to or less than half pay or half
average pay, as the case may be. The recovery may be postponed, on the
subscriber's written request, by the sanctioning authority, during recovery of
an advance of pay granted to the subscriber. (3) If an advance has
been granted to a subscriber and drawn by him and the advance is subsequently
disallowed before repayment is completed, the whole or balance of the amount
withdrawn shall forthwith be repaid by the subscriber to the Fund, or in
default, to be recovered by deduction from the emoluments of the subscriber in
a lump sum or in monthly installments, not exceeding twelve, as may be directed
by the authority competent to sanction an advance for the grant of which
special reasons are required under Sub-rule (3) of Rule 12; Provided
that, before such advance is disallowed, the subscriber shall be given an
opportunity to explain to the sanctioning authority in writing, and within
fifteen days of the receipt of the communication, why the repayment shall not
be enforced and, if an explanation is submitted by the subscriber within the
said period of fifteen days, it shall be referred to the competent authority
for decision and, if no explanation within the said period is submitted by him,
the repayment of the advance shall be enforced in the manner prescribed in this
Sub-rule. (4) Recoveries made under
this Rule shall be credited as they are made to the subscriber's account in the
Fund. State
Government's Decision: Decision
No. 1- Vacation combined with leave to be treated as leave- Vacation
combined with leave should be treated as leave, for the purposes of repayment
of an advance under Rule 13 (2) of General Provident Fund Rules. Notwithstanding
anything contained in these Rules, if the sanctioning authority has reason to
doubt that money drawn as an advance from the fund under Rule 12 has been
utilised for a purpose other than that for which sanction was given to the
drawal of the money, he shall communicate to the subscriber the reasons for his
doubt and require him to explain in writing, and within fifteen days of the
receipt of such communication, whether the advance has been utlised for the
purpose for with sanction was given to the drawal of money. If the sanctioning
authority is not satisfied with the explanation furnished by the subscriber,
within the said period of fifteen days, the sanctioning authority shall direct
the subscriber to repay the amount in question to the Fund forthwith or in
default, order the amount to be recovered by deduction in one sum from the
emoluments of the subscriber, even if he be on leave. If, however, the total
amount to be repaid be more than half the subscribers' emoluments, recoveries
shall be made in monthly installments of portions of emoluments till the entire
amount is repaid by him. NOTE
- The term "emolument," in the Rule does not include subsistence
grant. (1) Subject to the
conditions specified therein, withdrawals may be sanctioned by the competent
authority. (A) After the completion
of 20 years of service (including broken periods of service, if any) of a
subscriber, or within 10 years before the date of his retirement on
superannuation, whichever is earlier, he may withdraw from the amount standing
to his credit in the Fund for one or more of the following purposes, namely (a) meeting the cost of
higher education, including, where necessary, the travelling expenses of the
subscriber, or any child of the subscriber, in the following cases, namely: (i) for education outside
India for academic, technical, professional or vocational course beyond the
High School stage (ii) for any medical,
engineering or other technical or specialised course in India beyond the High
School stage: (b) meeting the
expenditure in connection with the betrothal marriage of the subscriber or of
his sons or of his daughters and any other person actually dependent on him; (c) meeting the
expenditure in connection with the illness, including, where necessary, the
travelling expenses, of the subscriber and members of his family, or any person
actually dependent on him; (B) After the completion
of 15 years of service (including broken periods of service, if any) of a
subscriber, or within 10 years before the date of his retirement on
superannuation, whichever is earlier, he may withdraw from the amount standing
to his credit in the Fund for one or more of the following purposes, namely (a) building or acquiring
a suitable house or flat for his residence including the cost of the site; (b) repaying an
outstanding amount on account of loan expressly taken for building or acquiring
a suitable house or flat for his residence; (c) purchasing a plot for
building a house thereon for his residence or repaying any outstanding amount
on account of loan expressly taken for this purpose; (d) reconstructing or
making additions or alterations to a house or a flat already owned or acquired
by the subscriber; (e) renovating, additions
or alterations or upkeep of an ancestral house or a house built with the
assistance of loan from Government (f) constructing a house
on a site purchased under Clause (c ); (g) purchase, or
extensive repairs, or overhauling, of motor vehicles; (h) within 6 months before
the date of the subscriber's retirement or superannuation from the amount
standing to his credit in the fund without linking to any purpose. NOTE
1 - A subscriber who has availed himself of an advance for house building
purpose, or has been allowed any assistance in this regard from any other
Government source, shall be eligible for the grant of withdrawal under
Sub-clauses (a), (c), (d) and (f) of Clause (B) for the purposes specified
therein and also for the purpose of repayment of any loan taken under the
aforesaid Scheme subject to the limit specified in the Proviso to Sub-rule (1)
of Rule 16. If
a subscriber has an ancestral house, or has built a house with the assistance
of loan taken from the Government, he shall be eligible for the grant of a final
withdrawal under Sub-clauses (a), (c), (d) and (f) of Clause (B) for purchase
of a house site or for construction of another house or for acquiring a flat. NOTE
2 - Withdrawal under Sub-clauses (a), (d), (e) or (f) of Clause (B) shall be
sanctioned only after a subscriber has submitted a plan of the house to be
constructed, or of the additions or alterations to be made, duly approved by
the competent authority. NOTE
3 - The amount of withdrawal sanctioned under Sub-clauses (b) of Clause (B)
shall not exceed ¾th of the balance, as on the date of application, together
with the amount of previous withdrawal under Sub-clause (a), reduced by the
amount of previous withdrawal. The
formula to be followed is ¾th of the balance as on date, plus amount of
previous withdrawal(s) for the house in question, minus the amount of the
previous withdrawal(s). NOTE
4 - Withdrawal under Sub-clauses (a) or (d) of Clause (B) shall also be allowed
where the house site or house is in the name of the first nominee to receive
provident Fund money in the nomination made by the subscriber. NOTE
5 - Only one withdrawal shall be allowed for the same purpose under this Rule.
However, marriage, or education of different children or illness on different
occasion, or a further addition or alteration to a house or flat covered by a
fresh plan duly approved by the competent authority of the area where the house
or flat is situated, shall not be treated as the same purpose. Second or
subsequent withdrawals under Sub-clause (a) or (f) of Clause (B) for completion
of the same house shall be allowed up to the limit laid down under Note 3. NOTE
6 - A withdrawal under this Rule shall not be sanctioned if an advance under
Rule 12 is being sanctioned for the same purpose and at the same time. (2) Whenever a subscriber
is in a position to satisfy the competent authority about the amount standing
to his credit in the General Provident Fund Account with reference to the
latest available statement of General Provident Fund Account, together with the
evidence of subsequent contribution, the competent authority may itself
sanction withdrawal within the prescribed limit, as in case of a refundable
advance already sanctioned by it in favour of the subscriber. Where, however,
the subscriber is not in a position to satisfy the competent authority about
the amount standing to his credit, or where there is any doubt about the
admissibility of the withdrawal applied for, a reference may be made to the
Accounts Officer by the competent authority for ascertaining the amount
standing to the credit of the subscriber with a view to enable the competent
authority to determine the admissibility of the amount of withdrawal. The
sanction for the withdrawal should prominently indicate the General Provident
Fund Account Number and the Accounts Officer maintaining the accounts and a
copy of the sanction for withdrawal should invariably be endorsed to that
Accounts Officer. The sanctioning authority shall be responsible to ensure that
an acknowledgement is obtained from the Accounts Officer that the sanction for
withdrawal has been noted in the ledger account of the subscriber. In case the
Accounts Officer reports that the withdrawal, as sanctioned, is in excess of
the amount to the credit of the subscriber, or otherwise inadmissible, the sum
withdrawn by the subscriber shall forthwith be repaid in one lump sum by the
subscriber to the Fund and, in default of such repayment, it shall be ordered
by the sanctioning authority to be recovered from his emoluments either in a
lump sum, or in such number of monthly installments, as may be determined by
the Government. (3) After sanctioning the
withdrawal, the amount shall be drawn on an authorisation from the Accounts
Officer in cases where the application for final payment had been forwarded to
the Accounts Officer under Clause (ii) of Sub-rule (3) of Rule 22. (1) Any sum withdrawn by
a subscriber, at any one time for one or more of the purposes specified in Rule
15 from the amount standing to his credit in the Fund, shall not ordinarily
exceed one-half of such amount, or six months' pay, whichever is lesser. The
sanctioning authority may, however, sanction the withdrawal of an amount in
excess of this limit up to ¾th of the balance at his credit in the Fund having due
regard to (i) the object for which the withdrawal is being made, (ii) the
status of the subscriber, and (iii) the amount to his credit in the Fund. NOTE
1 - A withdrawal sanctioned to a subscriber under Sub-clause (a) of Clause (A)
of Sub-rule (1) of Rule 15 may be drawn in installments, the number of which
shall not exceed four in a period of twelve calendar months, counted from the
date of sanction. NOTE
2 - In cases where a subscriber has to pay, in installments, for purchase of a
site or a house or a flat, he shall be permitted to make a withdrawal as and
when he is called upon to make a payment in any installment. Every such payment
shall be treated as a payment for a separate purpose for the purposes of
Sub-rule (1) of Rule 16. (2) A subscriber who has
been permitted to withdraw money from the fund under Rule 15 shall satisfy the
sanctioning authority, within a reasonable period as may be prescribed by that
authority, that the money has been utilised for the purpose for which it was
withdrawn, and, if he fails to do so, the whole of the sum so withdrawn, or so
much thereof as has not been applied for the purpose for which it was
withdrawn, shall forthwith be repaid in one lump sum by the subscriber to the
fund and, in default of such payment, it shall be ordered by the sanctioning
authority to be recovered from his emoluments either in a lump sum, or in such
number of monthly installments, as may be determined by the competent
authority. Provided
that, before repayment of a withdrawal is enforced under this Sub-rule, the
subscriber shall be given an opportunity to explain in writing, and within 15
days of the receipt of such communication, why the repayment shall not be
enforced. If the sanctioning authority is not satisfied with the explanation,
or no explanation is submitted by the subscriber within the said period of 15
days, the sanctioning authority shall enforce the repayment in the manner
prescribed in this Sub-rule. (3) (a) A subscriber who
has been permitted, under Sub-clause (a), Sub-clause (b) or Sub-clause (c) of
Clause (B) of Sub-rule (1) of Rule 15, to withdraw money from the amount
standing to his credit in the Fund, shall not part with the possession of the
house built, or acquired, or house-site purchased with the money so withdrawn,
whether by way of sale, mortgage (other than mortgage to the Government), gift,
exchange or otherwise, without the previous permission of the Government: Provided
that such permission shall not be necessary for (i) the house or
house-site being leased for any term not exceeding 3 years, or (ii) its being mortgaged
in favour of a Housing Board, Nationalised Banks, the Life Insurance
Corporation or any other Corporation owned or controlled by the State
Government which advances loans for the construction of a new house or for making
additions or alteration to an existing house. (b)
The subscriber shall submit a declaration, not later than the 31st day of
December of every year, as to whether the house or the house-site, as the case
may, be continued to be in his possession or has been mortgaged, or otherwise
transferred or let out as aforesaid and shall, if so required, produce before
the sanctioning authority, on or before the date specified by that authority in
that behalf, the original sale, mortgage or lease deed and also the documents
on which his title to the property is based. (c)
If, at any time before his retirement, the subscriber parts with his possession
of the house or house-site, without obtaining the previous permission of the
Governor, he shall forthwith repay the sum so withdrawn by him in a lump sum to
the Fund, and, in default of such repayment, the sanctioning authority shall,
after giving the subscriber a reasonable opportunity of making a representation
in the matter, cause the said sum to be recovered from the emoluments of the
subscriber either in a lump sum, or in such a number of monthly installments,
as may be determined by it. NOTE
- A subscriber who has taken loans from Government in lieu thereof, mortgages
the house or house-site to the Government shall be required to furnish the
declaration to the following effect namely: "I
do hereby certify that the house, or house-site for the construction of which
or for the acquisition of which, I have taken a final withdrawal from the
Provident Fund, continues to be in my possession, but stands mortgaged to
Government". State
Government's Decision: Decision
No. 1- Only one final withdrawal for the same purpose and an advance and final
withdrawal not to be sanctioned for the same purpose- (1) Rule 16 (1) lays down
conditions for withdrawal of the amount by the subscriber at any one time for
one or more of the purposes specified in the Rule 15 ibid, from the amount
standing to his credit in the Fund. Doubts have been raised whether the amount
of second final withdrawal for the same purpose is permissible under Rule 16
(1) ibid. The
matter has been considered and it is clarified that: - (i) A subscriber shall be
permitted to make a final withdrawal once in every six months for purposes of
Sub-rule (A) of Rule 15 and that the withdrawal on each occasion shall be
treated as a separate purpose for purposes of Rule 16 (1). In this context the
marriage/education of different daughters/sons will not be treated as the same
purpose. Similarly, the illness of the subscriber or his dependants on
different occasions will not be treated as the same purpose. (See
NOTE 5 below Rule 15 and NOTE 1 below Rule 16) (ii) An advance and a
final withdrawal for the same purpose should not be sanctioned together. In
other words, a person should be granted either an advance or a final withdrawal
for a particular purpose, subject to the conditions mentioned in Rule 15. Further
the advance which is subsequently converted into final withdrawal should be
treated as a final withdrawal under Rule 15; that is to say, if a person has
got an advance converted into a final withdrawal under Rule 17, he should not
be allowed another final withdrawal for the same purpose under Rule 15. (2) The principle
mentioned in para (ii) above shall also apply to an advance, under Rule 12 (b)
of the General Provident Fund Rules. (3) When a subscriber is
required to pay in installments, for site/house purchased through house
building co-operative societies or similar agencies, he shall be permitted to
make a final withdrawal as and when he is called upon to pay an installment.
The calls for payment of installments shall be treated as a separate purpose
for the purposes of Rule 16(1) of General Provident Fund Rules. Decision
No. (2)- Withdrawal permissible separately for betrothal ceremony and marriage- 'Betrothal
ceremony' should be treated as part of the marriage and there is no objection
to the withdrawal being allowed on that occasion. As clarified in Decision No.
(1) above, only one final withdrawal from the General Provident Fund is allowed
for the same purpose. Thus a subscriber who has taken a withdrawal for
'betrothal ceremony' becomes ineligible for another withdrawal on the occasion
of the marriage ceremony. With a view to avoid undue hardship to the
subscriber, it has been decided that a subscriber shall be permitted to make a
final withdrawal both on the occasion of the betrothal ceremony and the marriage
ceremony. Each occasion shall be treated as a separate purpose for the purpose
of Rule 16 (1) of the General Provident Fund Rules. The principle mentioned
above shall also apply to advances for marriages under Clause (c) of Rule 12
(1). Decision
No. (3)- Withdrawal not to be sanctioned for more than one house- A
subscriber should not be granted a second withdrawal for house-building purpose
at any place, if he has already been granted a final withdrawal for similar
purposes on the same or another place. In other words, final withdrawals should
not be allowed for more than one house. Decision
No. (4)- Withdrawals for higher education permissible in installments- Normally,
a second final withdrawal for the same purpose is not allowed. Only one final withdrawal
can be had for a recognised purpose otherwise the Provident Fund account will
be reduced to a banking account, which is against the spirit of the Rules.
However, for the purpose of higher education, the final withdrawal, which
should, of course, be only one, can be drawn in yearly or half-yearly
installments in cases where the course exceeds one year. A
subscriber who has already drawn, or may draw in future, an advance under Rule
12 for any of the purposes specified in Sub-rule (1) of Rule 15 may convert, at
his discretion, by written request addressed to the Accounts Officer through
the sanctioning authority, the balance outstanding against it into final
withdrawal, on his satisfying the conditions laid down in Rule 15 and Rule 16. NOTE
1 - The Head of Office in the case of non-gazetted subscribers and the Treasury
Officer concerned in the case of gazetted subscribers may be asked by the
administrative authority to stop recoveries from the pay bills when the
application for such conversion is forwarded to the Accounts Officer by that
authority. In the case of gazetted subscribers, the administrative authority
shall endorse a copy of the letter forwarding the subscriber's intimation to
the Treasury Officer from where he withdraws his pay in order to permit
stoppage of further recoveries. NOTE
2 - For the purposes of Sub-rule (1) of Rule 16, the amount or subscription,
with interest thereon, standing to the credit of the subscriber in the account
at the time of conversion, plus the outstanding, amount of advance, shall be
taken as the balance. Each withdrawal shall be treated as a separate one and
the same principle shall apply in the event of more than one conversion. State
Government's Decisions: Decision
No. (1)- Method of computing the balance at credit for the purpose of applying
the limitations in Rule 16 (1) while permitting conversion of advance into withdrawal- Conversion
of outstanding balance of an advance into a final withdrawal on a particular
date is tantamount to granting a final withdrawal on that date, but for his
taking the advance. Therefore, it is obvious that the outstanding balance of
advance must be added to the amount of subscriptions, standing to his credit in
his account on the date of conversion, for determining the amount with
reference to which the outstanding balance should be converted into a final
withdrawal. When more than one outstanding advance is to be converted, the same
procedure should be followed separately in respect of each advance.
Accordingly, the following clarification is given for the guidance of all
concerned: (i) For conversion of an
advance into final withdrawal under Rule 17, the balance, for the purpose of
Rule 16 (1), should be taken as the amount/subscriptions and interest thereon
standing to the credit of the subscriber in the account at the time of the
conversion, plus, the outstanding amount of the advance. (ii) Under the Rules, each
withdrawal is to be treated as a separate one and hence the same principle
would apply in the case of more than one conversion, i.e., in each case, the
limit under Rule 16 (1) would be applied taking into consideration the balance. Decision
No. 2- Conversion of advance taken on two occasions for a common purpose- There
should not be any objection to the conversion of a second advance into final
withdrawal, if the subscriber so desires, subject to the condition that the
total amount so desired for conversion into final withdrawal should not exceed
the limit prescribed in Rule 16. In such cases, where more than one advance
taken for the same purpose on different occasions are allowed to be converted
into final withdrawals individually and separately, the sanctioning authority,
while forwarding the application to the Accounts Officer, should indicate
therein the total amount to be converted, to date. Decision
No. 3- Clarification regarding conversion of temporary advance into part-final
withdrawal - Under Rule 17 of General Provident Fund Rules, conversion of the
balance outstanding against an advance drawn under Rules 12, for any of the
purposes specified in Clauses (a), (b) and (c) of Rule 15 (1), into part-final
withdrawal, is admissible subject to the subscriber satisfying the conditions
laid down in Rules 15 and 16. Rule 15 (1) (A) (b) of General Provident Fund
Rules contemplates that withdrawal shall be permissible inter alia for meeting
the expenditure in connection with marriage of "other relations actually
dependent upon the subscriber", whereas such condition is not there in
Rule 12 (1) (c). As the dependency status of the person, for whose marriage the
advance had been drawn will change between the time of grant of the advance and
that of the application for conversion of this advance into part-final
withdrawal, a point of doubt has been raised in regard to the certificate
regarding dependency to be furnished by the subscriber at the time of applying
for conversion of advance. It is clarified that the certificate which reflects
the dependency status at the time of drawal of the advance will meet the
requirements of the Rules in such cases. When
a subscriber quits service, the amount standing to his credit in the Fund shall
become payable to him: Provided
that a subscriber, who has been dismissed from service and is subsequently
reinstated shall, if required to do so by the Government, repay any amount paid
to him from the Fund in pursuance of this Rule, with interest thereon at the
rate provided in Rule 11, in the manner provided in the Proviso to Rule 19. The
amount so repaid shall be credited to his account in the Fund. Explanation
I - A subscriber, other than one who is appointed on contract, or one who has
retired from the service and is subsequently re-employed, with or without a
break in service, shall not be deemed to have quit the service, when he is
transferred without any break in service to a new post. In such case, his subscriptions,
together with interest thereon, shall be transferred- (a) to his account in the
other Fund in accordance with the Rules of that Fund, if the new post is in
another department of the Central Government, or (b) to a new account
under the State Government concerned, if the new post is under a State
Government and the State Government consents, by general or special order, to
such transfer of his subscriptions and interest. NOTE
- Transfers shall include cases of resignations from service in order to take
up appointment in another department of the State government or under the
Central Government without any break in service and with proper permission of
the State Government. In cases where there has been a break in service, it
shall be limited to the joining time allowed on transfers to a different
station. The same shall hold good in cases of retrenchments followed by
immediate employment, whether under the same or different Government. State
Government's Decisions: Decision
No. (1)- Advance of pay and amount embezzled not recoverable from Provident
Fund- Money
due on account of advance of pay cannot be legally deducted from the General
Provident Fund balance of a deceased subscriber, nor money found after the
death of an officer to have been embezzled by him during his life time. Decision
No. (2)- Recovery of Government dues and final payment of G.P.F. not to be
mixed up- It
is inconsistent with Section 3 (1) of the Provident Funds Act, 1925, for
Government to deduct any amount due to it by a subscriber, from his
accumulations in the General Provident Fund at the time of his retirement, or
from undisbursed General Provident Fund accumulation payable to a subscriber's
nominees in the event of subscriber's death in service, or after retirement, as
the case may be, even though the consent of the subscriber or nominee may have
been obtained. In
cases where the subscriber or nominee is willing to repay the amount due to
Government, the best course is to treat the repayment as a second transaction.
The whole amount should first be paid without any compulsion. Thereafter, the
payee may be called upon to make good the Government dues. Decision
No. (3)- Immunity against deduction not applicable to liabilities incurred by
nominees- The
immunity, provided by Section 3 (1) of the Provident Funds Act, against
deductions from accumulations in a Provident Fund of any debt incurred, or
liability owed, does not extend to the liabilities incurred by the subscriber's
nominee after the subscriber's death. This is because the express provision, in
Section 3 of the Act referred to, that the balance in the Fund shall be free
from any liability incurred by the subscriber, or the dependant before the
death of the subscriber, may be taken to imply that it is not free from a
liability incurred after the subscriber's death. Had the intention been to
ensure payment to the dependant, without any deduction of any kind whatever,
the Act could very well have expressly provided so. In the circumstances, the
Government of India are of the view that the Provident Fund balances vesting in
a dependant are liable to attachment for debts incurred by the dependant after
the subscriber's death, and, where such debts are due to the Government by whom
the balances are payable, they could be set off against such balances under the
general law relating to the setting off of claims and counter-claims between
the two parties. When
a subscriber - (a) has proceeded on
leave preparatory to retirement, or if he is employed in a vacation department,
on leave preparatory to retirement, combined with vacation, or (b) While on leave, has
been permitted to retire or been declared by a competent medical authority to
be unfit for further service, The
amount standing to his credit in the Fund shall, upon application made by him
in that behalf to the Accounts Officer, become payable to the subscriber: Provided
that the subscriber, if he returns to duty, shall, except where the Government
decides otherwise, repay to the Fund for credit in the account, the amount paid
to him from the Fund in pursuance of this Rule, with interest thereon at the
rate provided in Rule 11, in cash or securities or partly in cash or partly in
securities, by installments or otherwise, by recovery from his emoluments or otherwise,
as may be directed by the authority competent to sanction an advance for the
grant of which, special reasons are required under Sub-rule 3 of Rule 12. On
the death of a subscriber before the amount standing to his credit has become
payable, or where the amount becomes payable, before payment has been made; (i) When the subscriber
leaves a family (a) If a nomination made
by the subscriber, in accordance with the provisions of Rule 5, or the
corresponding Rule heretofore in force, in favour of a member or members of his
family subsists, the amount standing to his credit in the Fund, or the part
thereof to which the nomination relates, shall become payable to his nominee or
nominees in the proportion specified in the nomination. (b) If no such
nominations in favour of a member or members of the family of the subscriber,
subsists, or if such nomination relate only to a part of the amount standing to
his credit in the Fund, the whole amount, or the part thereof to which
nomination does not relate, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding any
nomination purporting to be in favour of any person or persons, other than a
member or members of his family, become payable to the members of his family in
equal shares: Provided
that no share shall be payable to- (1) Sons who have
attained majority; (2) Sons of deceased sons
who have attained majority; (3) Married daughters
whose husbands are alive; (4) Married daughters of
a deceased son whose husbands are alive if there is any member of the family
other than those specified in Clauses (1), (2), (3) and (4); Provided,
further, that the widow or widows, and the child or children of a deceased son,
shall receive between them in equal parts only the share which that son would
have received if he had survived the subscriber and had been exempted from the
provisions of Clause (1) of the first Proviso. (ii) When the subscriber
leaves no family, and if a nomination made by him, in accordance with the
provisions of Rule 5, or of the corresponding Rule here-to-force in force, in
favour of any person or persons subsists, the amount standing to his credit in
the Fund, or the part thereof to which the nomination relates, shall become
payable to his nominee or nominees in the proportion specified in the nomination. State
Government's Decisions: Decision
No. (1)- Disbursement of Provident Fund moneys to person on behalf of minors- The
payment of Provident Fund amounts to the extent of ` 5,000 or
first ` 5,000 where the amount payable exceeds ` 5,000 on
behalf of the minor (s) can be made to his/their natural guardians or where no
natural guardian exists, to the person considered fit by the Head of Office to
receive payment on behalf of the minor (s) without requiring him to produce a
guardianship certificate. The person receiving payment on behalf of the minors
should be required to execute a bond, signed by two sureties agreeing to
indemnify Government against any subsequent claim. The balance, in excess
of ` 5,000, if any, would be paid in accordance with the normal
rules. Form to execute the Bond of Indemnify is given below. It
is essential, however, that, in the absence of a natural guardian, there should
be adequate prima facie grounds for making payment to the person claiming it.
Such grounds can exist only if he/she is shown by a sworn declaration to be the
de-facto guardian and his/her bonafides have been ascertained. Even if a
guardian has not yet been appointed by the Court, and if the minor and his
property are in the custody of some person, such person is, in law, a de facto
guardian. The authorities making payment should, therefore, require the person
who comes forward to claim payment on behalf of the minor to satisfy them by an
affidavit that he is in charge of the property of the minor and is looking after
it, or that if the minor has no property other than the Provident fund money,
the minor is in his custody and care. The affidavit is to be produced in
addition to the indemnity bond as below with suitable sureties. Form
of Bond of Indemnity for drawal of Provident fund money due to the minor
child/children of deceased Subscriber by a person other than its/their natural
guardian (to the extent of ` 5,000) KNOW
ALL MEN by these presents. We (a) ………………………………………… son/daughter/wife of………………………………………………………………..(hereinafter called 'obligor') resident of…………………………………………………………………….… and (b) (1) ………………………..………………………………………………………..… son/daughter/wife of ……………………………………………… and resident of…………………………………………
and (b)(2)……………………………………………………………………………… son/daughter of ………………………………………………. and resident of …………………………………… (hereinafter called
the sureties'), Sureties on her/his/their behalf are held firmly to the
Governor Meghalaya………………………………………………………………...……
(hereinafter called the 'Government') in the sum of Rupees ……………………………………………………… (in words and figures) to be paid by the Government or
his successors or assigns for which payment to be well and truly made, each of
us severally binds himself and his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns
and every two and all of us jointly bind ourselves and our respective heirs,
executors, administrators and assigns firmly by these presents. Signed
this day of…………………………two thousand, and…………………WHEREAS
(c) ………………………………………… was at the time of his death a
subscriber to the General Provident Fund and whereas the said (c)…………………………………...………died
on the day of …………………………………..… two thousand and ……….……………
and a sum of Rupees ………………………………………………………………..……
(in words and figures) payable by Government on account of his General
Provident Fund accumulations AND WHEREAS the above bounded Obligator claim(s)……………………………...…………………the
said sum on behalf of the minor child/children of the said (c)……………….……but
has/have not obtained a guardianship certificate/certificates. AND
WHEREAS the obligator(s) has/have satisfied the (d)………………..……………………
(Officer concerned) that he/she/they is/are entitled to the aforesaid sum and
that it would cause undue delay and hardship if the claimant were required to produce
a guardianship certificate. AND
WHEREAS Government desire to pay the said sum to the claimant, but under
Government rules and orders it is necessary that the claimant should first
execute a bond with two sureties to indemnify Government against all claims to
the amount so due as aforesaid to the said (c) ……………………………………………………… (deceased) before
the said sum can be paid to the claimant which the Obligator and at his/her
request the sureties have agreed to do. NOW
THE CONDITION of this bond is such that, if after payment has been made to the
claimant, the Obligator or Sureties shall, in the event of a claim being made
by any other persons against Government, with respect to the aforesaid sum of
(`)………………………… refund to Government the sum of (`)………………………………………………… and shall otherwise indemnify and keep the Government
harmless and indemnified from all liabilities in respect of the aforesaid sum
and all costs incurred in consequence of any claim thereto. THEN
the above written bond or obligations shall be void but otherwise the same
shall remain in full force, effect and virtue. The Government have agreed to
bear the stamp duty, if any, chargeable on these presents. IN
WITNESS WHEREOF the Obligator and the Surety/Sureties hereto have set and
subscribed their respective hand on the day, month and year above written.
Signed by the above named 'Obligator' in the presence of (1) _______________________________________ (2) _______________________________________ Signed
by the above named 'Surety/Sureties' (1) _______________________________________ (2) _______________________________________ in
the presence of Accepted
for and on behalf of the Government of Meghalaya by Decision
No. (2)- Payment of legal representative on proper identity- It
is not legally necessary in every case that probate, letters of administration
or a succession certificate should be taken out in order to confer a title upon
their heirs. It is a question of identity and, if the identity of the legal
representative can be established beyond doubt, payment can be made to the
legal representative, without the production of probate, letter of
administration or a succession certificate, as the case may be. The difficulty
is to establish identity and, in any case when probate, letters of
administration or a succession certificate are not produced, the case should be
referred to the Government. On
the death of a subscriber in service, the person(s) eligible to receive
Provident Fund balances in terms of the relevant rules will be sanctioned an
additional amount, equal to the average balance in the account of the deceased
Government servant in the Fund during the three years immediately preceding the
death of the employee, subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions: (a) The balance in the
amount of the Government servant should not have fallen below the following
limits at any time during the three years preceding the date of death: Class
I … ` 12,000/- Class
II … ` 7,500/- Class
III … ` 4,500/- Class
IV … ` 3,000/- (b) The upper limit upto
which the benefit of insurance cover will be available will
be ` 30,000/-. Thus, any amount in excess
of ` 30,000/- in the Fund will be disregarded for the purpose of the
extra benefit. (c) The benefit would be
admissible only if an employee has put in at least five year's service at the
time of death. NOTE
1 - The average balance shall be worked out on the basis of the balance at the
credit of the subscriber at the end of each of the 36 months preceding the
month in which the death occurs. For this purpose, as also for checking the
minimum balance prescribed above, (a) the balance at the
end of March shall include the annual interest credited in terms of Rule 11;
and (b) if the last of the
aforesaid 16 months is not March, the balance at the end of the said last month
shall include interest in respect of the period from the beginning of the
financial year in which death occurs to the end of the said last month. NOTE
2 - Payments under this scheme should be in whole rupees. If an amount due
includes a fraction of a rupee, it should be rounded to the nearest rupee (50
paise counting as the next higher rupee). NOTE
3 - Any sum payable under this scheme is in the nature of insurance money and,
therefore, the statutory protection given by Section 3 of Provident Funds Act,
1925 (Act 19 of 1925) does not apply to sums payable under this scheme. NOTE
4 - This scheme also applies to those subscribers to the Fund who are
transferred to an autonomous organisation consequent upon conversion of a
Government Department into such a body and who, on such transfer, opt, in terms
of option given to them, to subscribe to this Fund in accordance with these
Rules. NOTE
5 - The Budget estimates of expenditure in respect of this scheme will be
prepared by the Accounts Officer responsible for maintenance of the accounts of
the Fund, having regard to the trend of expenditure in the same manner as
estimates are prepared for other retirement benefits. State
Government's Decisions: Decision
No. (1)- Death of a subscriber after the working hours of the last working day
but before 12 midnight of the calendar day to be treated as "death while
in service"- It
has been decided that the death of a subscriber after the normal working hours
of the last working day, but before 12 midnight of the calendar day, is a case
of death while in service entitling the nominee of the subscriber to the
benefit of deposit-linked insurance scheme subject to the fulfillment of the
prescribed conditions of the scheme. Decision
No. (2)- Mode of payment- With
a view to obviate any delay in making the payment, it has been decided that the
Accounts Officer will authorise the payment of additional benefit provided in
the scheme to the person(s) entitled to receive the Provident Fund money at the
time of making final payment of the Provident Fund balances, without any
further sanction. Decision
No. (3)- Maximum limit not to be applied at every stage- A
doubt was raised whether the maximum limit of ` 30,000 is to be
applied after arriving at the average of 36 months or the amount (balance) in
excess of ` 30,000 has to be disregarded at every stage while
computing the average, when the balance in excess of ` 30,000 during
some months and less than ` 30,000 during other months. It
is clarified that the maximum limit of ` 30,000 is to be applied
after arriving at the average of 36 months and not at every stage. (1) When the amount
standing to the credit of a subscriber in the Fund becomes payable, it shall be
the duty of the Accounts Officer to make payment on receipt of a written
application in this behalf as provided in Sub-rule (3). (2) If the person to
whom, under these Rules, any amount or policy is to be paid, assigned or
reassigned or delivered is a lunatic for whose estate a manager has been
appointed in this behalf under the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912, the payment or
reassignment or delivery shall be made to such manager and not to the lunatic. Provided
that where no manager has been appointed and the person to whom the sum is
payable is certified by a magistrate to be a lunatic, the payment shall, under
the orders of the Collector, be made in terms of sub-section (1) of Section 95
of the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912, to the person having charge of such lunatic and
the Accounts Officer shall pay only the amount which he thinks fit to the
person having charge of the lunatic and the surplus, if any, or such part
thereof, as he thinks fit, shall be paid for the maintenance of such members of
the lunatic's family as are dependent on him for maintenance. (3) Payments of the
amount withdrawn shall be made in India only. The persons to whom the amounts
are payable shall make their own arrangements to receive payment in India. The
following procedure shall be adopted for claiming payment by a subscriber,
namely, (i) To enable a
subscriber to submit an application for withdrawal of the amount in the Fund,
the Head of Office shall send, to every subscriber, necessary forms either one
year in advance of the date on which the subscriber attains the age of
superannuation, or before the date of his anticipated retirement, if earlier,
with instructions that they should be returned to him, duly completed, within a
period of one month from the date of receipt of the forms by the subscriber.
The subscriber shall submit the application to the Accounts Officer through the
Head of Office or Department for payment of the amount in the Fund. The
application shall be made, (a) for the amount
standing to his credit in the Fund as indicated in the Accounts Statement for
the year ending one year prior to the date of his superannuation, or his
anticipated date of retirement, or (b) for the amount
indicated in his ledger account in case the Accounts Statement has not been
received by the subscriber. (ii) The Head of
Office/Department shall forward the application to the Accounts Officer
indicating the recoveries effected against the advances which are still current
and the number of installments yet to be recovered and also indicate the
withdrawals, if any, taken by the subscriber after the period covered by the
last statement of the subscriber's account sent by the Accounts Officer. (iii) The Accounts Officer
shall, after verification with the ledger account, issue an authority for the
amount indicated in the application at least a month before the date of
superannuation but payable on the date of superannuation. (iv) Authority mentioned
in clause (iii) will constitute the first installment of payment. A second
authority for payment will be issued as soon as possible after superannuation.
This will relate to the contribution made by the subscriber subsequent to the
amount mentioned in the application submitted under clause (i) plus the refund
of installments against advances which were current at the time of the first
application. (v) After forwarding the
application for final payment to the Accounts Officer, the advance/withdrawal
may be sanctioned, but the amount of advance/withdrawal shall be drawn on an
authorisation from the Accounts Officer concerned, who shall arrange this as
soon as the formal sanction of sanctioning authority is received by him. NOTE
- When the amount standing to the credit of a subscriber has became payable
under Rules 18, 19 or 20, the Accounts Officer shall authorise prompt payment
of the amount in the manner indicated in Sub-rule (3). State
Government's Decisions: Decision
No. (1)- Elimination of delays in the payment of Provident Fund balances- Under
Rule 22 (1) of the General Provident Fund Rules, and the corresponding
provisions in other Provident Fund Rules, when the amount standing to the
credit of subscriber becomes payable, it is the duty of the Accounts Officer to
make payment of the amount on receipt of written application in this behalf
from the person who claims payment of the amount. Decision
No. (2)- It has been observed that in the case of a subscriber who dies while
in service, the payment of the amount due to the nominee/nominees is sometimes
delayed for the reason that the intimation about the death of the subscriber is
not received by the Accounts Officer concerned, promptly, and there is also
delay in submission of the required applications by the nominee/nominees. To
obviate and reduce such delays, the Administrative Departments are requested to
direct the Heads of Offices/Departments under them to take the following steps: (i) Intimation about the
death of a subscriber while in service should be sent to the Accounts Officer,
promptly, to enable him to initiate action for completion of the Provident Fund
Account. The Accounts Officer may, at the same time, be requested to inform the
Head of Office/Department the details of nomination, etc., made by the deceased
subscriber. (ii) Action should be
taken to get the application for final payments of Provident Fund money from
the nominee/family members of the subscriber for submission to the Accounts
Officer without waiting for the legal heirs to initiate action. When
the Governor is satisfied that the operation of any of these Rules causes, or
is likely to cause, undue hardship to a subscriber, he may, notwithstanding
anything contained in these Rules, deal with the case of such subscriber in
such manner as may appear to him to be just and equitable. When
paying a subscription in India, either by deduction from emoluments, or in
cash, a subscriber shall quote the number of his account in the Fund, which
shall be communicated to him by the Accounts Officer. Any change in the number
shall similarly be communicated to the subscriber by the Accounts Officer. (1) As soon as possible
after the close of each year, the Accounts Officer shall send to each
subscriber a statement of his account in the Fund showing the opening balance
as on the 1st April of the year, the total amount credited or debited during
the year, the total amount of interest credited as on the 31st March of the
year and the closing balance on that date. The Accounts Officer shall attach to
the statement of accounts an enquiry whether the subscriber (a) desires to make any
alteration in any nomination made under Rule 5 or under the corresponding rule
heretofore in force; (b) has acquired a
family, in cases where the subscriber has made no nomination in favour of a
member of his family under the Proviso to Sub-rule (1) of Rule 5. (2) Subscribers should
satisfy themselves as to the correctness of the annual statement and errors
should be brought to the notice of the Accounts Officer within three months
from the date of the receipt of the statement. (3) The Accounts Officer
shall, if required by a subscriber, once, but not more than once, in a year
inform the subscriber of the total amount standing to his credit in the Fund at
the end of the last month for which his account has been written up. STATE
GOVERNMENT INSTRUCTIONS Instruction
No. (1)- Rectification of discrepancies in Provident Fund accounts of
non-gazetted Government servants- It
has been brought to the notice of Government that in large number of cases the
Provident Fund accounts of State Government servants remain incomplete. It
takes a long time to trace the missing credits/debits and set right the
discrepancies in these accounts. The question of evolving a procedure for
ensuring expeditious location and rectification of items of discrepancies has
been examined and it has been decided to lay down the following procedure for
careful compliance by all concerned: (i) On receipt of the
annual statements of accounts from the Accounts Officers, the Heads (of
Offices) should distribute them promptly amongst the subscribers concerned and
obtain acceptance of balances. (ii) If any subscriber
finds that the balance at his credit as shown in the annual account statement
is less than what he has actually subscribed/withdrawn or is otherwise
incorrect, he should immediately submit a representation to his Head of Office.
While forwarding the representation to the Accounts Officer concerned, the Head
of Office should record thereon a certificate indicating the month-wise details
of the subscriptions recovered from the salary of the subscriber during the
year, or withdrawals made, together with the particulars of the bills in which
the recoveries/withdrawals were made. (iii) A consolidated intimation
of acceptance of balances should be sent to the Accounts Officer concerned
within three months of the date of receipt of the annual accounts statement.
The Accounts Officer will then immediately initiate action to locate the
missing credits/debits and to adjust them in the subscriber's accounts in
accordance with the procedure prescribed in this behalf by the Comptroller and
Auditor-General and send necessary intimation to Head of Office. If
any question arises relating to the interpretation of these Rules, it shall be
referred to the State Government and whose decision thereon shall be final. (1) The Meghalaya Civil
Services (General Provident Fund) Rules, 1985 is hereby repealed. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal,
anything done, or any action taken or deemed to have been done or taken, under
the said Rules shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with these Rules, be
deemed to have been done, or taken, under the corresponding provision of these
Rules.MEGHALAYA CIVIL
SERVICES GENERAL PROVIDENT FUND RULES, 2020
PREAMBLE