Conditions for civil servants and public employees to receive work-trip allowances in Vietnam

Conditions for civil servants and public employees to receive work-trip allowances in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What are work-trip allowances?

Work-trip allowances are expenses payable to persons on domestic work trips, include travel expense, stay allowance, rent for lodgings in work-trip destinations, luggage charge, and document-carrying charge (if any).

Time for calculating work-trip allowances is the actual period of a work trip as determined in the written approval by the person who has the power to send official/ public employee on such work trip or the invitation for joining the work trip (including weakly days off, public holidays, and New Year’s Day according to the itinerary of the work trip, and travel time).

(Clause 1, 2, Article 3, Circular 40/2017/TT-BTC)

2. Conditions for civil servants and public employees to receive work-trip allowances in Vietnam

According to Clause 3, Article 3, Circular 40/2017/TT-BTC, eligibility requirements for work-trip allowances:

- They must fulfill their assigned tasks;

- They are sent on work trips by heads of their agencies or units, or they are invited to join the work trips;

- They sufficiently present required documents for payment as regulated herein.

Thus, civil servants and public employees are paid work-trip allowances when they meet the above conditions.

3. What are the cases are ineligible for work-trip allowances in Vietnam?

The following cases are ineligible for work-trip allowances:

- Treatment or convalescence period spent at health care facilities or sanatoria;

- Period of participation in long-term or short-term training courses during which trainees have enjoyed entitlements as regulated;

- Period for doing private business during the work trip;

- Time on resident or dispatched assignment in another locality or agency under a decision of a competent authority.

(Clause 4, Article 3, Circular 40/2017/TT-BTC)

4. Supporting documents for payment of work-trip allowances in Vietnam

According to Article 10 of Circular 40/2017/TT-BTC stipulates supporting documents for payment of work-trip allowances:

(i) Travel warrant of person on work trip, certified by the receiving agency (or by hotel or guesthouse).

(ii) A document or work plan approved by the head of an agency or unit; official letters or letters of invitation; official letters requisitioning officials, public employees and contractual employees to join the work-trip destination.

(iii) Ticketing invoices or receipts as regulated by law when going on work trip by means of transport, or receipts of vehicle owners. Particularly for documents for payment of airfares, boarding cards are required in addition to ticket counterfoils (or electronic tickets) under effective regulations of law. In case of loss of boarding cards, certification by sending agency or unit is required (in case payment is made based on actual travel expenses).

(iv) Table listing travel distances, which shall be submitted to heads of agencies or units for payment approval (in case payment is made based on actual travel expenses).

(v) Lawful invoices or receipts of lodging rents (in case payment is made based on actual lodging rents).

(vi)  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 of the Government, documents mentioned in (ii) and (iv).

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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