Vietnam: Work-trip allowances applicable to officials and public employees in 2019

Travel expenses

The actual travel expenses are reimbursed based on the actual invoices and are applicable to all recipients. The following expenses are eligible for reimbursement based on actual invoices:

- Expense for travel from their homes or offices to airports, railway stations or coach stations and vice versa; airfares, train tickets or tickets of mass transit vehicles from their agencies to work-trip destinations and vice versa.

- Expense for travel within localities of work-trip destinations, such as from lodgings to workplaces, from airports, railway stations or coach stations to lodgings and vice versa.

- Charges for transport by road, waterway or seaway for themselves and vehicles.

- Charges for carrying materials, equipment, devices and/or tools (if any) directly serving work trips paid by persons on work trips.

- Charges for transporting their baggage by airplane in case such baggage charges are not included in airfares.

Levels of payment are based on prices indicated in tickets, ticketing invoices or receipts as regulated by law, or receipts of vehicle owners. The ticket price is exclusive of other service charges like those for sightseeing or special services on request.

Provision of fixed travel allowance:

- For leading officials who are entitled to use cars on work trips under regulations by the Prime Minister and voluntarily register for provision of fixed travel allowance: The fixed travel allowance shall be paid under regulations in the Circular No. 159/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam

- Officials or public employees who are not eligible to be arranged cars and who go on work trips on their own cars to localities 10 km or more (in communes facing social - economic difficulties or extreme social - economic difficulties under the Prime Minister's Decisions) or 15 km or more (in other communes) away from their working offices are entitled to provision of fixed travel allowance as 0.2 liter of petrol per kilometer based on distance between administrative divisions and the petrol price at time when they are sent on work trip, which must be included in the units' internal spending regulations.

Stay allowances

- Stay allowance payable to officials, public employees, and employees working in areas with normal conditions shall be VND 200,000/day.

- Officials, public employees and contractual employees working on the mainland who are sent on work trips at sea or on islands are entitled to the maximum stay allowance of VND 250,000/person/day of actual work trip (applicable to days during which they work at sea or on islands and travel days at sea or to and from islands).

Payment of rents for lodgings in work-trip destinations:

The actual invoice payment is applicable to the following recipients:

- Holders of ministerial and equivalent leading titles are entitled to the lodging rent of VND 2,500,000/day/room with one person per room, regardless of work-trip destinations;

- Holders of deputy ministerial and leading titles who enjoy a post-based allowance coefficient of between 1.25 and 1.3 are entitled to the lodging rent of:

+ VND 1,200,000/day/room with one person per room for work trips to urban districts or urban centers of central-affiliated cities and provincial grade-I urban centers.

+ VND 1,100,000/day/room with one person per room for work trips to other areas.

- Other officials, public employees and contractual employees are entitled to the lodging rent of:

+ VND 1,000,000/day/room with 2 persons per room for work trips to urban districts or urban centers of central-affiliated cities and provincial grade-I urban centers.

+ VND 700,000/day/room with 2 persons per room for work trips to other areas.

Payment of fixed allowance:

- Holders of ministerial, deputy ministerial and leading titles who enjoy a post-based allowance coefficient of 1.25 or higher are entitled to a fixed lodging rent of VND 1,000,000/day/person, regardless of work-trip destinations;

- For other officials, public employees and contractual employees:

+ For work trips to urban districts or urban centers of central-affiliated cities and provincial grade-I urban centers, the fixed allowance is VND 450,000/day/person.

+ For work trips to rural districts or towns of central-affiliated cities and other provincial towns or cities, the fixed allowance is VND 350,000/day/person.

+ For work trips to other areas, the fixed allowance is VND 300,000/day/person.

The above contents are specified in Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures.

Duy Thinh

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