Gratuity Eligibility.

Sir,
I joined a sofware company on 6th june 2005. My appointment letter tells that i am elgibile to gratuity if i serve the company for a minimum of 3 years. Offer letter was quoting a note that "This may vary depending on government rules and regulations in effect".
Now i have completed 3years and 6 months and just resigned for the company. Am i eligible for the gratuity. When i contact my HR they seem to tell i have to get information from the gratuity board on that.
Can someone help me in this issue?
Thanks
Prasad

Dear Prasad,
As per Payment of Gratuity Act, you are not eligible for gratuity. But as your appointment letter shows that you are eligible after 3 years, the matter is within you and the company. It may be a mistake done by the then HR personnels. If in the appointment letter it is worded as " you will be eligible for gratuity as per provisions of Payment of Gratuity Act", then 3 years can be understood as a clerical error. The qualifying phrases that " subject to government rules and regulations in this regard" support it. Your act of resigning from the company after 3 years cannot be taken as an act with an intention to get gratuity. On the other hand, if there is no mention of Gratuity Act, you can ask the management to give it and it is upto them to approach any government authority in this regard.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Sir,
Today i got an interesting mail from my HR people quoting that "Gratuity we will process and it will take 2 to 3 months." In my appointment letter nothing is worded like "you will be eligible for gratuity as per provisions of Payment of Gratuity Act", I just rechecked that.
In my appointment letter there is a column of gratuity amount, which was telling that it is a part of my cost to company (CTC).
My intention here is not to claim the gratuity amount,but how can it be a part of my CTC which i should get.
Is there any government gratuity board where all companies will deposit the gratuity amount on monthly basis or it is the responsible part of the company which should directly deliver there same amount after ones resignation and the person is qualified to get gratuity from the company.
Many thanks for the reply Madhu.
Thanks & Regards,
Prasad

There is no Gratuity Board like Provident Fund to which each employer should contribute. It is a payment made whenever an employee leaves. Since the amount of gratuity will vary according to length of service and amount of salary at the time of leaving, it is not practical to form a fund also.
The new style of pay slips show gratuity as part of CTC and deduct on monthly basis an amount from the CTC. If this is the case, the employer will be forced to refund it because, CTC shall be interpreted as gross salary payable and any amount deducted shall be paid back to the employee in the form of cash itself or in the form of facilities provided. Any deduction other than those refundable (like Provident Fund) and for facillities provided (house rent, medical facilities etc) shall be treated as unauthorised deduction.
Therefore, as communicated by the Hr, you may wait for 2 months. Please get back to us then.
Regards,
Madhu.T.K