(i.e, the place/office of employment) at his headquarters or return to it from a similar point.
NOTE:- The term “radius of eight kilometers” should be interpreted as meaning a distance of eight kilometers by the shortest practicable route by which a traveler can reach his destination by the ordinary modes of traveling.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDERS
(1) Regulation of Daily Allowance – Daily allowance for the entire absence from headquarters, i.e. starting with departure from headquarters and ending with arrival at headquarters, will be regulated as follows. Full daily allowance may be granted for each completed calendar day of absence reckoned from midnight to midnight. For absence from headquarters for less than twenty four hours, the daily allowance will be admissible at the following rates. :-
For absence not exceeding six hours Nil For absence exceeding six hours but
Not exceeding twelve hours 70% For absence exceeding twelve hours Full
2. In case the period of absence from headquarters falls on two days, it is reckoned as two days and daily allowance is calculated for each as above. The concept of twenty four hours is no longer operative. Similarly, daily allowance for days of departure from the arrival at headquarters, will also be regulated accordingly.
3. Where the second tour commences on the same day on which a Government servant returns from the first tour, each tour may be treated separately and daily allowance may also be calculated separately subject, of course, to the condition that daily allowance calculated separately for each tour on any calendar day shall not exceed one daily allowance (half daily allowance for local journeys).
4. The entire absence from headquarters will be reckoned in the following manner:- (i) Journeys by rail – With reference to the scheduled departure/arrival time of
the train from/at the railway station. However where the train is late by more than fifteen minutes, actual arrival time will be taken into account.
(ii) Journeys by bus – With reference to the actual departure/arrival time from/at the bus stand.
(iii) Journeys by air – With reference to scheduled reporting/arrival time from/at the airport. However, where the plane is late by more than fifteen minutes, actual arrival time will be taken into account.
[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19030/1/73-E IV (B), dated the 29th June, 1974; O.M. of even number, dated the 18th February, 1975, dated the 2nd July, 1975 and O.M. No. 19030/1/76-E. IV (B), dated the 30th January, 1978.]
(2) ‘Local Journey’ – (a) Definition : The phrase ‘ Local Journey’ shall be constructed to mean a journey within the municipal limits or city in which the duty point is located. It shall include journeys performed within the limits of suburban or other Municipalities, Notified Areas or Cantonments contiguous to the Municipality/Corporation of the town or city in which the duty point is located. Journeys within the limits of an urban agglomeration within which a Government Servant’s headquarters are located will also be treated as ‘local journey’.
[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. F. 1 (2)-E. IV (B)/66, dated the 29th March, 1967 and 31st July, 1967 and O.M. No. 19030/1/76-E. IV (B), dated the 30th January, 1978.]
(b) Regulation of T.A. : Traveling allowance for a local journey shall be admissible if the temporary place of duty is beyond 8 km from the normal place of duty irrespective of whether the journey is performed by the Government servant from his residence or from the normal place duty.
2. For local journeys a Government servant will draw, for journey involved, mileage allowance and in addition draw 50% of daily allowance calculated at the rates laid down in Order (1) above, i.e., where the absence from headquarters is for less than twelve hours but exceeding six hours and exceeding twelve hours at 35% and 50% respectively. He will be paid daily allowance even if the conveyance is provided free of charge for local journeys.
[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19030/1/73-E. IV (B), dated the 29th June, 1974 and No. 19030/1/76-E. IV (B), dated the 7th September, 1977 and the 30th January, 1978.]
D.A. is admissible at the ordinary rates only – See GIO (4) under SR 51.
(c) Option to claim either normal T.A. or conveyance hire charges for local journey beyond 8 km but within municipal limits – For local journey performed by a Government servant is public interest within municipal limits but exceeding 8 km, option may be made for the Government servant either to claim reimbursement of conveyance hire charges under the DFPRs or to claim traveling allowance under the normal T.A. Rules, vide GIO (1) under SR 89.
[G.I., M.F., U.O. No. 322-E II (A)/88, dated the 17th March, 1988.]
(d) Journeys between Faridabad Municipality and Delhi Municipality treated as ‘local journeys’ – Reference in invited to the provisions contained in Orders issued under SR 71, SR 116 and SR 147 wherein for the purposes of grant of T.A., ‘Local journey’, ‘Same station of duty’ and ‘last station of duty’ have been defined as follows. :-
(i) Local journey under SR 71 A journey within the municipal limits or city in which the duty point is located. It shall include journeys performed within the limits of suburban or other Municipalities, Notified Areas or Cantonments contiguous to the Municipality/Corporation of the town or city in which the duty point is located.
(ii)
(iii)
Same station of duty under SR 116.
Last station of duty under SR 147.
The area falling within the jurisdiction of the municipalities, notified areas or Cantonments as are contiguous to the named Municipality, etc., where the Government servant was posted immediately before his transfer/retirement.
2. Instances have been brought to the notice that through Faridabad Municipality is contiguous to Delhi Municipality, some Departments/Attached/Subordinate Offices of the Central Government have been treating journeys performed by their employees between Faridabad and New Delhi for various purposes referred to in Para. 1 above in contravention to the existing instructions under T.A. Rules. It is hereby clarified that since Faridabad Municipality is contiguous to the Municipality of Delhi, journeys between Faridabad Municipality and the Municipality of Delhi, should be treated as local journeys for purposes for grant of T.A. and the entitlement of T.A. for such journeys regulated strictly in acco
(3) D.A. for local journeys admissible up to 180 days – In cases of local tours also, daily allowance, at half rates, will be admissible up to 180 days.
[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19030/5/86-E. IV, dated the 12th December, 1986.]
(4) Special provision for journeys in Project areas – In the case of Project areas, journeys between two places falling within the qualifying limits of project allowance, if any admissible, should be treated as local journeys.
2. The traveling allowance for local journeys is less than that admissible for non-local journeys. For example, in the case of local journey to a point outside a radius of 8 kilometres from a duty point at the headquarters, daily allowance is admissible at one half of the rate fixed under SR. for ordinary places.
3. The application of the orders referred to above, to the Dandakaranya and other Projects is reported to have caused financial hardship to their employees, especially when a night halt is involved. In order to avoid hardship in such cases, it has been decided that the traveling allowance may be regulated as follows.:-
Where the tour does not involve camping elsewhere and does not prevent the government servant from returning to his residence at night.
Where the tour involves camping else where during night and the Government servant is not able to return to his residence during night.
Traveling allowance to be allowed as for local journey.
Traveling allowance to be allowed as for non-local journey.
[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19043/4/73-E. IV (B), dated 23rd July, 1973; dated the 24th June, 1974 and O.M. No. 19030/1/73-E. IV (B), dated the 18th February, 1975.]
AUDIT INSTRUCTION
The criterion for admitting daily allowance being whether any Government duty was performed at the outstation or not, no daily allowance should be allowed to Government servants simply for stopping at a place for rest or for catching the next available train on the following day or resuming their journey by road towards their destination in continuation of the previous day’s journey.
[Para 15 (II) of Manual of Audit Instructions (Reprint) as amended by Correction Slip No. 101, dated the 18th August, 1969.]
COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL’S DECISION
In view of the general responsibility of the controlling officer under Supplementary Rule 195, which is certainly not exhaustive, of the ways in which a superior officer can deal with improper claims, there would be no practical advantage, in or justification for Audit’s demanding, a formal certificate in terms of the Audit Instructions below this Rule which would in effect indicate merely that the controlling officer has carried out his duties, in a proper manner. In other words, for the purpose of audit, the countersignature on a bill is
sufficient evidence that a claim made under Supplementary rule has been scrutinized and accepted as administratively correct, and that an Audit Officer as such has no specific responsibility under the Audit Instruction quoted above.
[Ar. G’s endorsement No. T-93-Admn. 1/48-39, dated the 6th May, 1939.]
Halts on tour
S.R. 72 Subject to the conditions laid down in Rules 73 and 74, daily allowance may be drawn during a halt on tour on a holiday occurring during a tour.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA’S ORDERS
(1) Entitlement of D.A. on Sunday, holiday, casual leave and restricted holiday – The Government of India have decided to reaffirm the order -
(a) that a Government servant who takes casual leave or restricted holiday while on tour is not entitled to draw daily allowance during such leave; and.
(b) that daily allowance is not admissible for any day, whether Sunday or holiday, unless the officer is actually and not merely constructively in camp.
[G.I., F.D., F. 85/C.S.R./26, dated the 13th March, 1926 and No. F. 19 (33) – R.I./31, dated the 9th April, 1931 and G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 1 (14) – E. IV (B)/66, dated the 7th February, 1967.]
A question was raised whether daily allowance would be admissible to a Government servant under the provisions of Clause (b) in the following instances :-
(i) The Government servant, while on tour, left his place of halt at about 3.00 p.m. on a Sunday and returned the same evening at about 8.00 p.m.
(ii) The Government servant left his place of halt on Sundays and holidays in the morning and returned the same evening.
It has been decided that in the instances cited above, daily allowance can be allowed if the Controlling Officer is satisfied that the claimant actually spent at least a portion of the particular Sundays and holidays in camp.
[G.I., M.F., Letter No. 1938-E. IV (B)/56, dated the 17th August, 1956, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Finance (R) Department, copy endorsed to the Accountant General/Posts and Telegraphs under comptroller and Auditor General of India’s Endorsement No. 1212-A/205-56, dated the 27th August, 1956.]
(2) Daily allowance regulated with reference to place of official duty. – A Government servant whose headquarters were at Simla was on tour at Delhi and had his residence at Ghaziabad, a place outside the limits of Delhi. The question arose whether for the period of his halts on tour at Delhi, he could draw the enhanced rates of daily allowance applicable to Delhi or only the ordinary rates applicable to Ghaziabad and whether he should be allowed daily allowance at all for Sundays and holidays, on which he did not attend office. Daily allowance is a uniform allowance for each day of absence from headquarters and for
determining the rate of daily allowance on tour, the place of official duty only is usually taken as the criterion and not the actual place of residence. It was therefore decided that he may be allowed to draw the enhanced rate of daily allowance for all the days on which he was actually on duty at Delhi, irrespective of the place of his residence. For Sundays and other holidays on which he would have stayed at Ghaziabad, outside the place of official duty, no daily allowance would be admissible to him with reference to the Government of India’s Orders reproduced above, as these days were not actually spent in camp.
[G.I., M.F., endorsement No. F. 5 (60)-E. IV/49, dated the 26th September, 1949.] Authors Note – The places as furnished in the Original OM have been change.
(3) Regulation of daily allowance when holidays/casual leave availed with tour – Daily allowance for the entire absence from headquarters should correspond to the minimum period, which in the opinion of the Controlling Officer, is necessary for the Government servant to be away on tour. If on account of holidays at either end of the tour, a Government servant starts from the headquarters earlier than it is otherwise necessary or returns to head quarters later than otherwise necessary, the Controlling Officer can make such deduction from total number of daily allowances as are excessive in his opinion. Similarly, where a Government servant avails of casual leave will be excluded from the calculation of daily allowance. Where half a day’s casual leave is availed of, half daily allowance for that calendar day will be deducted.
[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19030/1/73-E IV (B), dated the 2nd July, 1975.]
(4) Special relaxation to Audit Inspection Staff. – Power has been delegated to the Heads of Departments in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, in relaxation of SR 72, to sanction daily allowance to the members of the inspection staff on Sundays and holidays when they have to stay while on tour at a place other than the place of duty, subject to the condition that the delegated power is exercised only in cases where it is certified that the Government servant concerned had to stay at a place other than the place of duty due to non- availability of boarding and lodging facilities at the latter place and not to suit his private convenience.
[G.I., M.F., Letter No. F. 3 (2) – E. G.I./66, dated the 29th September, 1966.]