New Delhi, December 16: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a directive to all Indian Police Service (IPS) officers nationwide, instructing them to submit their Immovable Property Return for the year 2023 by January 31 next year.
The written note, circulated at the beginning of the week to Chief Secretaries and the Director General of Police (DGP) of all state governments and Union Territories (UTs), underscores the requirement for IPS officers to file their Immovable Property Return online by January 31, 2024, using the official portals https://ips.gov.in or https://sparrow-ips.eoffice.gov.in. The directive, titled “Online filing of Immovable Property Return (IPR)-2023 by IPS officers,” was issued on December 11, stressing compliance with Rule 16 (2) of All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.
The note clarifies that as per Rule 16, every IPS officer must submit their Immovable Property Return (IPR) for the previous year ending December 31 by January 31 of each year. A provided ‘User Manual’ is available on the welcome page of SPARROW (Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window) to assist officers in filling out the online IPR.
To ensure authenticity, the note specifies that the online IPR for 2023 must be authenticated using the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) already issued under SPARROW. It emphasizes that Immovable Property Returns submitted in any other form will not be accepted.
Failure to submit the IPR online within the stipulated time limit will result in the denial of vigilance clearance, as per the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Office Memorandum No.104/76/2022-AVD.IA dated September 28, 2022. The note also highlights that timely submission of IPR is mandatory for appointments at the next level of pay in the pay matrix, in accordance with the DoPT notification dated December 30, 2021.
The MHA note concludes by stating that no requests for the condonation of delays in filing IPR will be entertained by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It urges strict compliance with the instructions and encourages the wide circulation of these directives to all concerned officers. Any difficulties in accessing the IPR module through SPARROW should be reported to [email protected] or [email protected], according to the note.
