 "Centre asks IAS officers to file property details on time or face action")
The Centre has asked all officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to file their property details within the prescribed deadline or face consequences, which include disciplinary proceedings and denial of promotion.
The directive is issued through an official communique by the Ministry of Personnel.
IAS officers are required to submit their annual Immovable Property Return (IPR) by January 31 of the following year.
What the rules require
The communique said that the requirement flows from Rule 16(2) of the AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968, along with instructions issued in Office Memorandums dated February 16, 1960 and January 4, 1994.
“As you are aware, in terms of Rule 16(2) of AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968 and the instructions issued vide OMs dated 16.02.1960 and 04.01.1994 under this Rule, every member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is required to submit annual Immovable Property Return (IPR) by 31st January of the next year,” the communique said.
It added that failure to comply with these provisions constitutes “good and sufficient reason” for initiating disciplinary proceedings.
Impact on promotions and pay matrix
The Ministry made it clear that non-filing of IPR could directly affect an officer’s career progression.
“Failure on part of the members of the Service to comply with the requirements of the aforesaid provisions constitutes good and sufficient reason for, inter alia, institution of disciplinary proceedings against them,” the communique said, as it referred to earlier Office Memorandums issued in 2007 and 2011.
It further said that Rule 3(1) of the IAS (Pay) Rules, 2016 was amended through a notification dated December 30, 2021, which made the timely filing of IPR mandatory for being considered for appointment to the next level of the pay matrix.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) introduced online filing of IPRs for IAS officers in January 2017 through the SPARROW module.
“It is indeed a matter of immense satisfaction that the officers are submitting their IPR either electronically or uploading a scanned copy of the manually filled-in IPR, over the years,” the communique dated December 23 said.
The Ministry clarified that the online module will close automatically after the deadline.
“This online module will close automatically after the prescribed timeline, that is January 31, 2026, in respect of the calendar year 2025,” the communique said.