Transfer Allowance & TA/DA Rules

🧭 First identify your journey

🗺️

Official tour

Temporary official duty away from headquarters. May include journey fare, accommodation, food component and eligible local travel.

📦

Transfer

Qualifying transfer may include travel for self/family, CTG, transportation of personal effects and conveyance.

🧾

Reimbursement

Some components are actuals-based and need tickets, receipts, boarding passes, invoices or certificates.

Core principle: Pay Matrix Level helps determine class and ceilings; it does not make every component automatically payable. Sanction, purpose, actual journey, route, proof and exceptions still matter.

🚆 Mode of travel & class entitlement

General civilian Central Government 7th CPC matrix; check the controlling OM for the precise level and any retained entitlement.

Pay Matrix level	Air	Rail	Practical note
Level 14 and above	Business / Club class	AC First Class / First Class	Subject to sanctioned tour and applicable air instructions.
Level 12–13	Economy class	AC First Class	Use authorised booking channels and approved route.
Level 9–11	Economy class	AC 2-Tier	Check exact current table and special cases.
Level 6–8	Subject to operative entitlement and conditions	AC 2-Tier	Verify air eligibility before booking.
Level 5	Generally not entitled under ordinary level-based air table absent exception/approval	AC 3-Tier / AC Chair Car as applicable	Check exact class in operative OM.
Level 4 and below	Generally not entitled under ordinary level-based air table absent exception/approval	Class varies by exact level; check official table	Do not generalise all lower levels into one class.

⚠️ The official OM and later clarifications prevail. Booking, route, air-travel approval and any retained/higher entitlement may change the result. If this summary differs from the latest official table, follow the official order.

🛣️ Road journeys

Where road travel is permitted, reimbursement may be based on actual admissible public transport fare, prescribed local taxi/auto rates, or the applicable kilometre rate. A private vehicle journey is not automatically reimbursable at any chosen rate; level, mode, local rates, route and sanction matter.

✈️ TA/DA on official tour

Tour TA has two broad parts: journey fare and eligible local journeys; and daily allowance for eligible stay away from headquarters.

🛏️

Hotel / guest house

Actual eligible expenditure subject to level-wise ceiling, proof and applicable revised rate.

🍱

Food component

Daily allowance has duration-based percentages. Food component is treated differently from hotel and local-transport claims.

🚕

Travel within city

Level-wise modes/limits apply; vouchers are required where prescribed.

⏱️

Time away from HQ

Common duration slabs: 30% under 6 hours, 70% for 6–12 hours and 100% over 12 hours, subject to the operative order.

🏨 Baseline hotel and food ceilings in 7th CPC framework

Pay level	Hotel / guest house per day (base)	Food component per day (base)
14 and above	₹7,500	₹1,200
12–13	₹4,500	₹1,000
9–11	₹2,250	₹900
6–8	₹750	₹800
5 and below	₹450	₹500

Rate caution: These are baseline figures from the 7th CPC framework, not a guarantee that the base amount is current for your journey date. The governing instructions provide 25% enhancement when DA rises by 50%. Confirm the applicable multiplier and any later clarification before claiming.

Absence from headquarters	Indicative food component
Less than 6 hours	30% of admissible food component
6–12 hours	70%
More than 12 hours	100%

Government accommodation, continuous halt, foreign travel, training and remote-duty cases can have different treatment. Check the governing OM.

🛣️ Road mileage, kilometres & mode

Situation	General approach	Verify
Local prescribed rates exist	Use notified rates for eligible bus/taxi/auto/own two-wheeler etc.	Level, vehicle, local rate notification and actual journey.
No specific local rate prescribed	2017 baseline: ₹24/km for own car/taxi; ₹12/km for auto/own scooter/motorcycle etc., subject to eligibility.	DA-linked increases and later instructions.
Transfer distance	Use the distance basis specified by the applicable rule; do not use arbitrary map distance.	Route, stations, geography and approved journey.
Official tour by own vehicle	Only if permitted/authorised and mileage conditions are satisfied.	Sanction, route/log details and admissible mode.

📏 Enter only eligible kilometres in the calculator. Road mileage, personal-effects road transport and the 20-km CTG test are different calculations with different rules.

📦 TA on transfer: four components

🚆

Travel self/family

Eligible fare under travel matrix and transfer conditions.

💼

CTG

Composite Transfer Grant for qualifying relocation.

📦

Personal effects

Household goods by rail/steamer or road within limits.

🚗

Conveyance

Transport of an eligible car, motorcycle, scooter, moped or bicycle.

💼 Composite Transfer Grant (CTG)

Situation	Indicative CTG basis	Conditions
Qualifying public-interest transfer, station distance ≥20 km	80% of last month's Basic Pay	Change of station and other conditions; NPA/MSP excluded from basic for CTG.
Same city or distance under 20 km	One-third of standard CTG	Only if change of residence is actually involved and other conditions met.
To/from Andaman & Nicobar or Lakshadweep	100% of last month's Basic Pay	Subject to exact island-territory provision.
Own-request / not in public interest	Generally not admissible	Check any specific exception; do not assume entitlement.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family travel has eligibility conditions and small-family norms. The number of fares is not simply any number entered by the employee. Spouse transfers within prescribed time windows have special CTG rules; verify the order.

📦 Personal effects & conveyance on transfer

Household goods — baseline 7th CPC road rates

Pay level	Rail / steamer entitlement	Road baseline
12 and above	6,000 kg by goods train / 4-wheeler wagon / one double container	₹50/km
6–11	6,000 kg by goods train / 4-wheeler wagon / one single container	₹50/km
5	3,000 kg	₹25/km
4 and below	1,500 kg	₹15/km

Road rates use the relevant distance between old and new stations. The 2017 framework provides a 25% increase whenever DA rises by 50%. Actual receipts/vouchers are required; mandatory voucher provisions specifically apply to transfers involving the North-Eastern Region, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

🚗 Transportation of conveyance

Pay level	General 7th CPC framework	Practical note
Level 6 and above	One motor car or one motorcycle/scooter, as applicable	Check mode, actual cost and conditions.
Level 5 and below	One motorcycle/scooter/moped/bicycle, as applicable	Verify exact entitlement for the employee's level.

🧮 Interactive TA calculators

Selected components only; estimates do not sanction claims or replace proof/eligibility checks.

💼 CTG estimator

Last month's Basic Pay (₹)

Transfer situation

🧮 Multiplier options are visible because DA-linked revisions depend on the operative order and date. A default multiplier is not a declaration of the legally current rate. Confirm it with Accounts.

🧾 Claims, receipts & timelines

🎫

Tickets & boarding passes

Retain tickets and boarding passes where required; follow authorised air booking/approval instructions.

🛏️

Hotel/local travel vouchers

Actual-expense, ceiling and voucher requirements apply to accommodation and local travel.

📦

Goods invoices

Keep transporter receipts, weight/quantity, route, invoice and proof of payment.

🕒

Submission deadline

DoE has issued time-limit instructions, including an OM dated 13 March 2018. Check the current deadline and required certificates.

📌 Avoid double claims for the same expense. Government-provided accommodation, transport or meals can affect admissibility under the applicable rule.

✅ Before submitting your TA bill

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📄 Tour sanction/transfer order and purpose attached.👔 Pay Matrix Level and travel class verified.✈️ Booking followed approval and booking instructions.📍 Route and eligible kilometres documented.🛏️ Hotel, food and local travel components separated.🧾 Required tickets, boarding passes, receipts and vouchers attached.📦 CTG eligibility and residence-change condition checked.🚚 Goods/conveyance invoices, weight and distance attached.🕒 Claim submitted within applicable time limit.

❓ FAQs

Is TA/DA the same as CTG?

No. Tour TA/DA relates to official travel and eligible expenses away from headquarters; CTG is a component of qualifying transfer allowance.

Are all kilometre rates the same?

No. Road mileage, road transport of personal effects and the 20-km CTG test are separate calculations under different provisions.

Can I claim the hotel ceiling if I spent less?

Hotel reimbursement is subject to admissible actual expenditure, ceiling, evidence and other rules; the ceiling is not necessarily a flat payment.

Is CTG payable on own-request transfer?

Generally no, subject to the exact applicable order and any specific exception.

Do these rules cover State employees?

This page focuses on Central Government civilian employees. State Governments, Railways, Defence and autonomous bodies may have different rules/adoption orders.

What if this page differs from a circular?

The applicable official order, amendments, cadre-specific instructions and sanction govern.

📚 Official references

DoE — 7th CPC Travelling Allowance Rules (OM No. 19030/1/2017-E.IV, 13 July 2017): Official order page ↗
DoE — Travelling Allowance and Related Matters archive: Browse circulars ↗ (includes 2022 special-region transfer instructions, 2020 local travel vouchers, 2018 claim time limits and other orders).
DoE — Orders and Circulars index: Official index ↗
DoPT — Consolidated Joining Time Rules: Official consolidated PDF ↗
7th CPC Report — transfer TA background: Official report PDF ↗

Disclaimer: This is an educational summary, not a government order or legal opinion. Verify current rates, eligibility, DA-linked escalation and proof requirements with the controlling authority/Accounts before incurring or claiming expenses.

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Transfer Allowance & Travelling Allowance Rules