1. General provisions
1.1. These Regulations form part of the financial and human resources policy in force at the organization.
1.2. The purpose of these Regulations is to build and establish financial and human resources and to set out how the organization’s existing policy is strengthened.
1.3. These Regulations apply for the full duration of projects whose budgets provide for business travel payments. Travel expenses are not reimbursed between projects or in projects that do not provide for travel payments.
1.4. For the purposes of these Regulations, the following terms are used:
Business trip — travel by a staff member of the Organization, by order of the Chairperson or an authorized representative, for a set period (up to 30 days) and over a distance of more than 30 km, to carry out an official assignment (project monitoring, meetings, round tables, trainings, seminars, internal assessments, recruitment of staff, administrative, technical and other matters) away from their regular place of work.
Travel expenses — the following types of expenses incurred by a staff member who is away from their place of work by order of their manager:
- daily allowance and meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner);
- accommodation;
- travel to the destination and back.
2. Objectives of the business travel regulations
2.1. The objectives of these Regulations are:
- to set out the guarantees and compensation for staff members sent on business trips;
- to ensure that donor funds allocated for business travel are used correctly and economically;
- to set the rates at which staff members are reimbursed for money spent on business trips.
These Regulations are based on the Labour Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Tax Code of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Instruction “On the procedure for paying business travel expenses of civil servants and employees of state organizations and institutions travelling abroad and within the Republic of Tajikistan” of 31 January 2015, No. 38.
3. Guarantees for staff members on business trips
3.1. A staff member on a business trip keeps their job and position.
3.2. Their salary is maintained.
3.3. Expenses incurred on a business trip are reimbursed within the limits of the travel certificate and the amount provided for in the project budget.
4. Duration of business trips
4.1. A business trip is authorized by an order of the employer stating the destination, duration and purpose of the trip.
4.2. Every staff member sent on a business trip receives a travel certificate registered in the business travel log and signed by the Executive Director or an authorized representative.
4.3. The length of a staff member’s trip is determined by the actual number of days travelled, from the day of departure to the day of return as recorded in the travel certificate.
4.4. The length of stay at the destination is determined by the entries in the travel certificate, from the day of arrival to the day of departure. If a staff member travels to several places, the days of arrival and departure are recorded for each of them.
4.5. The day of departure is the day on which the means of transport leaves the staff member’s regular place of work. The day of return is the day on which the means of transport carrying the staff member back to their regular place of work arrives. If the means of transport leaves up to and including midnight, that day counts as the day of departure; from 1 a.m. onwards, the following day counts.
4.6. A staff member being sent on a trip must be at work until the middle or the end of the working day before departure. If the staff member returns to their place of work before the end of the working day, whether they return to work that same day is decided separately.
4.7. Staff members on business trips follow the working hours and rest periods of the body or enterprise they are visiting. Days off not taken during a trip are not compensated with other days off afterwards.
5. Procedure for arranging business trips and reimbursing travel expenses
5.1. Before leaving on a business trip, the staff member receives a non-cash advance covering travel, the daily allowance and accommodation within the approved rates.
5.2. Within 3 days of returning, staff members must submit an expense report on the advance, and within 5 days a written report on the results of the trip. The Executive Director or an authorized representative must take a decision no later than 5 days after receiving the staff member’s report.
5.3. The travel certificate, together with the expense report, is the basis for calculating the staff member’s travel expenses. Trip reports are not accepted without the dates of departure and return recorded in the travel certificate. Any unspent part of the advance is returned by the staff member after their return.
5.4. If a breach of labour discipline leads to work being done improperly or a report on the work not being submitted on time, disciplinary measures (a warning, a reprimand or dismissal) are applied to the staff member.
5.5. If a trip is cancelled or shortened by order of the employer, the advance received is returned to the organization.
5.6. Expenses arising from a trip taken by a staff member without authorization are not reimbursed.
5.7. To cover a staff member’s expenses, a daily allowance is paid for each day of the trip:
- in near and far abroad countries — at least 55 US dollars;
- within the Republic of Tajikistan, in Dushanbe — from 120 somoni, up to the amount in the project budget;
- in regional and district centres of the Republic of Tajikistan — from 80 somoni, up to the amount in the project budget;
- in other settlements — from 40 somoni, up to the amount in the project budget.
5.8. Accommodation costs are reimbursed on presentation of receipts for payment for a hotel stay.
5.9. The daily allowance in foreign currency is calculated at the exchange rate of the National Bank of Tajikistan on the day of payment. It is broken down as follows: breakfast — 20%, lunch — 30%, dinner — 35% and other expenses — 15% of the total daily allowance.
5.10. When staff members travel within or outside the Republic of Tajikistan at the invitation of other organizations or as part of joint projects, their travel and accommodation are paid for in accordance with the rules and requirements of the inviting party.