7th Pay Commission has recommended higher grade pay for Auditors.

7th Pay Commission has recommended higher grade pay for Auditors.

7th CPC recommends that officers in organised accounts cadres viz., Indian Audit and Accounts Department, Defence Accounts Department, Indian Civil Accounts Organisation, Railways, Post and Telecommunications who are in GP 4800 will be upgraded, on completion of four years’ service to GP 5400 (PB-2) and will be placed in Pay level 9, in the pay matrix.

Officers in accounts cadres to get higher grade pay – 7th CPC Recommendations

7th Pay Commission recommends higher grade pay for officers in organised accounts cadres from GP 4800 to GP 5400 PB-2.

Organised Accounts Staff

11.12.134 The demands made in respect of the organised accounts cadre of the Ministry of Defence by the Confederation of Defence Recognised Association are focused on two posts viz., Senior Auditors and Assistant Accounts Officers.

Senior Auditors

They have contended that Senior Auditor of organised Accounts cadres have traditionally been at par with Assistants and that the existing parity between them has been disturbed by the government upgrading the level of Assistant from GP 4200 to GP 4600, while Senior Auditors remains at GP 4200. To advance their case, they have stated that a job evaluation of the Audit staff of IA&AD and Assistants of CSS carried out by Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad at instance of III CPC, gave a higher job rating to Auditors than Assistants of CSS.

In 1984, the government bifurcated the Audit cadre of IA&AD into Auditors (20 percent) and Senior Auditors (80 percent) and granted the pay scale of Assistant of CSS to Senior Auditors. The IV CPC, had, after above consideration, taken the view that there should be broad parity in the pay scales of the staff in IA&AD and other accounts organisations. The recommendation  of  IV  CPC  was  accepted  by  the  government  and implemented  w.e.f. 01.01.1986 for audit and from 1 April, 1987 for accounts in case of IA&AD and other Accounts Departments and Senior Auditors have been given same pay scale of Assistant of CSS.

Analysis and Recommendations

The Commission, in Chapter 7.1, has already taken a view with regard to pay level of Assistants of CSS. The recommendation there in will settle the parities as have been sought to be established.

Assistant Accounts Officers

They have contended that the existing parity between Assistant Account Officer (AAO) of organised accounts cadre and Section Officers of CSS was disturbed by granting Non Functional upgradation to GP 5400 (PB-3) after four years of service to the latter. They have stated that in the original scheme of things, Section Officer(A)/ Assistant Accounts Officer of organised accounts were also included for non functional upgradation to GP 5400 (PB-3) after four years as evident from English release dated 14 August, 2008 of Press Information Bureau. Para 10 (v) of this English release reads “Government has continued the present position of granting Group `A’ scale to Group `B’ officers after 4 years of service and these officers would be placed in PB-3 instead of PB-2 recommended by the VI CPC. This would benefit Group `B’ officers of the Railways, Accounts Services, CSS, CSSS and DANICS and DANIPS.”

Analysis and Recommendations

The Commission notes that non-functional upgradation from GP 4800 to GP 5400 (PB-3), on completion of four years of service, has been accorded to a number of posts by the government in 2008 viz., Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service, Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service, Officers of the Central Secretariat Service and those of Central Secretariat Stenographers Service as well as other similarly placed Headquarters Services. This has also been extended to Group `B’ Officers of the Departments of Posts and Revenue. While extending this benefit, officers in GP 4800, both in Headquarters and in the field formations of these two organisations have been covered. In 2015, this benefit was also extended to Section Officers in the Indian Coast Guard.

The Commission is therefore of the view that there is no justification for excluding officers in the organised accounting departments who are at GP 4800 from this dispensation. It therefore recommends that all officers in organised accounts cadres (in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, Defence Accounts Department, Indian Civil Accounts Organisation, Railways, Post and Telecommunications) who are in GP 4800 should be upgraded, on completion of four years’ service to GP 5400 (PB-2), viz., Pay level 9, in the pay matrix.