Leave Travel Concession Description: (LTC) introduced in 1956 was regulated by orders issued from time to time. These were brought out in the form of CCS (LTC) Rules, 1988.
Leave Travel Concession is reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the Government Servant and his family members to travel from headquarters station to home town and back (during the period of regular leave taken by the Government Servant) under these Rules.
At present, the employees are eligible to avail leave travel concession once in a block of four consecutive calendar years, along with their family members. Out of the four years, this concession has to be availed to go to “Home Town” during the first block of two years.
During the second block of two years the employees can avail this concession to visit any place within the State (including Home Town). During the availment of this concession, the journeys have to be performed by train if the places are connected by train.
However, they may also perform the journey by A.P.S.R.T.C. buses between the two places connected by train, in which case, the claim is to be restricted to either the actual expenditure incurred or to the amount admissible had the journey been performed by train, whichever is less.
In cases where the places are not connected by train but are connected by road only, the journeys have to be performed only by A.P.S.R.T.C. buses.
The entitlement of class of travel/different kinds of busses shall be in accordance with the entitlements in the case of journeys on official tour.
If the journeys are performed by air, the claim shall be restricted to what is admissible had the journey been made by rail or bus as the case may be. Travel by private buses, taxis, etc. is prohibited.
However, travel by A.P. Tourism development corporation buses is allowed. In support of the actual charges incurred by the employee, while availing the L.T.C., the used original Air/ Rail/ Bus tickets have to be enclosed to the T.A. claim.
Check List and Rules for LTC in AP and Telangana:
- To be sanctioned to the Government servant who had put in 5 years of service.
- The permission granted to avail the LTC is given by the authority competent to sanction leave other than casual leave.
- Prior permission is obtained before commencing the upward journey.
- The Govt. servant should touch the destination for which he/she is permitted.
- The LTC concession is availed correctly with reference to block period.
- The claim is supported with money receipts in original.
- The claim is preferred by the Govt.servant within 30 days from the date of return journey or otherwise 15% cut is imposed.
- SR entry should be made and certificate in token of having availed the facility is furnished with the bill
- Certificate stating that the spouse has not availed the similar facility is to be enclosed and attested by DDO
- Bill shall be preferred in TA Bill form
- From 1.4.96 onwards the LTC should be limited to only two dependent children. Any children born prior to 1.4.96 all the dependent children are eligible for LTC
- Parents of Gazetted officers shall not be treated as family members
- Parents of married female Government employees will be treated as members of family provided they are dependent on them
- Pensioners cannot be defined as dependent parents in LTC
- Journeys by private services or car, hired car, private taxis vans etc. shall not be allowed.
- LTC should be allowed within the State only. If the Employee’s Home Town is outside the State the LTC Claim should be restricted to last point of the State in that direction only.
- LTC advances watch register should be maintained to watch the recovery of amounts advanced. 18. Govt.employees are permitted to travel any place in India on LTC once in entire service during second block period Upto a maximum distance of 3,500KMs to and fro and Subject to restricting the claim to Rs.12,500/-. Check List and Rules for Leave Travel Concession
- LTC should not be availed during holidays.
- LTC travels can be performed but he/she should touch the destination
- LTC can be availed by the Govt. employee himself and the family separately. But the employee has to avail LTC otherwise it will be lapsed.
Clarifications on Leave Travel Concession Claims
Clarifications on LTC/Leave Travel Concession Claims Rc.375 – Clarifications on Leave Travel Concession Claims of Teachers. Proceedings of the Commissioner and Director School Education, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad. Rc.No.375/D3-2/2011 Dated: 25.01.2011
Subject: School Education – Audit Para 3.1.2 – Fraudulent LTC Claims of Teachers – Reply -Reg. RC.375 Clarifications on LTC Claims of Teachers and employees, Fraudulent LTC Claims of Teacher, Leave Travel Concession, LTC claim SR Entry, AG’s Audit, AP Traveling Allowance Rules, TA Reimbursement, service registers entry. References: Audit Paras 3.1.2 with reference to Audit Paras of CAO of this office.
Order: The attention of all District Educational Officers in the State is invited to the reference read above (Copy enclosed) and they are informed that the AG’s Audit has observed the following with regard to LTC claims of teachers and employees. Clarifications on LTC/Leave Travel Concession Claims.
Para 12(e) of Annexure-VII to Rule 92 (1) of AP Traveling Allowance Rules Stipulates that a record of all assistance granted under these rules should be made in Service Register of the Employee including the dates of journeys and the family members together with the particulars of amount Reimbursed as traveling allowance.
Audit scrutiny (May 2010) of service registers in respect of 138 ( out of 994) cases (14 percent) which were produced to audit by the DEO, however, revealed that the service registers did not contain the following entries.
i) Declaration of family members.
ii) Permission from the competent authority for availing LTC.
iii) Declaration of Home town 1 Place of the visit .
iv) Evidence of availing any kind of leave and correspondent debit in the leave account.
v) Amount of LTC claimed and date of payment.
As per the codal provisions, detailed checks are to be exercised by Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs)/Controlling Officers while passing LTC claims of employees.
Further, Treasury Rules enjoin Treasury Officers to perform prescribed checks and to exercise
due care while passing a bill or other vouchers in order to ensure that the financial interests of the Government are protected against fraud, misappropriation and inadmissible claims.
4. Further, the Treasury Officer shall disallow any inadmissible or doubtful item which can be easily eliminated.
5. Therefore, all District Educational Officers in the state are instructed to follow the above provision with regard to LTC claim enter in the S.R of the concerned individual.
6. The District Educational Officers are also requested to issue necessary instruction to all Dy.E.O’s/ MEO’s/HM’s in this regard. Any deviation in the matter will be viewed seriously. Procgs.Rc.No.375/D3-2/2011 Dated: 25.01.2011.
II. Eligibility: (i) All Government servants including those appointed on temporary basis, who have put in a continuous service of not less than five years, are eligible for the concession.
(ii) Officers re-employed for a period of not less than one year in continuation of superannuation from Government service are also eligible for the concession and the period of re-employment shall be treated as continuous with the previous service for this purpose.
(iii) Persons appointed on a contract basis are also eligible for the concession, If the period of contract is five years or more. Where the initial contract is for less than five years, later it is extended to five years or more, the total duration of the service shall be taken into account for the purpose.
(iv) The concession is not applicable to the following persons
(a) Who are not whole time employees.
(b) Who are paid from contingencies.
(c) Who are borne on work-charged establishment.
(d) who are industrial employees.
III.FAMILY – definition: A. The Government servant’s wife or husband and two surviving unmarried children or stepchildren wholly dependent on the Government servant, irrespective of whether they are residing with the Government servant or not.
B. Married daughters divorced, abandoned or separated from their husbands and widowed daughters and are residing with the Government servant and wholly dependent on the Government servant.
The term “Family” for this purpose shall be the same as admissible in connection with the transfer of the Govt. employee with the following exceptions.
i. The parents of Gazetted Officers shall not be treated as family members.
ii. The parents of Non – Gazetted Officers shall not be treated as dependents, if either of them is a pensioner (including family pensioner).
iii. In case of more than two children, The children born on or after 1-4-1996, will not be treated as members of the family, if the number of children born prior to 1-4-1996 were two or more for whom the claim is made.
Note: The parents of married female NonGazetted Govt. employees will be treated as members of family provided they are dependent on them.
The Commission,recommends that a member of the family whose income from all sources, including stipend, pension (including dearness relief thereon) does not exceed the minimum family pension and dearness relief thereon, shall be deemed as dependent on the employee.
IV) HOME TOWN: a) The word “Home Town” means the place which is declared by the Government servant duly supported by reasons such as native place, being the permanent residence of his parents, grand-parents or owner ship of immovable property.
(b) (i) Every Government servant is required to give declaration of his Home Town.
(ii) The non-Gazetted Government, employees shall submit their declaration to the Officer, who has been declared as the Controlling Officer in respect of the traveling allowance claims of the Government servants. After the declarations are approved by the Controlling Officer, they shall be communicated to the Heads of Offices in which the non-Gazetted employees are working.
The Heads of Offices shall record the particulars of the Home Town in the service books of the employees. Every Controlling Officer shall maintain a list of the Home towns of all the Government Servants, whose traveling allowance claims are counter-signed by him.
(iii) The Gazetted Officers shall submit their declarations to the concerned Heads of Departments who shall, after acceptance, communicate the same to the Accountant General for reccin his office. The Heads of Departments and the Secretaries to Government shall communicate thieir declarations direct to the Accountant General, Andhra Pradesh for record in his office
V) FREQUENCY AND JOURNEYS: Government employees are permitted to avail Leave Travel Concession in Block Period of 4 years to visit Home Town during the first block of two consecutive calendar years and may avail this concession to visit any place within the state during the second block.
As per G.O. Ms. No.151, Finance (TA) Department, dated:04.05.2010 Government employees were permitted to avail Leave Travel concession to go to any place outside the State also but within the country, together with eligible family members during the second Block period of two years subject to the condition that their claim shall be restricted to the last point in that direction within the state. Leave Travel Concession LTC for AP State
Government later permitted the employees to avail Leave Travel Concession to go to any place outside the State also but within the country, together with eligible family members during the second Block period of two years subject to the condition that their claim shall be restricted to the last point in that direction within the State.
On the representation of the employees Government again issued orders vide G.O.Ms.No.98, Finance (TA)Dept., dt.21.5.2011 permitting all the Government employees to travel anywhere in India on LTC once in entire service during second part of the Block Period upto a maximum distance of 3500 K.Ms to& fro and subject to restricting the claim to Rs.12,500/-. Keeping in view the increase in railway fares, the Commission recommends for the enhancement of the claim amount from Rs.12,500/ to Rs.18,750/, while keeping the limit of the maximum distance as 3,500 KMs only.
In cases where the employees are entitled to travel by air while on official tour, they along with their family members, may be permitted to travel by air and claim the actual amount paid for the journey in L.T.C. also. The Commission therefore recommends to issue revised instructions accordingly.
VI) SANCTIONING AUTHORITY: The Authority competent to sanction leave other than casual leave shall be the authority to permit the availment of Leave Travel Concession even during casual leave.
VII) Leaves required to be taken: (a) Government Servants are eligible for the concession when the journeys are performed during any kind of leave and also casual leave. But the Sanctioning authority shall satisfy itself before sanctioning the leave Travel Concession whether the leave applied for by the government Servant is sufficient to cover to and from journeys.
b) During Leave only – The concession can be availed during / Earned leave /casual leave / special casual leave / vacation leave / study leave / Maternity leave / paternity leave. LTC during Leave Preparatory to Retirement (LPR) is permissible if the journey is completed before retirement. (So, leave is mandatory for availing the LTC). LTC cannot be availed during Child Care Leave. c) It is not admissible, if the journey is performed during holidays only.
VII) General: a) (i) When both husband and wife are Government Servants and he/she avails the concessions as a family member of the other, it is not necessary for he/she to comply with the condition of going on regular leave for a minimum period of 15days. When they avail the travel concession as Government servants independently, the condition of regular leave for the minimum period shall apply to each of them.
ii) When both husband and wife are Government servants the concession for the other family members can be claimed only once in a block period either as the family members of the father or as the family members of the mother. Leave Travel Concession for TS
VIII) Advances: (a) When permission is given to avail the Leave Travel Concession, advance may be sanctioned to meet the expenditure on the journey.
b) In respect of non-gazetted employees, officers competent to grant advances for Travelling Allowance on tour may sanction these advances. In respect of Gazetted Officers these advances may be sanctioned by the Officers counter signing their T.A. Bills. Officers who are their own controlling Officers under the Travelling Allowance Rules, may sanction these advances to themselves.
c) The amount of advance shall be limited to 80% of the estimated cost which reimbursed to the Government servant under these rules for the journey.
d) The advance sanctioned and drawn under these rules, should be entered in the register of advances of travelling allowance on tour, maintained in each office and the adjustments of recoveries of these advances should be watched by the Pay Drawing Officials. This work shall, in respect of Gazetted Officers, be attended to by the Treasury officers and the Pay and Accounts officer, Hyderabad.
IX) CLAIM OF BILLS: (a) The expenditure on the Leave Travel Concession of a Government employee shall be debited to the detailed head “Travelling Allowances” under the relevant head of account to which the pay of the Government employee is debited.
(b) The advances of Travelling Allowance sanctioned under the Rules is also debitable to the detailed head of account .
(c) When the advance is refunded, it should be credited under the same head of account as abatement of charges if it is in the same financial year of drawals. Otherwise it shall be credited as a miscellaneous receipt of the Department.