Group A and B Officers may be asked to submit Movable Property Return

When it comes to declaration of assets, bureaucrats, unlike politicians, had to file only their immoveable property returns (houses, land) and not their moveable assets (bank account, shares, investments etc). That glaring gap has now been fixed — the Government has decided to review its norms and make bureaucrats file all their moveable assets in their annual declaration beginning this year.

Confirming this V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), told The Indian Express “We have taken the decision. Bureaucrats will have to declare all their moveable and immoveable assets from this year.”

As per the Central Civil Services (CCA) Rules 1964 and All India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968, government servants are supposed to file their Immoveable Property Returns (IPRs) as on December 31 every year by January 31 the next year. Most of the services officers’ declarations have now been posted on websites of respective departments from last year.

The format for IPR, according to the DoPT, calls for “particulars of all immoveable property owned, acquired or inherited by him or held by him on lease or mortgage, either in his own name or in the name of any member of his family or in the name of any other person dependent on Government Servant.”

But politicians’ declarations have been much detailed. The Code of Conduct for Ministers was approved by the Cabinet way back in 1964 under which Ministers were supposed to declare all moveable and immoveable assets along with those of their family members to the Prime Minister and the copy of that resolution was forwarded to Chief Ministers to do so.