Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
(Central Board of Excise & Customs)
New Delhi

Dated: April 12, 2013

Subject: Instructions consequent to Scanning & Digitization of APARs w.e.f. FY 2013-14.

As you are aware, DOP&T and Board has been emphasising the need to complete the APARs of officers/employees as per the time schedule fixed by DOPT. It has however been noted with concern that various proposals relating to promotions/empanelment/deputation of officers etc. are unduly delayed due to non-adherence to the prescribed timelines for completion of APARs and resultant incomplete APARs. As per the extant instructions on the matter, in case the APAR is not initiated by the Reporting Officer/Reviewing Officer for any reason beyond 31st May/30th June respectively of the year in which the financial year ended, he shall forfeit his right to enter any remarks in the APAR of the officer to be reported/reviewed upon.

1.2 Attention is also invited to Board Circular F.No. A-28011/12/2009-EC/Per dated 06.07.2009 vide which instructions were issued for proper maintenance & up keep of APARs. Despite the said instructions, deficient APARs are being received, causing difficulty and delay at the time of promotion. The instructions are being reiterated once again for strict compliance:-

(i) Before providing the APAR form to the officer, the concerned Administrative Section incharge of APARs should clearly indicate the name & designation of the Reporting Officer/Reviewing Officer & the relevant period.

(ii) Reporting/Reviewing Officers should affix the official stamp along with their signature on the APAR.

(iii) No Report Certificate on account of retirement of Reporting Officer/Study leave/other leave/officer not completing minimum 90 days etc should be appended by administrative Section Incharge of APARs in Office of CC/DG or Commissionerates.

(iv) Henceforth all APARs shall be sent to DG(HRD) for scanning and digitization and not to the Board directly. Only one copy of the APAR should be sent to DG (HRD), with the duplicate copy being placed in the dossier maintained in the CC/Commissionerate office.

(v) APARs along with representations and comments of Reporting/Reviewing Officer if any should be sent to DG(HRD), for consideration by the Referral Board in the CBEC. As per instructions, comments from reporting/reviewing officers on an officers representation should be received by 15th October. In case the Reporting/Reviewing Officer has retired, the date of retirement may be mentioned. It is also clarified that the Chief Commissioners should send the APARs directly to the concerned Reporting/Reviewing officer without involving DG(HRD) or SOP Section in the Board.

2. A major exercise has been undertaken by the Board vide which all past ACRs/APARs w.e.f. FY 1980-81 up to FY 2011-12, have been scanned and data is in the process of being digitised Chief Commissioners/Director Generals shall ensure that blank APAR forms are sent to all Group A officers under their charge as per time prescribed (Annexure A).

3. To monitor the APARs, a data base shall be created in the office of each CC/DG mentioning the Controlling Officers and Reviewing Officers of all IRS officers working in their jurisdiction. A copy of the database should also be sent by the jurisdictional Chief Commissioners/Director Generals to DG (HRD) by 15th May, 2013 in the format attached (Annexure B), for uploading on the website of DG HRD. If a PAR relating to a financial year is not recorded by the 30th June of the year in which the financial year ended, no remarks shall be allowed to be recorded thereafter. The member of the service will be assessed based on the overall record and self-assessment of the year concerned, if he had given his self-assessment in time and the Reporting Authority and/or the Reviewing Authority have not completed the PAR according to the time schedule prescribed.

4. Each Chief Commissioner/Director General shall while sending all duly filed APARs to DG(HRD) by 30th October shall also record reasons and circumstances under which the APARs have not been submitted by the officer concerned himself or the Reporting/Reviewing officer as the case may be and send a report to the Board. The Board shall through DG (HRD) maintain the details of officers who have not reported/reviewed the APARs of their subordinates on time and may make an entry in the APAR folder of such erring officer besides entering NRC for the FY in question in the folder of such officers whose APARs have not been reported/reviewed on time. All concerned may note that after 30th June, the APARs of officers cannot be reported or reviewed as per DOPT guidelines.

5. A separate cell is being created in DG (HRD) to monitor the APARs. To ensure that scanned copies of APARs are received on time by the Board, the following system is devised to ensure that the data base is kept updated.

5.1 DG HRD shall take the responsibility of coordinating with Chief Commissioners/DGs concerned to ensure that APARs are received on time. As already mentioned in Para 3 above, the list of officers whose APARs have to be reported and reviewed by each Chief Commissioner/Director General shall be put up on the website of DG HRD. It shall be the responsibility of the CC/DG to send the APARs of all officers in their charge along with representations and comments of reporting/reviewing officers if any latest by 31st October to APAR Cell, DG (HRD), 409/8, Deepshikha Building, Rajendra Place, New Delhi - 110008, only in respect of representation which are to be decided at the Board level. The representation which are to be decided up to the Chief Commissioner/DG level must be decided by the competent authority latest by 31st October under intimation to DG (HRD).

5.2 The physical copy of each APAR shall be scanned, data entered in the software, stamped as 'Scanned' and thereafter hard copies of APARs sent under due acknowledgement to SOP Section immediately for being placed in the ACR/APAR dossier of the officer concerned. SOP section shall also ensure that no APAR is filed in the dossier of the officer till it is stamped as 'Scanned'.

5.3 For success of the system it is imperative that database of APARs is kept updated in the software being maintained in DG, HRD. This would be possible only if the officers submit their self appraisal to the reporting officers on time, reporting and reviewing officers write the APARs on time and the details are entered in the data bank maintained by DG(HRD). In this connection attention is invited to Column 13 of the APAR format being used by CBEC vide which details of APARs of officers not written in capacity as Reporting/Reviewing authority for the previous year is mentioned. This data shall be recorded in the APAR software from the current FY.

6. The details of officers whose APARs have not been received for FY 10-11 and 11-12 have been placed in 'Departmental Officers' link of CBEC. All CCs/DGs are requested to send the same to DG (HRD) immediately.

6. The above instructions may please be noted for strict compliance. All Commissionerates/formations concerned may be suitably informed in this regard, under intimation to the Board.

(S R Sharma)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

Annexure A

Time schedule for APARs as per DOPT & CBEC instructions

1. Blank APARs to be given to officer by Administrative Section after filling in the Reporting officer & Reviewing Authority : 1st April

2. Self Appraisal by the officer : 30th April

3. Appraisal by Reporting Authority : 31st May

4. Appraisal by Reviewing Authority : 30th June

5. Disclosure to officer Reported upon : 15th August

6. Comments of officer reported upon, if any : 31st August

7. Forwarding of comments of the officer reported upon, if any : 15th September

8. Comments of Reporting Officer : 30th September

9. Comments of Reviewing Authority : 15th October

10. Representation to Referral Board by officer reported upon : 30th November

11. Forwarding of representation to Referral Board along with Comments of Reporting/Reviewing Authority : 15th December

12. Finalisation by Referral Board if officer represents against decision of the Reviewing authority : 15th January

13. Disclosure to officer reported upon : 31st January

14. End of entire PAR process : 31st March

Annexure B

List of IRS Officers with details of Reporting Officer/Reviewing Officer in the Jurisdiction of each Chief Commissioner/Director General for FY 2012-13 to be sent to DG (HRD) by 15th May, 2013