TA/DA claim with leave days and wrong countersignature
A Junior Assistant in the J&K Finance Department, on regular establishment, was asked on 12 February 2025 to attend a two-day training at Srinagar. He travelled from Jammu by bus on 11 February, attended training on 12 and 13 February, and returned on 14 February. He has submitted a TA/DA claim for six days: 11 to 16 February, because he says he was stranded due to snow and took casual leave on 15 and 16 February. He claims hotel charges of ₹2,400 per day for four nights, but the hotel bill is in the name of his brother. He also claims taxi fare from Jammu to Srinagar and back, though the office had issued a bus warrant. The bill is countersigned by a section officer who was not the controlling officer. The DDO has asked you to verify the claim before payment.
1. Which days and components of the claim are admissible, and which should be disallowed? Give reasons.
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Admissible: journey days 11 and 14 for actual bus travel; training days 12 and 13 for DA as per rules; hotel charges only for nights actually spent on duty and only against a bill in the claimant's name or a valid stay certificate.
Disallowed: 15 and 16 February because the claimant was on casual leave; DA for those days is not payable. The hotel bill in the brother's name is not a valid supporting document unless the hotel certifies that the claimant stayed and the bill is regularised. Taxi fare should be disallowed if a bus warrant was issued and the bus was used; if taxi was unavoidable, prior permission or a certificate of non-availability is needed. The section officer's countersignature is not valid unless he is the controlling officer.
2. What documents and sanctions should be obtained before passing the bill? How should the DDO handle the irregular countersignature?
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Before passing the bill, obtain the tour order, training certificate, bus tickets, hotel bill with GST and stay certificate, casual leave sanction, and the controlling officer's certificate.
Verify that the claim does not exceed entitlement and that no DA is claimed for leave days. The DDO should return the bill to the controlling officer for proper countersignature; if there was urgency, obtain post-facto regularisation with reasons. Do not rely on the section officer's signature alone. If documents are missing, pass only the admitted portion and record the disallowed amount in writing.
3. What audit objection is likely if the bill is paid as submitted?
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Audit is likely to object to payment of DA during casual leave, entertainment of a third-party hotel bill, a taxi claim against a bus warrant, and lack of the controlling officer's sanction.
The objection can lead to recovery from the claimant and fixing responsibility on the DDO for negligent checking. The correct approach is part payment after admission and a written rejection note for the rest.