Travelling allowance (TA)

Travelling allowance reimburses journeys on tour and transfer: pay-level entitlements, daily allowance, the 80 per cent transfer grant, and DA-linked rates.

Updated 10 July 2026 · Reviewed by Salary-Calculator.in

Travelling allowance (TA) is the allowance that reimburses a central government employee for the cost of an official journey, whether on tour, a temporary duty away from headquarters, or on transfer, a permanent move of station. It is governed by the Supplementary Rules and, in its current form, by Department of Expenditure Office Memorandum No. 19030/1/2017-E.IV dated 13 July 2017, which implemented the 7th Central Pay Commission’s recommendations with effect from 1 July 2017. Entitlement is grouped by the employee’s pay level in the pay matrix .

One clarification belongs at the top, because it is the single most common confusion. Travelling allowance is not the monthly transport allowance . Transport allowance is a fixed monthly sum for the daily home-to-office commute, paid every month whether or not you travel anywhere. Travelling allowance is claimed only when you actually undertake an official journey, and reimburses the fare, the daily allowance, and, on transfer, the cost of moving your household. The two share the abbreviation TA and are constantly mixed up, but they are separate entitlements under separate orders.

This article sets out the travelling allowance rules: the pay-level travel entitlements, the three components of TA on tour, the four components of TA on transfer including the composite transfer grant, the mechanism by which the rates rise with dearness allowance, and the timing rules that regulate the daily allowance.

Travel entitlement by pay level

The class an employee may travel in, by air, rail and road, is fixed by pay level. The pay level here means the basic pay in the pay matrix, and it excludes non-practising allowance, military service pay and any special pay.

Pay level	Air	Rail	Road
14 and above	Business or club class	AC first class	AC taxi, any public bus, or own car
12 and 13	Economy	AC first class	AC taxi, AC bus, or own car
9 to 11	Economy	AC 2-tier	Non-AC taxi or AC bus
6 to 8	Economy	AC 2-tier	Non-AC taxi or AC bus
5 and below	Not entitled	First class, AC 3-tier or AC chair car	Ordinary bus or auto-rickshaw

The 7th CPC lowered the air-travel threshold. Under the 6th CPC air travel began at Level 9; the 2017 order brought it down to Level 6, so a far larger group can now fly on official tour, in economy class. Officials may also travel by Premium, Premium Tatkal and Suvidha trains, and the dynamic or flexi-fare charged in Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains is reimbursed. Where the revised entitlement would have lowered a class of employee’s existing mode or class of travel, the existing entitlement is protected.

TA on tour

TA on tour has three components: the fare by the entitled class above, the daily allowance for the stay, and, where the journey is by road in one’s own conveyance, the road mileage.

Daily allowance: the reimbursement model

The 7th CPC changed how the daily allowance works. It did away with the old flat daily-allowance rate and moved to reimbursement of the actual stay costs, up to a ceiling by pay level: hotel accommodation, city taxi charges, and a food lump sum. The base ceilings in the 13 July 2017 order are set out below, alongside the current figures, which are 25 per cent higher because dearness allowance has crossed 50 per cent (the escalation is explained further down).

Pay level	Hotel per day, base (Rs.)	Hotel per day, current (Rs.)	Food per day, base (Rs.)	Food per day, current (Rs.)
14 and above	7,500	9,375	1,200	1,500
12 and 13	4,500	5,625	1,000	1,250
9 to 11	2,250	2,812.50	900	1,125
6 to 8	750	937.50	800	1,000
5 and below	450	562.50	500	625

The city taxi charges are the third element: they are reimbursed up to a daily ceiling that rises with the level, with the higher levels entitled to AC taxi. The mechanics differ by component. Hotel and taxi charges are reimbursed on production of vouchers, though for employees at Level 8 and below the claim up to the ceiling may be paid on self-certification without vouchers, and a later clarification extended the no-voucher self-certification for taxi charges to Levels 9 to 11. The food lump sum carries no voucher requirement at all; it is a flat amount, not a reimbursement.

The absence slabs for the food lump sum

The food lump sum is regulated by how long the employee is away from headquarters, on a three-slab scale that replaced the old full-or-half daily allowance model:

an absence of less than 6 hours: 30 per cent of the lump sum,
an absence of 6 to 12 hours: 70 per cent,
an absence of more than 12 hours: 100 per cent.

The hotel and taxi reimbursements are on actuals up to the ceiling and are not scaled by these slabs; only the food component is.

Road mileage

Where an employee travels by road in their own conveyance, or where no public fare applies, the journey is paid at a per-kilometre mileage rate. The base rates in the order are Rs. 24 a kilometre for a car or taxi and Rs. 12 a kilometre for an auto-rickshaw, own scooter or motorcycle. With the 25 per cent enhancement live, the current rates are about Rs. 30 a kilometre for a car and Rs. 15 for a scooter or auto-rickshaw.

TA on transfer

TA on transfer has four components: the travel fare for self and family, at the tour entitlement class; the composite transfer grant; the transportation of personal effects; and the transportation of conveyance. The general conditions of the Supplementary Rules on transfer apply.

The composite transfer grant

The composite transfer grant is the lump sum that meets the incidental costs of a move, and its rate is the point most often stated wrongly. Under the 6th CPC the grant was one month’s basic pay. The 7th CPC reduced it: the composite transfer grant is 80 per cent of the last month’s basic pay for a transfer involving a change of station of more than 20 km. For a transfer to a station less than 20 km away, or within the same city, where a change of residence is actually involved, it is one-third of that amount. For settlement to or from the island territories of Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep it is 100 per cent of the last month’s basic pay. Basic pay for this purpose excludes non-practising allowance and military service pay.

A spouse rule prevents a double grant when a husband and wife are both government servants and are transferred to the same station. Where the two transfers are within six months but more than 60 days apart, the later-transferred spouse gets 50 per cent of the transfer grant; where they are within 60 days of each other, the later spouse gets none. The transfer incidentals and the local road mileage from residence to station at both ends are subsumed in the composite transfer grant and are not separately admissible.

Transportation of personal effects

The cost of moving household goods is reimbursed by weight and distance, and the 7th CPC did away with the old distinction by class of city for road transport, leaving a plain per-kilometre basis.

Pay level	By train or steamer	Road, base (Rs. per km)	Road, current (Rs. per km)
12 and above	6,000 kg	50	62.50
6 to 11	6,000 kg	50	62.50
5	3,000 kg	25	31.25
4 and below	1,500 kg	15	18.75

So an officer at Level 12 moving 6,000 kg of effects by road over, say, 1,400 km is reimbursed at the per-kilometre rate for the distance, subject to the weight entitlement. The current per-kilometre figures are again 25 per cent above the base, for the same dearness-allowance reason.

Transportation of conveyance

The employee’s own vehicle is moved at government cost as well. An employee at Level 6 and above may transport one motor car, or one motorcycle or scooter; an employee at Level 5 and below may transport one motorcycle, scooter, moped or bicycle.

How the rates rise with dearness allowance

The single mechanism that keeps the travelling allowance ceilings current is a clause in the 2017 order: the rates of accommodation charges, travelling charges and the food lump sum increase by 25 per cent whenever dearness allowance increases by 50 per cent. The same clause applies to the road mileage and the per-kilometre rates for personal effects. This pegs the reimbursement ceilings to inflation without the government having to re-issue the order each time.

The clause has been triggered once. Dearness allowance reached 50 per cent on 1 January 2024, so from that point the hotel, food, taxi, mileage and personal-effects rates stand 25 per cent above the base figures printed in the order, which is why this article shows both a base and a current column. Dearness allowance is now 60 per cent, but the next 25 per cent step-up in the travelling allowance rates does not come until dearness allowance reaches 100 per cent. Because no single consolidated order re-tabulates the enhanced figures, an employee should confirm the current ceiling with the Drawing and Disbursing Officer or Pay and Accounts Officer before making a claim.

A worked tour claim

Take an officer at Level 9 to 11 sent on a three-day tour to a metro. The daily allowance for the stay, at the current enhanced ceilings, builds up as follows, on top of the rail fare in AC 2-tier both ways:

Component	Amount (Rs.)	Basis
Hotel, 3 nights	up to 8,437.50	Rs. 2,812.50 per day ceiling, against vouchers
Food lump sum, 3 full days	3,375	Rs. 1,125 per day, absence over 12 hours
City taxi	up to the daily ceiling	Non-AC taxi, reimbursed against vouchers or self-certification
Rail fare, both ways	actual	AC 2-tier, the entitled class for Levels 9 to 11

So the daily allowance alone is around Rs. 11,800 for the three days before the taxi, and the fare is added on actuals. If the officer returned on the third day after an absence of only 6 to 12 hours, the food lump sum for that day would be 70 per cent of Rs. 1,125 rather than the full amount, under the absence slabs.

A worked transfer claim

Take an officer at Level 11 with a basic pay of Rs. 71,100, transferred to a station 300 km away, moving the full household. The transfer TA is built from its four components:

Component	Amount (Rs.)	Basis
Composite transfer grant	56,880	80 per cent of Rs. 71,100, change of station over 20 km
Personal effects, 6,000 kg by road	up to 18,750	Rs. 62.50 per km for 300 km, within the weight entitlement
Transportation of one car	actual	Level 6 and above, one motor car
Fare for self and family	actual	AC 2-tier, the tour entitlement class

The composite transfer grant of Rs. 56,880 is the largest single element, and it is exactly 80 per cent of the last month’s basic pay, not one month as it was under the 6th CPC. Had the same officer moved to a station less than 20 km away with an actual change of residence, the grant would be one-third of that figure. The incidental costs and the local road mileage at both ends are already inside the grant and are not claimed separately.

How travelling allowance sits among the other entitlements

Travelling allowance is a duty-journey reimbursement, and it is worth distinguishing it from the two allowances readers most often confuse it with. The monthly transport allowance is the daily-commute allowance, paid every month regardless of any journey, and it has nothing to do with tour or transfer. The Leave Travel Concession reimburses the fare for a personal journey to the home town or elsewhere in India while on leave, a leave-linked concession, not a duty reimbursement. Travelling allowance sits apart from both: it is claimed only for an official journey, and it turns on the pay level and the nature of the journey, on tour or on transfer.

Frequently asked questions

What is travelling allowance for central government employees?

It is the allowance that reimburses the cost of an official journey, whether on tour (temporary duty away from headquarters) or on transfer (a permanent move of station). It is governed by the Department of Expenditure order of 13 July 2017, and entitlement is grouped by pay level.

What is the difference between travelling allowance and transport allowance?

Transport allowance is a fixed monthly sum for the daily home-to-office commute, paid every month whether or not you travel. Travelling allowance is claimed only when you actually undertake an official journey, and reimburses fare, daily allowance, and on transfer the cost of moving your household.

What is the composite transfer grant?

It is a lump sum on transfer to meet the incidental costs of moving. Under the 7th CPC it is 80 per cent of the last month’s basic pay for a change of station of more than 20 km, one-third of that for a move under 20 km or within the same city, and 100 per cent for the island territories.

How does daily allowance on tour work under the 7th CPC?

The 7th CPC replaced the old flat daily allowance with reimbursement of hotel accommodation and city taxi charges up to a ceiling by pay level, plus a food lump sum. The food lump sum is paid at 30, 70 or 100 per cent for an absence of under 6 hours, 6 to 12 hours, or over 12 hours.

Who can travel by air on official tour?

Under the 7th CPC, employees at Level 6 and above are entitled to air travel, in business class at Level 14 and above and economy class below that. Employees at Level 5 and below travel by rail, at the AC class entitled to their level, not by air.

Do travelling allowance rates increase with dearness allowance?

Yes. The order provides that the hotel, food and taxi rates and the road mileage rise by 25 per cent each time dearness allowance rises by 50 per cent. Dearness allowance crossed 50 per cent on 1 January 2024, so the current rates are 25 per cent above the base figures.

External references

References

Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Office Memorandum No. 19030/1/2017-E.IV dated 13 July 2017, “Travelling Allowance Rules, Implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commission”, with Annexure (pay-level travel entitlements, daily-allowance ceilings, composite transfer grant, transportation of personal effects and conveyance, and the 25 per cent escalation clause).
Department of Expenditure clarificatory Office Memorandum dated 18 August 2017 (admissibility of the composite transfer grant and transportation of personal effects on transfer and retirement straddling 1 July 2017).
Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules (SR-17 to SR-194, including S.R. 114, S.R. 116 and S.R. 147), governing travelling allowance generally.
Report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (2015), Chapter 8.15 (Travelling Allowance).
Department of Expenditure Office Memorandum No. 19030/3/2008-E.IV dated 23 September 2008 (the superseded 6th CPC travelling allowance order, under which the composite transfer grant was one month’s basic pay).