The Union Ministry of Finance on Saturday said that the salaries of some government employees will be temporarily delayed due to “procedural issues”.

After a leaked copy of the ministry’s June 18 order started doing the rounds on social media and sparked concerns that salaries of lakhs of central government employees will be delayed, the Centre clarified that it only applied to one particular office. The ministry also urged the public to not circulate the order.

“It has been brought to notice that an internal Confidential Office Order pertaining to the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance is being circulated in various social media platforms,” the statement said. “It is clarified and informed that the Department of Expenditure’s order dated June 18, 2019, relating to the disbursal of salary for the month of June 2019 is applicable to only an attached office under the Department of Expenditure namely, the O/o Controller General of Accounts and the officials working in the PFMS [Public Financial Management System] Project Cell and is temporary in nature to avoid exceeding the Vote on Account limit.”

The government statement also cautioned against the circulation of the order. “The general public is also forewarned and cautioned not to circulate the order since it is confidential in nature and may attract punitive actions under the applicable legal provisions.”

The order will affect nearly 200 employees, The Times of India reported, citing sources. They will receive their salaries after the Budget is presented on July 5 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Employees usually receive their salaries by June 30. “It is only a procedural issue and does not affect all the employees,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying.