Travelling Allowance Rules for Govt. Employees: Travelling Allowance for Government Employees is also one of the important allowances provided by government to its employees.
Travel Allowance is paid to employees of both government and public (PSU) sectors. But in this article we are going to give detailed information about Travelling Allowance Rules in the context of government employees.
Travelling allowance is not the part of the employee’s salary. This is not available to the employee unless he has not made any official travel. That is, it is a compensatory allowance as per Travelling Allowance Rules. It is a reimbursement system on travel expenses while on official duty.
According to Travelling Allowance Rules, two types of expenses are paid to the Government employees. One is payment against expenses incurred in commuting i.e. Travelling expenses and the other is payment in lieu of expenditure on food and accommodation while on duty.
The payment against both these expenses is often called TA/DA Allowance.
Also read- >Dearness Allowance for Government Employees >Transport Allowance for Central Government Employees
So let us know in more detail what are Travelling Allowance Rules for Govt. Employees and what are TA / DA. Also we have given here Travelling Allowance rules pdf. You can download and save it in your phone/system.
Travelling Allowance Bill Format in word / pdf – Travelling allowance bill for tour
Travelling Allowance Rules and Definition of Travelling Allowance for Central Government Employees?
When a government employee goes on an official journey, the allowance that is available to spend on the entire journey is called Travelling Allowance.
He gets this allowance as reimbursement. That is, when that employee completes his official journey, he has to submit a Travelling Allowance Bill duly filled all details of the journey, in his respective office.
On the basis of that bill submitted, the expenditure incurred by the employee is reimbursed according to his eligibility.
Sometimes if needed, that employee can also apply for Travelling Allowance Advance and after the completion of the journey, the final settlement of his bill is done.
Daily Allowance in Travelling Allowance Rules for Government Employees
If an employee is on an official trip and he needs to stay there to complete his duty, then he can book a hotel to stay and the accommodation charges will be reimbursed as per his/her eligibility.
Also he is eligible for getting reimbursement towards expenses on food and travelling within the city.
Thus, according to Travelling Allowance Rules for Government Employees, Daily Allowance means reimbursement for hotel accommodation / guest house, Taxi charges and food bills.
Entitlement of Daily Allowances on Tour
As per 7th Pay Commission Travelling Allowance Rules, the entitlement of Daily Allowance on Tour and Travelling allowance rates 7th pay commission is as below-
| Pay Level in Pay Matrix | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| 14 and above | Reimbursement for hotel accommodation / guest house of up to Rs.7,500/- per day, Reimbursement of AC taxi charges as per actual expenditure commensurate with official engagements for travel within the city and Reimbursement of food bills not exceeding Rs.1200/- per day. |
| 12 and 13 | Reimbursement for hotel accommodation /guest house of up to Rs.4,500/- per day, Reimbursement of AC taxi charges of up to 50 km per day for travel within the city, Reimbursement of food bills not exceeding Rs.1000/- per day. |
| 9 to 11 | Reimbursement for hotel accommodation/guest house of up to Rs.2,250/- per day, Reimbursement of non-AC taxi charges of up to Rs.338/- per day for travel within the city, Reimbursement of food bills not exceeding Rs.900/- per day. |
| 6 to 8 | Reimbursement for hotel accommodation/guest house of up to Rs.750/- per day, Reimbursement of non-AC taxi charges of up to Rs.225/- per day for travel within the city, Reimbursement of food bills not exceeding Rs.800/- per day. |
| 5 and below | Reimbursement for hotel accommodation/guest house of up to Rs.450/- per day, Reimbursement of non-AC taxi charges of up to Rs.113/- per day for travel within the city, Reimbursement of food bills not exceeding Rs.500/- per day. |
Reimbursement of Hotel Expenses
As per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission and new Travelling Allowance Rules, the process of claiming hotel expenses has been simplified with effect from 1st July 2017.
Now government employees of Pay Level 8 and below need not submit vouchers along with Travelling Allowance claim for reimbursement of hotel expenses.
They only have to clearly mention the duration of stay, name of the hotel etc. in the self-attested Travelling Allowance claim.
Also, for all officers up to Pay Level 8, the hotel expenditure limit for stay in ‘X’ class cities is maximum Rs 1,000 per day. But for its reimbursement, the employee will have to present a hotel bill / voucher.
Reimbursement of Travel Expenses
Similar to reimbursement of Accommodation Charges, travel expenses for officers of Pay Level 8 and below can be paid only on the basis of self-certified claim without producing vouchers.
The duration of the journey, vehicle number etc. should be clearly mentioned in the self-certified claim.
The limit for Pay Level 11 and below will be increased by 25 percent if DA is increased by 50 percent.
An additional allowance of Rs.12/- per kilometer will be payable for travelling on foot. This allowance will also be increased by 25 percent when the DA is increased by 50 percent.
Reimbursement of food expenses
There is no provision for separate reimbursement of food bills under Daily Allowance. Instead a government employee claiming TA is given a lump sum amount as reimbursement of food expenses.
This lump sum amount varies according to the pay level. The amount of reimbursement will also depend on the period of absence of that employee from his/her headquarters.
Time Restriction for being absent from Headquarters
Counting of absence from Headquarters will be done from midnight to midnight and will be counted on daily basis.
Now let us understand this with an example-
According to TA Rules, Lump sum amount under Pay Level 8 is Rs.800 per day.
Now an employee whose Pay Level is 8 and he goes on an official visit at 10:00 am and comes back to his headquarters at 6:00 pm in the evening. Thus he remained absent from his headquarters for 8 hours.
So he will get reimbursement amount for food expenses as DA is 70% of Rs 800 = Rs 560.
He will not be required to produce any voucher for reimbursement of food expenses.
Travelling Allowance Rules on Transfer
If a government employee is transferred from one office to another, then he will be eligible for Travelling Allowance on transfer. There are four types of components in the Transfer Travelling Allowance –
Travel entitlement for self and family
Under this part of reimbursement, the expenditure incurred in travelling from the current place of posting to the new place of posting during the transfer is included.
The employee is eligible for the reimbursement of expenses incurred in travelling for self and his family.
Composite Transfer and packing Grant (CTG)
When the new place of posting of the employee is located more than 20 kms from the place of present place of posting, the employee is paid CTG at the rate of 80% of his basic pay at the time of transfer.
But in case of transfer to island areas of Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep or transfer from those areas to other part of the country, CTG is paid at the rate of 100% of his basic pay at the time of transfer.
If the distance from the old station to the new station is less than 20 kms or if both the locations are within the same city, then only one third of the CTG will be reimbursed. But this is also a condition that the employee has actually changed his place of residence.
What happens if husband and wife both are Government servants and both are transferred? In this situation, if the first one is transferred and the other is transferred within six months but after 60 days, then fifty percent of the CTG will be paid to that government servant who are transferred latter.
If both the transfers take place within 60 days, no transfer grant will be admissible to the subsequently transferred spouse. The existing provisions will continue to apply in case of transfers after a period of six months or more.
Transportation of personal effects
Here personal effects mean household items. Hence, under this reimbursement of expenses incurred in the transportation of household items is done. It is reimbursed to government employees as per the rates given in the table below-
Travelling allowance rates per km-
| Level | By Steamer/Train | By Road |
|---|---|---|
| 12 and above | 6000 kg by goods train/4 wheeler wagon/1 double container | Rs.50/- km |
| 6 to 11 | 6000 kg by goods train/4 wheeler wagon/1 single container | Rs.50/- km |
| 5 | 3000 kg | Rs.25/- km |
| 4 and below | 1500 kg | Rs.15/- km |
The rates will further rise by 25 percent whenever DA increases by 50 percent. The rates for transporting the entitled weight by Steamer will be equal to the prevailing rates prescribed by such transport in ships operated by Shipping Corporation of India.
The claim for reimbursement shall be admissible subject to the production of actual receipts/ vouchers by the Govt servant. Production of receipts/vouchers ts mandatory in r/o transfer cases of North Eastern Region, Andaman & Nicobar lslands and Lakshadweep also.
Transportation of personal effects by road is as per kilometer basis only. the purpose of transportation of personal effects is done away with.
Transportation of conveyance
Under this, reimbursement is made for the expenses incurred in the transportation of personal vehicles of the employee.
| Level | Reimbursement |
|---|---|
| 6 and above | 1 motor car etc or 1 motor cycle/scooter |
| 5 and below | 1 motorcycle/scooter/moped/bicycle |
Travelling Allowance Rules on Retirement
Travelling Allowance of Retirement Employees also includes the same 4 components as Travelling Allowance of Transferred Employees.
Travel entitlement for self and family
Except for international travel, it will also have the same travel entitlement as the travel entitlement of an employee on transfer.
Composite Transfer and packing Grant (CTG)
When an employee after retirement settles at a distance of 20 km or more from his last place of posting, he will be paid CTG at the rate of 80% of the basic salary of the previous month.
In the case of island territories of Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep, this payment will be made at the rate of 100% of the basic pay of the previous month.
No separate transfer incidentals and road mileage will be paid for travel between the old place of residence and the new place of residence and railway station / bus stand etc., in moving the retired employee to his new place of residence.
Employees who, after retirement, settle within a distance of less than 20 km from the last station of duty, may be paid one-third of the CTG subject to the condition that the change of residence is actually involved.
Transportation of personal effects
Its payment will be the same as it is paid on transfer of an employee.
Transport of conveyance
Its payment will be the same as it is paid on transfer of an employee.
Travelling Allowance Rules for Sportspersons
A Central Government employee is eligible for TA/DA if he is selected to participate in both indoor and outdoor games of national/international importance.
Within India he may be allowed to travel by First Class by train.
In the case of events of international importance held outside India, they may be entitled to travel by economy class by air.
If he goes to participate sport events of international importance held outside India, he may be entitled to travel by economy class by air.
Daily Allowance – Employees participating in sporting events are treated as on duty and as such they are entitled to daily allowance under the rules as on tour.
Travelling Allowance Rules for training at headquarters
When a Government servant is deputed for training at a Centre/Institute located at his headquarters station, the Government servant is not eligible for any traveling allowance or daily allowance whatever be the distance between his normal duty point and the centre/institutions to which they are deputed for training.
In such case that centres/institutions should be deemed to be his temporary headquarters during the period of training.
If the Government servant is sent on a day by the Training Institute to any other place at the same station for study/training etc. and he visits directly to that place from his residence, in such case he is not entitled for travelling allowance.
Difference between Transport Allowance and Travelling Allowance
Transport Allowance (TPTA) is a part of salary. This allowance is given to meet the expenses of travelling between office and residence. It is a fixed amount which is given to government employees every month.
It is provided to almost all government employees except in some cases.
Whereas Travelling Allowance is not a fixed amount to be received every month. In this way it is completely different from Transport Allowance. Travelling Allowance is only eligible for Government servants who have traveled for any official duty.
In this way, there is no need to make any claim for Transport Allowance and it is part of the salary. Whereas Travelling Allowance has to be claimed and it is not available until an official journey has been done.
Clarification on submission of Boarding Pass along with TA Bill
As per an OM of the Department dated 08.10.2014, if a Government servant makes a Travelling Allowance claim, he/she was required to produce a boarding pass to prove the authenticity of the journey that the journey was actually performed by the officer.
But according to another OM issued on 23rd June 2020 if a government employee is unable to submit the boarding pass along with the TA bill, then he can submit the self-declaration certificate in lieu of the boarding pass along with the TA bill.
Click here to see the OM dated 23.06.2020.
The proforma of self-declaration certificate along with OM was also issued by the department. If any officer is below the level of Under Secretary (Pay Level 10 and below) then this proforma is required to be countersigned by the controlling officer.
These instructions shall be applicable in respect of travel on tour undertaken by Central Government employees.
Submission of receipt or voucher for reimbursement of travelling charges within the city
If an employee is on official travel within the city, the travel charges have been determined under the Daily Allowance.
As per OM dated 13.07.2017, if a Government servant of Level 8 and below is on official journey within the city, he/she need not produce any receipt or voucher for reimbursement of travelling charges.
They were allowed to claim reimbursement of only self-certified travelling charges. Whereas employees of Level 9 and above were required to give vouchers for reimbursement of travelling charges.
But as per another OM issued by the department on 22nd December 2020, even the central government employees from level 9 to 11 will not have to produce receipt or voucher for claiming reimbursement of travelling charges for official travel done inside the city. .
Rather, these employees will also have to submit only a self-certified reimbursement claim for reimbursement of travelling charges in which details like duration of journey, vehicle number etc. have been given.
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Conclusion about Travelling Allowance Rules
According to Travelling Allowance Rules, government employees are given a certain amount of money as a traveling allowance when they have to travel for official work purposes. This allowance is meant to cover the costs of transportation, accommodation, and meals while the employee is traveling.
The amount of the allowance is determined by the government and may vary depending on Pay Level of officer, the distance of the travel and duration of absence from office.
In general, the allowance is intended to help make it easier for government employees to focus on their job responsibilities while travelling and not have to worry about the financial burden of the trip.
What is Travel Allowance for Central Government employees?
Travel Allowance (TA) is a reimbursement given to government employees for expenses incurred while on official trips.
Who is eligible for Travel Allowance in Central Government?
All Central Government employees are eligible for TA when on official trips.
What is the time limit for claiming Travel Allowance?
The time limit for claiming TA is 60 days from the date of return from the official trip.
What is the time-limit for claiming TA by retired employees?
Time limit for submission of claims for TA on Retirement is 180 days (six months), succeeding the date of completion of the journey.
TA/DA rules for JCM members to attend meetings for officers in level 8
Eligibility-
Travelling – Economy class by Air or AC-II by Train; DA – @800/- per day