APAR 2025-26 Guidelines Issued for Civilian Officers and Staff of AFHQ Cadre – Ministry of Defence Order No. A/48052/Al/2025-26/CAO/APAR Cell dated 25 May 2026
No. A/48052/Al/2025-26/CAO/APAR Cell
25 May 2026
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Office of the JS & CAO
INSTRUCTION ON RENDITION OF ANNUAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORT APAR) IN RESPECT OF CIVILIAN OFFICERS AND STAFF (INCLUDING MTS ETC BELONGING TO AFHQ CADRE FOR THE PERIOD 01 APR 2025 TO 31 MAR 2026
Introduction
1. An Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR) is a two-tier system of reporting except where there is only one supervisory level above the Officer Reported Upon (e.g. Steno Cadre etc and some exceptional cases of reporting channel) which provides the basic and vital inputs for assessing the performance of an officer (Ratee) and their advancement in their career and also for judging their fitness for promotion, confirmation and grant of MACP etc. The main focus of the Reporting Officer should be developmental, rather than judgemental. From the Reporting Period 2008-2009, it has been decided to communicate the full APAR to the concerned Officer after the report is complete.
Periodicity
2. The APAR year coincides with the financial year, i.e. 01% Apr of any year to 31st Mar of the succeeding year. Normally, only one APAR is required to be raised covering the complete reporting year. However, there may be occasions, like transfer of the Ratee or Reporting Officer/Reviewing Officer during the course of any APAR year, when more than one APAR may have to be written. It is, however, mandatory that Reporting Officer as well as the Reviewing Officer should have observed the Ratee’s performance for at least three months’ (90 days) during the course of the relevant reporting year. The period of three months, however, does not include leave for a period of more than 15 days availed at a time. In case, the period of APAR report is more than 90 days, but the Ratee has not served under any Officer for a minimum period of 03 months (90 days), a ‘No Report Certificate’ (NRC) may be raised in lieu of the APAR for that period.
3. Any shortcomings of a Ratee Officer should be brought to his/her notice in writing and he/she should be given adequate opportunity to improve upon by appropriate counselling/training during the course of the reporting year before any adverse remarks/below benchmark numerical gradings are recorded in his/her APAR at the end of the year. The Reporting/Reviewing Officer should refrain from recording adverse remarks that cannot be substantiated by documentary proof, as it leads to unwanted legal consequences and are also viewed seriously by the Courts.
4. Blank APAR forms for the period 2025-26 in respect of Civilian Officers and Staff (including MTS etc) is being issued by the concerned Admin Sections. Timelines for completing of various activities related to recording and completion of APAR for the year 2025-26 is specified in Appendix ‘A’.
Important points to be kept in view while raising APAR
5. The following important points may be kept in view while raising the APARs to avoid infructuous correspondence on the subject:-
(a) The name and designation of the Ratee Officer should be clearly written on top right hand corner of each page of the APAR form.
(b) All APARs should be written by the Reporting/Reviewing authorities concerned and there should not be any deviation from the already existing laid down Channel of Reporting.
(c) The completion of APAR is a public trust and responsibility. Therefore, writing the self-appraisal part of the APAR and timely submission of APAR to the Reporting Officer is the duty of the officer to be Reported Upon.
(d) The Reporting Officer should not delay the initiation of APAR for want of the self-appraisal from the Ratee Officer. In case, the Ratee does not submit the APAR form alongwith the self-appraisal by due date, the Reporting Officer should remind the Ratee in writing to submit the self-appraisal by a stipulated date. It should also be made clear in the reminder that if the Ratee fails to submit the self-appraisal by the stipulated date, the report will be written without self-appraisal. While endorsing the APAR, the Reporting Officer may point out the failure of the officer reported upon in submitting the self- appraisal within the stipulated time.
(e) No APAR should be initiated and reviewed by the same officer/officers of the same rank and designation.
(f) When there is no Reporting Officer having the requisite experience of at least 03 months (90 days), the Reviewing Officer himself/herself may initiate the report provided he/she has seen the work & conduct of the Ratee for at least three months. The report thus initiated will have to be reviewed by the officer immediately superior to the Reviewing Officer.
(g) Transfer of Reporting Officer. If the Reporting Officer is transferred in the middle of the reporting year, he/she should immediately write the APARs of his/her subordinates up to the date of his transfer, provided that the period is at least six months, and the reports should be submitted to the Reviewing Authority. The Reviewing Officer will retain the report in his/her custody and record his/her remarks in the reviewing portion at the end of the reporting year, taking into account the part report recorded earlier by the Reporting Officer.
(h) Transfer of Reviewing Officer. If the Reviewing authority is transferred not simultaneously with Reporting Officer, but after sometime, he/she will hand over such reports to his/her successor and the successor will review the reports if he/she happens to have three months’ experience. Otherwise, the previous reviewing authority will review the reports at the end of the year.
(j) Retirement of Reviewing Officer. If, a Reviewing Officer retires while there is no change in the Reporting Officer and the subsequent reviewing authority does not have three months’ experience of the work and conduct of the Ratee, the reviewing portion will be left blank with a suitable note, recorded therein. This note can be recorded by the new reviewing authority who could not review the report because he/she did not have minimum three months’ experience, or by the Reporting Officer himself/herself.
COMMENTS