Last Pay Certificate is a term that is frequently used with reference to a government job. It is a document that holds the details of the salary that an employee draws when they are transferred to a new location from prior, on duty. Another avenue when the last pay certificate is applicable is when an employee returns from a leave.
So, the Last Pay Certificate will include details concerning the salary drawn by the employee and the deductions made from his salary. The preparation of the Last Pay Certificate is done in 4 copies.
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Why is the last pay certificate required?
As a government employee, if one is transferred to another circle of audit or state, the new treasury or office will be used for drawing your salary. So, when you fill out the application form (Format G.A 62), the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) will provide the last pay certificate.
In this write-up, we’ll be taking a look at the all associated information.
Details included in Last Pay Certificate
- Details of salary drawn
- Time and date of joining duty
- Amount of allowances
- State insurance number
- Types of recovery loan advance (if any)
- Life insurance policy no:
Last Pay Certificate Timeline
A timeline of 10 days (maximum) has been set for the release of the last pay certificate. The matter needs to be escalated to the HoD in case the government employee does not receive the certificate within the defined period.
Laws concerning the Last Pay Certificate
The most important laws concerning the Last Pay Certificate are Law 145 to Law 148. Let us discuss these laws one by one.
Law 145
Upon the transfer of an employee from one place to the next, his salary allowances are drawn from another office or treasury. So, the employee needs to get his last pay certificate from the DDO. The format for the same will be G.A. 62. This puts the employee in a position to draw his salary from the new treasury or office.
Law 146
The details to be included in the Last Pay Certificate are:
- Details of salary drawn
- Amount of allowances drawn
The above two details will concern the LPC period up to which the two were drawn. Also to be included in the LPC are:
- The GPF account
- State Insurance Policy No.
- Life Insurance Policy No.
- Other types of recovery loan advances that will be made from this salary.
To ensure that the appropriate particulars are correct, DDO shall be responsible.
Law 147 – Maximum time that will be taken to issue Last Pay Certificate
After it is released, the Last Pay Certificate will generally receive a charge report. Typically, you should get your LPC within four days. But, at max, within 10 days, your LPC will be released.
If it so happens that the government servant does not receive the LPC in this mentioned timeline, he’ll report the matter to the Head of the Department.
Law 148 – Salary in absence of LPC
It may be possible that an employee does not receive his Last pay Certificate on time due to unforeseen circumstances. In such cases, the office bearers of government offices withhold the power to authorize such a government servant to receive his salary. This will be made possible based on a statement that they give. This statement will concern the withdrawal of allowances and salary for the phase of initial three months. In the statement will be mentioned the allowances and salary associated with the last withdrawal made. Each of the recoveries made will also be mentioned, and so will the net due amount in this statement.
In some special cases, the government servant will be permitted to enhance this facility for three months more still, or even further. For the same, he will be required to mention the reasons.
Rules that regulate the preparation of Last Pay Certificates in case of return from leave or transfer of duty
- Transfers on duty could be of two types:
- Moving from one circle of audit to the next or from one state to the next.
- Moving from one place to another in the same circle of audit or state.
- If the former is the case, then the methodology for giving the Last Pay Certificate is shared as follows.
- The government servant could be employed at his State’s or Circle of Audit’s Accountant General’s station. So, it is in the Accountant General’s that the procedures associated with payment after pre-audit are followed. So, the Accountant General should himself give the certificate to the concerned government servant. He should also forward the certificate’s duplicate to the Accountant General at the transferred government employee’s new state or circle of audit. If this isn’t possible, the procedure mentioned in clause (b) has to be followed.
- If the government employee is required to pass through the concerned station when on his way to the new Circle of Audit or State, the duplicate of the certificate should be given by the officer who is in charge of the Treasury. This will be the Treasury from which the government employee had drawn his last pay. In this case, both copies need to be signed by the Accountant General. This accountant General also has to forward one of the countersigned certificates to the new Accountant General who will be at the transferred government employee’s new state or circle of audit.
- Now let us suppose that the transferred government employee was not employed at the Accountant General’s station, or does not pass through the station in his journey. In this case, the certificate needs to be given by the officer who is in charge of the Treasury. A duplicate copy of the certificate also needs to be forwarded to the Accountant General from the Treasury Officer. This is for countersignature, after which, the certificate is transferred to the Accountant General at the transferred government officer’s new state or circle of audit.
Exception:
There is an exception to the rule mentioned. If it is a non-gazetted employee that has been transferred to a new state or circle of audit, they can receive their Last Pay Certificate from the head of the office. There is no need for these last Pay Certificates to be countersigned by the Accountant General. However, if the transfer is made outside India, then the Accountant General has to duly sign the certificate.
- If it is the second case of a transfer that is under question, the officer in charge of Treasury has to grant the Last Pay Certificate to the employee. This will be the treasury from which the employee drew his last pay. However, if this employee is a non-gazetted government employee, he will obtain his Last Pay Certificate from the head of the office under whom he was last employed.
- If it is a government servant who drew his leave salary in India, then, before he returns to duty, he has to get his Last Pay Certificate from the Account General under whose jurisdiction, his last salary was paid.
- In each of the cases concerned, the Last Pay Certificate will be prepared using the last pay certificate form that can be found on the concerned government website of the concerned department and state. The last pay certificate form pdf and last pay certificate form Word can be downloaded from these websites. By seeing these forms, you’ll have a fair bit of an idea regarding the last pay certificate format.
The details for fund deduction will be shared on this form. The officer who is preparing the forms will be solely responsible for the correctness of the information furnished. Similarly, the officer who is preparing the Last Pay Certificate is responsible for correctly sharing all demands against the departing government officer. This also covers any demands that have been made concerning the attachment of his pay by a Court of Law regarding which, the government officer received a notice before he received the certificate or an order. Additionally, this officer is also responsible for passing on any, of which he may afterwards receive notice, to the disbursing office or the Treasury from which the Government officer will draw his pay in the future.
In this case, the officer who is preparing the Last Pay Certificate also has to share details concerning any insurance policies that are being financed from the provident fund. The name of the concerned Insurance Company has to be mentioned here, besides the policy number, the amount, and the date on which the payment of the premium is due.
- Now, let us consider the last pay certificate for state govt employees. If this is a case of transfer from one district to the other where the audit circle does not change, the last monthly or regular payment has to be mentioned in the Last Pay Certificate. The entire pay for the month in which the transfer has been made should be paid at the new district. This has to be followed in all cases, except when the financial rules or the Treasury of a Government provide to the contrary.
- To draw allowances and transit pay of an officer promoted to a gazetted from non gazetted post, an additional copy of the Last Pay Certificate has to be sent by the head of the office directly to the Audit Officer.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the LPC full form in salary?
LPC full form in salary is the Last Pay Certificate.
What is LPC in central government?
In central government, LPC stands for Last Pay Certificate. As a formal document, the last pay certificate shows the salary that a government employee has drawn when he returns from leave or is transferred on duty from one place to the next.
What is the difference between pay slip and pay certificate?
For the context of this article, it becomes important to understand what is the difference between pay slip and pay certificate. The information that is a part of salary certificate does not show detailed breakup of an individual’s salary. However, a salary slip is different because here, detailed information concerning the income is included. Also is included the information regarding deductions made in monthly salary.