The short answer
In “please find the same attached,” “the same” stands in for “it.” This is a real, historically attested legal-English pronoun — not a grammar mistake — but it is an archaic register that has almost vanished from everyday modern English elsewhere. Indian government offices, courts, and businesses kept using it, so it still appears constantly in circulars, RTI replies, and official letters.
Old-Fashioned vs. Modern
Old-Fashioned
Please find the same attached for your reference.
Modern English
Please find it attached for your reference.
Old-Fashioned
Kindly acknowledge receipt of the same.
Modern English
Kindly acknowledge receipt of this.
Old-Fashioned
The report is ready. Please review the same at the earliest.
Modern English
The report is ready. Please review it at the earliest.
Old-Fashioned
We have dispatched the goods; please confirm receipt of the same.
Modern English
We have dispatched the goods; please confirm you've received them.
Why Do People Say It?
“The same” belongs to the same family as “do the needful,” “your good self,” and “kindly intimate” — formal vocabulary from British colonial-era legal and administrative English that travelled to India through 19th-century government correspondence. In legal drafting, “the same” was originally used to avoid the ambiguity of a pronoun like “it” across long, multi-clause sentences. Once fixed in the formal register of Indian offices, courts, and legal filings, it kept getting reused and taught long after Britain itself moved on to plainer, more direct writing.
Open almost any Indian government circular, RTI reply, or court judgment today and “the same” still appears where modern English would simply say “it” — this is not a mistake, it is a genuinely surviving fossil of the same formal legal register.
Exam tip
In IELTS Writing (formal letters and emails) and in modern professional correspondence, replace “the same” with the ordinary pronoun the sentence calls for — “it,” “this,” or “them.” Examiners mark it as outdated, non-standard register — not as a grammar error, but as a fluency and naturalness deduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'please find the same' grammatically wrong?+
No — 'the same' used as a pronoun for a previously mentioned noun is a real, historically attested feature of legal and formal English. It is grammatically correct, but it is an archaic register that has almost disappeared from everyday modern English outside Indian government, legal, and office correspondence.
Why do Indian offices say 'please find the same' instead of 'please find it'?+
It is a holdover from British colonial-era legal and administrative English, where 'the same' routinely replaced 'it', 'this', or 'that' to avoid ambiguity in formal documents. Britain and other English-speaking countries moved on to plainer modern pronouns, but Indian offices, courts, and government departments kept the older formal register, so it remains a fixture of circulars, RTI replies, and official letters.
What should I write instead of 'the same' in modern English?+
Use the ordinary pronoun the sentence actually calls for — 'it', 'this', or 'them' — instead of 'the same'. 'Please find it attached' and 'kindly acknowledge receipt of this' are both standard in modern formal English, including IELTS Writing and international business correspondence.
Read Next
Why Is 'Vide Letter No...' Old-Fashioned?
A Latin cross-reference word kept alive in Indian government letters
Why Is 'Kindly Intimate' Old-Fashioned?
The sibling colonial-office verb — 'inform' dressed up in formal Raj-era English
Why Is 'Your Good Self' Old-Fashioned?
A formal-register phrase overused in Indian English
Why Is 'Do the Needful' Wrong?
Another colonial-era Indian office-English phrase
IELTS Writing Grammar Guide
Band 7+ rules for formal register and word choice