Deadline to file asset details extended

New deadline is now December 31

Faced with criticism and court case the Union government on Friday extended the deadline for the Central government officials and employees of the non-profit organisations to file income and asset details. Earlier the last date was July 31 and now it has been extended to December 31.

This is the sixth extension for the nearly five million Central government employees following a pending court case, where wife of a senior bureaucrat has challenged the government order of asking the spouses and dependent of the civil servants to also disclose their personal assets and incomes.

But this was the first extension for the employees of the non-government organisations and trusts, which through a recent notification was brought under the ambit of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

According to the rules, employees, mostly manager and those who have the decision making authority, are supposed to make declaration of their assets and income if their respective NGO or trust receives government funding and its annual income exceeds Rs. 1 crore. The limit in the case of NGOs receiving foreign funding was kept at Rs. 10 lakh.

The government caused angst among the voluntary organisations, which had demanded the government to clarify the new rules and extend the deadline.