The Civil Servants Act, 1973

Mr. Rizwan Ahmed Qazi

Addl Director CIMLA
1. The Civil Servants Act,
1973 and related service rules

• Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion & Transfer) Rules,1973

• Cadre/ Functional unit or service group wise recruitment rules.

• Civil Servants (Confirmation ) Rules, 1973

• Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1964

• Government Servants (Efficiency & Disciplines) Rules,1973

• Occupational Groups & Services (Probation, Training & Seniority)

Rules,1990
 2. Relationship between the
Act & the Rules
• Act (i.e law) made by the principal Legislative Body & the
rules made by a body or authority so authorised in the Act;
• Act (i.e law) to make basic & substantive enabling
provisions and the rules to further explain and illucidate
the provisions of the Act;
• Act to dominate and rules (and also the regulations etc)
made under it to remain subordinate and supportive to the
parent Act.
• Rules (and regulations etc) are made to administer,
operationalise, assist & support the controlling Act or law
and not to contradict, or to be inconsistent and in conflict
with their parent law.
3. The Civil Servants Act, 1973 (as amended till
date), however, necessitates and provides for the
making of rules under it. It empowers the President,
or a person, body or authority to be further
authorized by the President to make rules for carrying
out the purposes of the Act. The President has further
authorized the Prime Minister (and for certain
matters the other authorities) to make rules under
this Act. The authority so authorized to make will
have the power to un-make and also to give
relaxation where & to the extent permitted
 4. Purpose of the Act

• The purpose of the Civil Servants Act is to “regulate

the appointment of persons to, and the terms and
conditions of service of persons, in the service of
Pakistan and to provide for matters connected there
with or ancillary there to” In short, all service matters
from the date of appointment of a person till the date
of his retirement and even post retirement matters
such as pension and re-employment etc are dealt
with and regulated by this Act and the rules (& also
the regulations and instructions) made under it.
 5. Why made & when

• The Act was made in 1973 to meet the requirement

of Article 240 of the Constitution of 1973 which reads
as under
“240 subject to the constitution, the
appointments to and the conditions of persons in the
service of Pakistan shall be determined:-
• in the case of the services of the Federation, posts in
connection with the affairs of the Federation and All-
Pakistan Services, by or under Act of Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) and
• in the case of services of a Province and posts in
connection with the affairs of a Province, by or under
Act of the Provincial Assembly”
• The Federal Legislature i.e. the Parliament accordingly made
this Act in 1973 and the Provincial Assemblies made their
respective Provincial Civil Servants Acts in 1974, almost similar
to and identical with the Federal Act.

• The system prior to 1973 in the field of service matters was

regulated by the Constitutional and other legal provisions till
then existing in the form of rules, regulations and instructions
etc. most of which have either been incorporated into the new
rules made under it or these have separately and concurrently
been allowed to exist in order to support and supplement the
rules made under this Act.
6. Terms and conditional of service

This Act and the rules made under it determine and

regulate the terms and conditions of civil servants
which cannot be varied to the disadvantage of a
“civil servant” except by operation of this Act and
the related rules under it nor can a civil servant be
penalized (dismissed, removed or reverted) except
in accordance with this Act and the rules. By ‘terms
and conditions of service’ is meant the kind of
appointment, confirmation in services, seniority,
pay , conduct, posting and transfer, retirement,
pension and other benefits and prospects etc.
 7. ‘Civil Servant’
According to this Act, a ‘civil servant’ is he whose appointment,
in govt. service, is made in accordance with this Act and the
rules made under it and he becomes:
• a member of the All Pakistan service i.e. a service
common for Federation and the Provinces e.g. The
DMG, PSP and any other service created as such by
law.
• a member of a civil service of the Federation e.g. the
service groups other than (i) above.
• who holds a civil post in connection with the affairs
of the federation, e.g. the posts in all the cadres,
functional units etc. other than (i) and (ii) above,
irrespective of their kinds, functions, grades and
scales etc.
• holders of civil posts connected with defense, in all scales
and of all kinds
• The persons belonging to the following categories,
although in govt. service (having not been appointed under
this Act and rules made under it) will not be come ‘civil
servants’ of the Federation:-
• a provincial civil servant working on deputation in the
Federal govt.
• an employee of a Federal or Provincial autonomous body
or any other authority working on deputation to the
Federation,
• a person employed in the Federation on contract.
• A person employed in the Federation on work charged
basis.
• A person employed by govt. but paid out of contingencies;
• A person, employed in a govt. held factory as a ‘worker’ or
‘workman’ as defined in the Factories Act, 1934 and
Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.
 8. Selection Authority
Every regular appointment, whether by initial or direct selection, or
by promotion, or by transfer (from one cadre/ service group to
the other) is to be made on the recommendations of the
relevant selection / promotion authority. It is;-
• (i)“ Federal Public Service Commission” for direct
appointment to posts in Bs 16 and above or on such other posts
as may be brought into its purview.
• “Selection Board” for appointment by promotion or transfer
to posts in Bs. 19 to 21.
• “Special Selection / Promotion Board” for appointment by
promotion to posts in BS. 22 or equivalent;
• “Departmental Promotion Committee” for marking
appointment by promotion or transfer to posts under a
Ministry, Division, Department or Office of the Federal Govt.
in Bs.18 and below,
• “Departmental Selection Committee” for making selection for
initial appointment to posts under a Ministry, Division, Deptt. Or
office of the Federal Govt. in Bs. 1 and above, other than the
posts in the purview of the FPSC.
 9. APPOINTMENT

• The Act provides that all appointments as “civil servants”

shall be made:-
• (a) in the manner, to be prescribed’
• (b) by the President or by a person (or persons)
authorized by him.
• 10. Both the ‘Prescriptions’ have been made in the
Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Transfer)
Rules, 1973
• 11. Authorization’ to act as appointing authorities
given to the following:-
BPS Posts Appointing
Authority
• Posts in BPS-20 and above • Prime Minister
or equivalent in all
Ministries, Divisions and
Departments in the Federal
Government.
• Posts in BPS 17 to 19 or • Secretary of the Ministry or
equivalent Division concerned
• Posts in BPS 16 or • Officers notified by the Secretary
equivalent, and in BPS 1 to of the Ministry or Division
concerned
15 and equivalent
• Posts in BPS 17 to 19 or equivalent • Auditor General of Pakistan
in the Pakistan Audit Dept. and
Inter-Departmental Cadre of
Accounts Group
• Posts in BPS 16 and 1 to 15 and
equivalent • Officers respectively notified
• Posts in BPS 17-19 or equivalent in by the Auditor General
the Intelligence Bureau • Director General of the
• Posts in BPS 1 to 16 or equivalent in Bureau
the Bureau
• Posts in BPS 17 and equivalent
• Officers notified by the D.G
under the Controller General of • Controller General of
Accounts
Accounts
• Posts in BPS 1 to 16 • Officers notified by the
under the Controller C.G
General of Accounts
• Posts in BPS 17 and 18 • Chairman of P.O.F
and equivalent in Board
Pakistan Ordnance
Factories.
Note Changes can be made in the
posts scales and their appointing
authorities by making amendments in the
A.P.T.Rules and other related rules.
12. MANNER (S) OF APPOINT(S) The A.P.T. Rules
prescribe the following main manners of
appointments:-
• Appointment by ‘initial’ or ‘direct’ appointment;
• Appointment by promotion;
• Appointment by transfer;
• Further Cadre/service group/or ‘functional unit’ wise
recruitment rules are made by each Division in consultation
with the Establishment Division to determine:-
• percentage of vacancies at all levels to be filled in each or
any of the three manners;
• other condition as to the basic qualification, experience,
domicile, age etc.
 16. Probation;

• In the service matters, ‘probation’ means a period of good

behaviour under supervision, a process or period of testing
the character or abilities of a person in a certain role,
especially an appointee to a position or post. An appointee
through any of three main manners, when appointed on
regular basis, will be on probation for 1 year, extendable
by another one year. Failure of completing the probation
period satisfactorily can consequent upon:-
• Extension in probation period;
• Termination of service if appointed by initial/ direct
recruitment;
• Reversion to the previous place/post from where
brought for appointment by transfer, if his lien still
exists at the previous post. If it stands terminated or
the post abolished or filled in on regular basis, his
services will also be terminated.
• If appointed by promotion, will be reverted to the
previous post.
• For taking any of the actions mentioned above,
simple procedure of issuance of a show cause
notice & seeking explanation will be enough.
 17. Confirmation

• The one whose appointment is against a post made

permanent and he completes the probation period with
all its ingredients satisfactorily, will be come qualified for
confirmation & get his lien established against the post. If
formal order of confirmation is not issued at the end of
maximum period of probation & no adverse action
otherwise is taken to the contrary, he will be deemed to
have been confirmed from the date of the post having
been made permanent. Non qualification for confirmation
can consequent upon the action stated under the heading
of ‘Probation’.
 18. Seniority
• In a cadre, or service group or functional unit, it counts
from the date of ‘regular’ appoint to a post or in a grade.
The appointments of the following kinds do not earn
seniority:-
• During the period of adhoc appointment.
• Appointment against a temporarily created time specific
post;
• Appointment on contract, or work charged or on payment
from contingencies ( the appointee not being a civil
servant);
• Period of promotion on acting charge or officiating basis or
appointment on current charge basis.
 • Interse Seniority within a batch of direct appointees
is determined by the selection authority and within in
a batch of promotees on the continuity of their
interse seniority in the lower grade. Seniority once
fixed can not be disturbed to the disadvantage of a
person except in the following situations:-
• If he was considered for promotion along with others
and found unfit twice;
• If he over stayed beyond the maximum permissible
period of sanctioned leave & during his unauthorized
absence, his junior was promoted.
• No one, however, can have a vested right to a particular
seniority in his service, cadre or post.
 19. Promotion

• Promotion means appointment of a duly qualified civil

servant to a higher post in the service or cadre to which he
belongs.
• Proforma- promotion mean pre-dating of promotion of a
civil servant or a retired civil servant w.e.f. the date of
regular promotion of his junior; for the purpose of
seniority, fixation of pay and payment of arrears etc.
• A post may either be a ‘selection post’ or a ‘non selection
post’ to which promotion is made in the prescribed
manner:-
• In the case of a selection post, greater weightage is given to
selection on merit & due weight age to the seniority in the
grade and
• In case of a ‘non-selection post’, seniority merits more than
other considerations. It is to be on the basis of ‘seniority-
cum-fitness’.
• Kinds of appointment by promotion already briefly
stated in the foregoing part of this presentation.
• Despite having become qualified for promotion and fit
to hold a post, a civil servant can not claim promotion or
posting to a post as a matter of right. He has only the
right to be considered.
 20. Posting and Transfer

• Every civil servant is liable to serve any where within or out

side Pakistan, under the Federation or in a Province (on an
equivalent, higher or post) or local authority, or a
corporation or a statutory body of the Federal or Provincial
govt.
• Employees recruited to serve a particular area or region will
be transferable within that region only.
• No one, however, will be put to a disadvantageous position
so far as his pay is concerned.
21. Deputation
• It means to serve out side one’s service group
or cadre, especially by an autonomous or statutory
body or a local authority, on such terms & conditions
as may be fixed in the light of the deputation policy of
the govt.
22. Termination of Service
• In the following situations, service of a civil servant
can be terminated or he can be discharged without
adopting the lengthy procedure of the Efficiency &
Discipline Rules or taking departmental disciplinary
action:-
• during or on expiry of the period of adhoc
appointment;
• during or on expiry of the life of a period-specific
temporary post.
• On becoming surplus in the event of disbandment
of a deptt/office or abolition/reduction of posts.
• For failure of completing the probation period
satisfactorily, if appointed on direct recruitment
basic.
23.Absorption of civil servants rendered surplus as
a result of re-organization or abolition of a
Division, deptt, office or of a post.

• Absorption elsewhere cannot be claimed as a matter of right; it is

only as a measure of compassion .It can be on an equal post, or
even a lower post, to which the surplus person be found fit by the
selection authority concerned.
• Seniority at the new post, in the new grade to be counted from the
date of absorption on regular basis;
• Previous service to be counted from the date of absorption on
regular basis.
• Previous service to be counted only for protection of pay,
experience and continuous length of service for pension, and not
for seniority.
 24. Reversion

• In the following situations, without the process of

disciplinary action, a civil servant can be reverted
to a lower post:-
• if promoted on acting charge basic.
• If promoted on officiating charge basic.
• If appointed on current charge basis.
• If after regular promotion, fails to complete the
probation period satisfactorily;
• (v) If he was promoted just on temp/adhoc
basis.
25. Special Provision in respect of irregularly
appointed persons

• Reference in such appointees to be made to selection

authority to adjudge their fitness
• If not found fit by the selection authority concerned to
be retained in service, their service to be terminated
after formal show cause notice etc.

• Their seniority to be reckoned in the grade/ on the post

from the date of regularization of their appointments