This document provides guidance on official noting in the Pakistani civil service. It defines a note, outlines when noting is required and its structure. A note summarizes a case being considered by senior officers, presents various aspects clearly, and recommends a course of action. Good noting is objective, concise and properly documented, while bad noting contains irrelevant details, inaccuracies or personal views. Notes follow a standard format and undergo reviews to ensure quality.

1. OFFICIAL
NOTING

2. 1. Introduction.
2. Definition of a note.
3. When note is required.
4. When note is not required.
5. Requirement of a note.
6. Objective of a note.
7. Advantages of noting.

3. 8. Structure of a note:
a) First Part
b) Second Part
c) Third Part
9. Good noting.
10. Bad noting.
11. Checks and counter checks.

4. INTRODUCTION
Note is the minutes recorded on the note
portion of the file to settle a matter while
remaining in the framework of Rules and
Regulations. A note is initiated usually by a
grade 17 Officer in the Federal secretariat on
file describing the case which is under
consideration. Two or three alternatives can be
proposed to settle the issue. In other words, a
note is a statement of facts describing the issue
under consideration, suggesting course of
action to reach a decision.

5. DEFINITION
A note means an officer's views in
writing on a file within a prescribed
procedural framework to facilitate the
high ups to decide the case under
consideration.

6. WHEN NOTING IS REQUIRED
Whenever a condition arises that a matter is
to be decided by Senior Officer, a note is recorded in
file. It is always prepared within certain procedural
framework such as:
i) It should clearly state the point
under consideration.
ii) Brief background of the case may
also be given in order to highlight the facts of
the case.

7. iii) Mis-statement of facts, if any,
should also be pointed out
while writing a note.

8. iv) After a brief description of the
facts of the case, the Rules /
Regulations that are applicable in the
case under consideration are
mentioned. A copy of the relevant
Rules is often placed in the
correspondence portion.

9. v) Relevant precedents may also
be quoted, if available.
vi) In the final portion of a note,
the points for decisions are
highlighted again and course
of action is suggested. In this
regard you may propose a few
alternates and suggest the best
course of action.

10. WHEN NOTING IS NOT REQUIRED
No noting is required when the officer
himself is competent to dispose of a matter
under certain clear cut instructions, orders
or delegated powers.
Similarly when a case is already decided
by a senior officer and he has asked for a draft
reply, the noting is not required unless there is
any point which has been escaped from the
notice of the senior officer.

11. REQUIREMENT OF A
NOTE
1. All notes are written on the
note sheet and no note should be
recorded on the receipt itself.
2. If a higher officer has given some
minutes on the receipt, these should
be copied out on the note sheet
before subsequent notes are recorded.

12. 3. The officer recording the
note should affix his signature
on the right side of the note sheet
where the note ends. His / her
name,designation and date
should also be typed or rubber
stamped below his / her
signature.

13. OBJECTIVE OF A NOTE
A note is written to assist the
competent authority to decide a matter
easily. It helps the seniors to study the
whole picture of a case as portrayed by
the junior officers. The decision of the
matter is the end point of a note. A well
written note leads to correct decision
and a badly composed note may lead to
confusion, wastage of time and
ultimately to a bad or wrong decision.

14. ADVANTAGES OF NOTING
a. It presents the various aspects of a
matter in a clear perspective and
bring out pros and cons of the point
under consideration.
b. It put down the views of the writer
in black and white and records the
precise reason for adopting a
particular course of action
considered to be the best out of all
possible courses.

15.
c. A note is a record of discussion
leading to a particular decision. It
can be used as precedent for
future references.
d. Recorded notes help in understanding
reasons for a particular decision, and
in finding out, at what level the
decision was taken.
e. Responsibility for a particular
decision can be fixed on the bases of
recorded note.

16.
f. Note enables people who come
afterwards to pick up the tasks
where others left.
g. A note is a historical record and
source of information for the
coming officials.

17. STRUCTURE OF A NOTE
A note has three main parts:
1. First Part: It gives the brief introduction
of the case under consideration.
2. Second Part: Main points. Mis-statement
of facts if any. Relevant rules, policy of govt.
precedents if any.
3. Third Part: Third part is the conclusion.
It may be in the form of a proposal or
recommendation or suggestion.

18. QUALITIES OF GOOD NOTING
a. Paragraphs of a note should be
numbered continuously from the
beginning onwards.
b. It should be temperate, objective
and free from personal remarks.
c. It should embody all the relevant
material about a case concisely, but
should not repeat facts,
arguments, words and phrases.

19.
d. There should be sequence in
narration. The points which should
be stated in the beginning must be
so stated and those which should
appear in the end, must come at
the end. A disjoined statement
of facts will confuse the reader.
e. The expression should be clear,
precise and simple.

20. f. It should be properly documented and
referenced.
g. All previous papers, precedents, rules
and regulations orders, etc. which are
relied upon in a note, should, as far as
possible, be put up with it, and
referenced.

21. BAD NOTING
1. Reproduction of PUC or FR
should be avoided. The case under
consideration should be explained
briefly in your own words.
2. Un-necessary details and
information contribute to bad
noting.

22.
3. Incorrect statement and
unauthenticated facts lead to wrong
decision and therefore adds to bad
noting.
4. Personal biases and prejudices
makes a note bad.
5. Use of flowery language, long
sentence and foreign words are
considered bad noting.

23. CHECKS AND COUNTER CHECKS
1. Read the P.U.C. carefully. It will
help you to understand the
procedure to be adopted for
settling a matter.
2. Know the facts of the case.
Your personal interest in
the case will help you to find
out any misstatement of
facts or data.

24. 3. Review the pertinent files,
relevant to the case and search out
the Rules / Regulations that are
applicable in the case.
4. The policy of the Government
should also be kept in mind
while writing a note.

25.
5. Do not forget to mention the
misstatement of facts or data if any
in you note.
6. Review grammar, spelling and
punctuation marks of your note
before signing it.
7. Make sure that the file is
properly referenced and flagged
before its submission to the
higher officer.

26. SPECIMEN OF NOTE
 56. Ministry of Law, Justice & Human
Rights vide FR have requested for posting of
Mr. Muhammad Naeem, Section Officer,
Establishment Division for posting in Provincial
Program Management Unit’s (PPMU) of
Punjab on deputation basis for a period of
three years.
 57. It is pointed here that Ministry of Law,
Justice & Human Rights have earlier requested
for nomination of OMG officers for posting in
PPMUs of Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan
under Access to Justice Program on
deputation basis.

27.  58. The nomination of Mr. Muhammad
Naeem, Section Officer, Establishment
Division was forwarded to Ministry of Law,
Justice & Human Rights for posting in PPMU,
Punjab on deputation basis.
 59. It is submitted here that Mr.
Muhammad Naeem was appointed as
Section Officer in 1999. The officer remained
posted in the Cabinet Division, Finance
Division and Establishment Division. He has
not availed any posting/appointment on
deputation during his entire service. He is
also desirous for posting in Lahore due to
some domestic problems.

28.  60. It is stated here that the officer can be
posted on deputation basis on standard terms
and conditions of deputation contained in
Establishment Division’s OM No. 1/13/87-R-I,
dated 3-12-1990.
 61. It is, proposed that as desired by
Ministry of Law, Justice & Human Rights we
may place the services of Mr. Muhammad
Naeem, Section Officer, Establishment Division
at their disposal for further posting in PPMU
Punjab on deputation basis.
 62. Submitted for approval of JS (Admn).
(Muhammad Ijaz Ghani)
Section Officer (OMG-II)
DS (OMG)