Provided that all official correspondence addressed to Government officers in the Federal Government or the Government of the other States in the Federation may be by letters and a Head of Department may communicate directly on matters of purely departmental concern with an official of the same status as himself in the Federal Government or the Government of the other States in the Federation, but a copy of such correspondence shall be forwarded to the State Secretary for his information.

(2) Communications from officers to the Government on personal matters shall be by letter.

(3) In the case of papers being forwarded, a covering communication of a purely formal character may be dispensed with and all periodical returns and reports may be transmitted without any accompanying memorandum, unless it is necessary to submit comments thereon which cannot be conveniently endorsed on the papers, returns or reports themselves.

(4) Except as is otherwise provided for in this Chapter, the provisions of this General Order shall not preclude semi-official correspondence between individual officers:

Provided that such semi-official correspondence shall be regarded as official documents for the purpose of filing, reference, etc.