Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC stipulates travel expenses for state officials on domestic business trips.

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE NUMBER 94/1998/TT-BTC DATED JUNE 30, 1998 REGULATING THE SYSTEM OF BUSINESS TRAVEL ALLOWANCES FOR STATE OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SERVANTS ON DOMESTIC BUSINESS TRIPS

To implement the Ordinance on thrift and prevention of waste and to create conditions for agencies and units to proactively utilize funds in accordance with their annual budget capacity, the Ministry of Finance hereby regulates the system of business travel allowances for state officials and civil servants in state management agencies, public service units, Party organizations of the Communist Party of Vietnam, political-social organizations, social organizations, and social-professional organizations using state budget funds (hereinafter referred to as agencies and units) on domestic business trips as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. The level of business travel allowance stipulated in this Circular aims to provide conditions for those on business trips to be able to cover necessary expenses for food, accommodation, and transportation at a normal level during the days of the trip.

2. Heads of agencies and units must carefully consider and balance when dispatching officials on business trips (in terms of the number of officials and duration of the trip) to ensure economy and effectiveness within the annual budget allocation of the agency or unit as notified by the competent authority.

3. Apart from the business travel allowance stipulated in this Circular, agencies and units sending officials on business trips, and agencies and units receiving officials on business trips shall not use state budget funds to pay any additional expenses under any form for officials going on and arriving at business trips.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Business travel allowance is a cost paid to state officials dispatched on domestic business trips to cover train and bus ticket fees for themselves and baggage and document transportation costs (if applicable); costs for state officials during travel days and stay at the destination of the business trip.

1. Contents of business travel allowance:

Business travel allowance includes the following contents:

- Ticket purchase fee for trains and buses traveling from the agency to the place of the business trip.

- Business travel allowance subsidy.

- Accommodation rental fee at the place of the business trip.

- Monthly business travel allowance quota due to the need to travel regularly but lacking the conditions to settle expenses on a daily basis.

1. Settlement of train and bus fares:

a. Settlement of train and bus fares:

- State officials on business trips using state-owned, joint venture, or private transportation means, if they have valid train or bus tickets, will be reimbursed according to the standard fare set by the state. In particular, for business trips by air, approval from the head of the agency or unit is required, in accordance with the standards specified below, before reimbursement for ticket purchases can be made.

- State officials who self-fund their business trips will be reimbursed for train and bus fares based on the national passenger transport vehicle fare at the local level for the actual distance traveled. For business trips to mountainous areas, islands, border regions, and remote areas, the reimbursement rate is double the national passenger transport vehicle fare at the local level.

- Train and bus fares include the cost of purchasing tickets for trains and buses, ferry and boat crossing fees, airport taxes (if traveling by air), bridge and road tolls, and baggage transportation fees for the business trip (if applicable) that the officials directly pay. If state officials travel by the agency's car, they will not be reimbursed for train and bus fares.

b. Business travel allowance subsidy:

The business travel allowance subsidy aims to support state officials on business trips with additional funds to cover daily meals at a normal level (without beer or alcohol) and accommodation at the destination of the business trip. The subsidy is calculated from the day the officials start the business trip until they return to their agency (including holidays and Tet). The subsidy levels are as follows:

- Officials traveling to plains and midland provinces will receive a maximum subsidy of 20,000 VND per day.

- Officials traveling to highland, island, border, and remote areas will receive a maximum subsidy of 40,000 VND per day.

Cases where business travel allowance cannot be settled but other benefits under current regulations apply:

- Time spent in hospitals, health stations, recuperation houses, and rest centers.

- Days spent on personal matters during the business trip.

- Days spent studying at long-term or short-term training schools, days assigned to reside or be seconded to another locality or agency.

c. Settlement of accommodation rental fees at the destination of the business trip:

State officials on business trips are entitled to reimbursement for accommodation rental fees at the destination of the business trip. The amount of room rental fees to be reimbursed is based on the actual invoice but shall not exceed the following maximum levels:

- 90,000 VND per day for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- 60,000 VND/day for other provinces.

- 40,000 VND per day for districts directly under provinces.

In cases where state officials on business trips travel alone or where a mixed-gender group requires separate rooms, the maximum reimbursement for room rental fees shall not exceed the following levels:

- 150,000 VND per day for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

- 90,000 VND/day for other provinces.

- 60,000 VND per day for districts directly under provinces.

In cases where state officials on business trips must stay overnight in rural areas without guesthouses or hotels and without invoices for room rental fees, they may be reimbursed up to a maximum of 30,000 VND per day per person. This quota does not apply to officials traveling to areas with guesthouses or hotels.

d. In cases where state officials frequently travel on business trips exceeding 15 days per month, such as clerks delivering official documents or forest rangers inspecting forests, a monthly business travel allowance quota of up to 100,000 VND per month per person may be reimbursed.

e. The levels of business travel allowance settlement, monthly quotas, and accommodation rental fees specified in points b, c, and d above are maximum levels; heads of ministries, sectors, and chairpersons of provincial people's committees directly under the central government shall specify these in detail to suit the characteristics and circumstances of their locality, sector, and annual budget capacity.

2. Regulations on settlement of airfare:

State officials on business trips are entitled to reimbursement for airfare including:

a. For central ministries, sectors, and units:

- Leaders at the Department level and above within ministries and equivalent positions;

- Specialists and other positions with salary grades of 4.75 and above.

b. For units located in provinces and centrally governed cities:

- Leaders at the provincial department level, leaders of district and county People's Committees directly under the province or city, and equivalent positions;

- Specialists with the rank of Senior Specialist and other positions with a salary coefficient of 4.47 or higher.

c. In cases where an agency or unit needs to send an employee to handle urgent business, but the person assigned does not meet the criteria for airfare reimbursement, the head of the agency or unit shall consider and decide to allow such reimbursement.

3. Management of travel expenses.

a. Annually, along with the allocation of state budget estimates, the supervising authority assigns the maximum amount of travel expenses to subordinate units. If a unit does not use up all allocated funds for travel expenses in a year, the saved funds may be used to serve other necessary expenditures aimed at improving management efficiency. The use of these savings must comply with approved budgets and must be reported to the financial authority at the same level.

In cases involving inter-departmental or inter-agency work teams, the leading agency or unit of the team shall cover common expenses (such as office supplies, car rental fees, etc.), while the sending agency or unit shall reimburse travel expenses for the dispatched staff (including transportation costs, travel allowance, accommodation fees).

b. The travel expense expenditures stipulated in this Circular shall be recorded under item 113 "Travel Expenses" according to the corresponding chapter, type, and sub-item as specified in Decision No. 280 TC/QĐ/NSNN dated April 15, 1997 "Regarding the issuance of the State Budget Item System" by the Ministry of Finance.

State-owned enterprises shall apply this travel expense system in accordance with their specific production and business characteristics.

c. Any travel expense expenditures that do not conform to the provisions of this Circular, upon inspection, financial authorities at all levels have the right to require agencies and units to rectify. Those who issue incorrect expenditure orders shall be subject to penalties as prescribed by the Law on Thrift and Prevention of Waste.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS:

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature, and any regulations concerning travel expenses that conflict with this Circular shall be abolished.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for guidance on implementation.