Charge allowance and current duty

Full charge of a higher post draws Additional Post Allowance, at least 10 per cent of basic pay; current charge of routine duties draws nothing, under FR 49.

Updated 17 July 2026 · Reviewed by Salary-Calculator.in

Charge allowance and current duty are about the additional pay a government servant draws for holding the charge of another post besides their own. The subject turns on one sharp distinction: whether the employee holds the full charge of the other post’s duties, which is paid, or merely the current charge of its routine duties, which is not. The framework is Fundamental Rule 49 on the combination of appointments, and since the 7th CPC the old charge allowances have been replaced by a single consolidated Additional Post Allowance. This article explains the FR 49 framework, the full-charge and current-charge distinction, the abolition of the old allowances, the new Additional Post Allowance, the conditions on it, and the link to FR 35 officiating pay .

The framework: FR 49

Fundamental Rule 49, on the combination of appointments, empowers the Central Government to appoint a government servant already holding a post to officiate, as a temporary measure, in one or more other independent posts at the same time. It is the rule under which additional charge is given, and it is deliberately a short-term instrument: the government’s own instructions stress that FR 49 must be used only to meet short-term requirements and not to confer a promotion indirectly. The rule is also the source of the basic pay treatment, that full charge of a higher post is paid but current charge of routine duties is not, which is the heart of the subject.

Full charge versus current charge

Everything turns on the kind of charge held:

Full charge means being formally appointed to perform the whole of the duties of another post, including its statutory and decision-making functions, in addition to one’s own.
Current charge, or charge of the routine duties, means merely attending to the day-to-day routine work of a vacant post, without its full responsibilities.

The consequence for pay is decisive. Full charge of a higher or similar post draws the Additional Post Allowance, described below. Current charge of routine duties draws no additional pay at all, irrespective of the duration of the charge. Where only routine charge is intended, the office order should say so expressly, stating that the officer performs only routine day-to-day duties of a non-statutory nature and is entitled to no additional remuneration.

The old allowances, abolished

Before the 7th CPC, holding the charge of a higher post was rewarded through a set of departmental allowances. In the Railways, an officer who officiated on a higher post in administrative exigencies drew a charge allowance; the Railways also paid a dual charge allowance, and the Defence forces paid an acting allowance. The 7th CPC did not carry these as separate allowances, and they were abolished with effect from 1 July 2017, along with the general rationalisation of allowances that followed the Commission.

The Additional Post Allowance

In their place came a single, consolidated Additional Post Allowance for holding full charge of another post:

Full charge of a higher post. The employee draws the pay admissible if appointed to the higher post on a regular basis, or 10 per cent of the present basic pay a month, whichever is more beneficial, subject to the total of basic pay and Additional Post Allowance not exceeding the apex pay of Rs. 2,25,000.
Full charge of a post at a similar level. The employee draws 10 per cent of the present basic pay a month.

So the modern reward for holding full charge is either the higher post’s pay or a flat 10 per cent, and the old plethora of departmental charge allowances has been folded into this one head.

The conditions

The Additional Post Allowance is hedged with conditions that keep it a genuinely short-term measure:

it is admissible only if the additional charge exceeds 45 days;
a particular vacant post cannot be held in additional charge for more than one year;
a particular employee cannot hold such a charge for more than six months at a stretch; and
there must be a minimum gap of one year between two successive additional-charge appointments of the same employee.

Alongside these, the DoPT’s review of FR 49 laid down that the arrangement should not reach a post higher than the one next in hierarchy without the DoPT’s approval, that as far as possible the senior-most suitable officer in the lower post should be chosen, and that a person facing disciplinary proceedings or with an adverse recent APAR entry should not be given additional charge. All of this reinforces that additional charge is a stop-gap, not a route to advancement.

The link to FR 35 officiating pay

Where an employee holds full charge of a higher post, the pay for that charge is the officiating pay of the higher post, which is itself subject to the ceiling in FR 35 . The two rules therefore work together: FR 49 authorises the additional charge and its allowance, and FR 35 limits how far the pay for the higher post may rise. This is exactly why, in the Railways, the abolished charge allowance was replaced by FR 35 officiating pay for officers holding the charge of a higher post, tying the two threads of this subject together. In both, the underlying idea is that temporarily doing a higher job earns extra pay, but only within limits and only for genuine full charge, never for mere routine duties, and never as a substitute for a real promotion .

In force today

Additional pay for holding the charge of another post is governed by FR 49 on the combination of appointments. Full charge of the duties of a higher post draws the Additional Post Allowance, being the pay of the higher post on a regular basis or 10 per cent of basic pay a month, whichever is more, capped so that basic pay plus allowance does not exceed the apex pay of Rs. 2,25,000; full charge of a similar-level post draws 10 per cent of basic pay. Current charge, or charge of the routine duties, of another post draws no additional pay whatever its duration. The old charge allowance, acting allowance and dual charge allowance were abolished from 1 July 2017 and folded into the Additional Post Allowance. The allowance needs the charge to exceed 45 days, a post may be held for up to one year and an employee for up to six months at a stretch, with a one-year gap between successive charges. The pay for full charge of a higher post is officiating pay, subject to the FR 35 ceiling.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is charge allowance?

Charge allowance was the additional remuneration paid to a government servant, notably in the Railways, for holding the charge of a higher post in addition to their own, in administrative exigencies. After the 7th CPC it was abolished, along with the acting allowance in Defence and the dual charge allowance in the Railways, from 1 July 2017, and replaced by a single consolidated Additional Post Allowance for holding full charge of another post.

What is the difference between full charge and current charge?

Full charge means being formally appointed to perform the whole of the duties of another post, including its statutory and decision-making functions, in addition to one’s own. Current charge, or charge of the routine duties, means merely attending to the day-to-day routine work of a vacant post without its full responsibilities. The difference is decisive for pay: full charge of a higher or similar post draws the Additional Post Allowance, while current or routine charge draws no additional pay at all, whatever its duration.

How much is the Additional Post Allowance?

For holding full charge of the duties of a higher post, the Additional Post Allowance is the pay that would be admissible if the employee were appointed to the higher post on a regular basis, or 10 per cent of the present basic pay a month, whichever is more beneficial, subject to the total not exceeding the apex pay of Rs. 2,25,000. For holding full charge of a post at a similar level, the allowance is 10 per cent of the present basic pay a month.

Is any allowance paid for current charge of routine duties?

No. No additional pay or allowance is admissible to a government servant who is appointed to hold current charge, or the routine duties, of another post, irrespective of the duration of that additional charge. This is a long-standing rule under FR 49, and it continues under the Additional Post Allowance, so an employee asked merely to look after the routine work of a vacant post cannot claim any extra remuneration for it.

What are the time limits on holding additional charge?

The Additional Post Allowance is admissible only if the additional charge exceeds 45 days. A particular vacant post cannot be held in additional charge for more than one year, and a particular employee cannot hold such a charge for more than six months at a stretch. There must also be a minimum gap of one year between two successive additional-charge appointments of the same employee, so that the arrangement stays a short-term measure and does not become a back-door promotion.

What is FR 49?

Fundamental Rule 49, on the combination of appointments, is the rule that lets the Central Government appoint a government servant already holding a post to officiate, as a temporary measure, in one or more other independent posts at the same time. It is the framework under which additional charge of a higher or similar post is given, and the source of both the pay for full charge and the rule that current charge of routine duties carries no additional pay.

How does charge allowance relate to FR 35 officiating pay?

Where a government servant holds full charge of a higher post, the pay for it is the officiating pay of that post, which is itself subject to the ceiling in FR 35. So the two rules work together: FR 49 authorises the additional charge and the Additional Post Allowance, and FR 35 limits how far the pay for a higher post may rise. In the Railways, the abolished charge allowance was replaced by FR 35 officiating pay for exactly this reason.

External references

References

Fundamental Rule 49, combination of appointments: power of the Central Government to appoint a government servant already holding a post to officiate, as a temporary measure, in one or more other independent posts at one time, and the treatment of pay for full charge of a higher post.
Fundamental Rule 49(iv): no additional pay is admissible to a government servant appointed to hold current charge of the routine duties of another post, irrespective of the duration of the additional charge, as amended by the Department of Personnel and Training notification dated 12 June 2017.
Seventh Central Pay Commission and the Department of Expenditure resolution on allowances of 6 July 2017: abolition of the charge allowance, acting allowance and dual charge allowance as separate allowances with effect from 1 July 2017.
Department of Personnel and Training order on the Additional Post Allowance: for full charge of a higher post, the pay admissible on regular appointment to the higher post or 10 per cent of basic pay a month, whichever is more beneficial, subject to the apex pay of Rs. 2,25,000; for full charge of a similar-level post, 10 per cent of basic pay a month; with no allowance for current or routine charge, a minimum duration of 45 days, and the limits of one year for a post, six months for an employee, and a one-year gap between successive charges.
Department of Personnel and Training review of FR 49: additional charge to be a short-term measure that does not confer promotion, the senior-most suitable officer to be chosen, and additional charge not to be given to a person facing disciplinary proceedings or with an adverse recent APAR, with the pay for full charge of a higher post subject to the FR 35 ceiling.