Rule 18 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 18 says the Chairperson and every other Member of the Data Protection Board of India receive the salary and allowances, and have the terms of service, set out in the Fifth Schedule. The Schedule has nine paragraphs, from a consolidated monthly salary to conflict of interest and the meaning of "pay matrix".
Rule 18 is in the group that, under rule 1(2), comes into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. The Fifth Schedule gives the Chairperson a consolidated salary of rupees four lakh fifty thousand per month and every other Member rupees four lakh per month, both without the facility of house and car. There is no pension or gratuity, no sitting fee and no sumptuary allowance. Allowances are tied to levels 17 (Chairperson) and 15 (Member) of the pay matrix.
Rule 18 and the Act
The Act's sections on the Board deal with its composition and the terms of its Members; this rule, with the Fifth Schedule, prescribes the salary, allowances and other terms of service of the Chairperson and Members. See Sections 22 to 26 of the DPDP Act: Board members, officers and the Chairperson, Sections 19 to 21: composition, terms and disqualification and Section 18: establishment of the Board. Rule 18 reads in full: "The Chairperson and every other Member shall receive such salary and allowances and shall have such other terms and conditions of service as are specified in Fifth Schedule."
Commencement: rule 1(2) puts rules 1, 2 and 17 to 21 in force "on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette". The Gazette is dated 13 November 2025. The Fifth Schedule has no commencement line of its own and follows rule 18; see rules 1 and 2. How the Chairperson and Members are chosen is in rule 17.
Readers who want to know how the Board is structured before a matter reaches it can take a short legal consultation.
The nine paragraphs at a glance
| Para | Subject | Chairperson | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salary | Rupees four lakh fifty thousand per month, consolidated | Rupees four lakh per month, consolidated |
| 2 | Provident Fund | Eligible to contribute to the Board's Provident Fund | Same |
| 3 | Pension and gratuity | Not entitled | Not entitled |
| 4 | Travelling allowance | As for level 17 of the pay matrix | As for level 15 |
| 5 | Medical assistance | Group health insurance scheme of the Board | Same |
| 6 | Leave | Sanctioned by the Central Government | Sanctioned by the Chairperson |
| 7 | Leave travel concession | As for level 17 | As for level 15 |
| 8 | Other terms | Conflict of interest and others | Same |
| 9 | Definition | "pay matrix" | Same |
Paragraph 1: salary
The Chairperson is "entitled to receive a consolidated salary of rupees four lakh fifty thousand per month, without the facility of house and car". Every Member other than the Chairperson gets "a consolidated salary of rupees four lakh per month, without the facility of house and car". "Consolidated" means one figure and "without the facility of house and car" means no official house or car.
Paragraph 2: Provident Fund
Each "shall be eligible to contribute to the Provident Fund of the Board", on terms that "shall, mutatis mutandis, be the same as those applicable to other officers and employees of the Board". The Fund's terms are not in the Rules.
Paragraph 3: no pension or gratuity
"The Chairperson and every other Member shall not be entitled to payment of pension or gratuity for service rendered in the Board." This is a plain exclusion.
Paragraph 4: travelling allowance
Sub-paragraph (1) gives journey allowance, daily allowance and reimbursement of expense on transportation of personal effects, "while on transfer to join the Board, or on the expiry of her term with the Board for proceeding to her home town with family ..., or on tour within India". The scales are those of "an officer of the Central Government in the following level of the pay matrix": (a) level 17 for the Chairperson; (b) level 15 for every other Member.
Sub-paragraph (2): tours outside India only "in accordance with guidelines or instructions issued by the Central Government", with the same allowances as an officer of the Central Government at level 17 (Chairperson) or level 15 (Member).
Paragraph 5: medical assistance
Sub-paragraph (1): such medical assistance as is admissible "under any group health insurance scheme of the Board for officers and employees of the Board and their eligible dependants". Sub-paragraph (2): a Chairperson or Member who has retired from Government service, a public sector entity or a body corporate established by a Central, Provincial or State Act, and for whom there is a separate set of medical rules, may opt, "in lieu" of sub-paragraph (1), to be governed by those rules.
Paragraph 6: leave
- (1) The sanctioning authority is the Central Government for the Chairperson and the Chairperson for any other Member.
- (2) Leave of the kinds admissible to a Government servant under the rules of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 cited in the paragraph.
- (3) Leave is subject to the conditions under the rules of the Leave Rules cited, and the Central Government may relax a rule by order where it causes undue hardship in a particular case.
- (4) Casual leave to the extent admissible to a Government servant under instructions of the Central Government.
- (5) Encashment of earned leave under the Leave Rules provisions cited, subject to a maximum of "fifty per cent. of the earned leave standing to her credit" under any of the rules other than rule 38-A.
The paragraph cites rule numbers of the 1972 Leave Rules (for example rules 26, 27, 29, 30, 40 to 43-C, 7 to 11, 22 to 25, 38-A, 39 and 39-A and 39-C). They are quoted by name and number only; this article does not describe what is inside them.
Paragraph 7: leave travel concession
Sub-paragraph (1): admissible "in accordance with the provisions applicable to persons appointed to civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union of India" under rule 3, clauses (a) and (d) of rule 4, rules 5 to 15 and rule 17 of the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988, with the entitlement of level 17 officers for the Chairperson and level 15 for a Member. Sub-paragraph (2): either leave travel concession to home town or to any place in India in any period of two years "from the date of assumption of their office as a Member".
Drafting slip: sub-paragraph (2) says "as a Member" though it applies to the Chairperson too. It is quoted as printed.
Paragraph 8: other terms
- (1) Conflict of interest. Each "shall ensure absence of conflict of interest in the performance of the functions of her office and shall not have any such financial or other interests as are likely to prejudicially affect the performance of the functions of such office".
- (2) Discipline rules. Part IV to Part IX of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, as applicable to an officer of the Central Government who is a member of a Central Civil Services, Group 'A', apply mutatis mutandis.
- (3) Sitting fee. Not entitled to any sitting fee for attending Board meetings.
- (4) Sumptuary allowance. Not entitled.
- (5) Unprovided matters. Referred to the Central Government, whose decision "shall be final".
Paragraph 9: "pay matrix"
"Pay matrix" means the pay matrix specified in Annexure I to the Central Government's Resolution published in the Official Gazette vide Notification number 1-2/2016-IC, dated the 25th July, 2016. That Resolution is quoted by number and date; nothing from inside it is described here.
Why it matters to businesses
These terms govern the people who will decide complaints against Data Fiduciaries. Paragraph 8(1) puts a duty to avoid conflict of interest on each Member, and the Board's own meeting rules deal with a Member's interest in an item of business; see rule 19. The terms of the Board's officers and employees are in the Sixth Schedule; see rule 21. Later amendments and notifications should be checked.
Need help understanding Board proceedings?
If you expect to appear before the Board, knowing its structure and procedure helps. Speak to our legal team about preparing for a complaint or inquiry.
Key takeaways
- Rule 18 comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette (rule 1(2)); the Fifth Schedule follows it.
- Salary: rupees four lakh fifty thousand per month (Chairperson) and rupees four lakh per month (Member), consolidated, without house and car.
- No pension or gratuity; no sitting fee; no sumptuary allowance.
- Allowances follow level 17 (Chairperson) and level 15 (Member) of the pay matrix.
- Each must ensure absence of conflict of interest.
- Unprovided matters go to the Central Government, whose decision is final.
- Later amendments and notifications should be checked.
Read next
- Rule 17: Search-cum-Selection Committees and appointment
- Rule 19: meetings of the Board
- Rule 21 and the Sixth Schedule: officers and employees of the Board
- Sections 22 to 26 of the DPDP Act: Board members, officers and the Chairperson
Disclaimer: Based on the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 as notified in the Gazette of India on 13 November 2025 (G.S.R. 846(E)), as consulted on 2 October 2026. The Rules come into force in three stages under rule 1; later amendments, notifications and anything published by the Data Protection Board of India should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.