CCS (LTC) Rules, 1988 — Study Notes

• 📌These rules are called the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988.
• 📅They came into force on 21st May, 1988 (date of publication in the Official Gazette).

• ✅Persons appointed to civil services and posts, including civilian Government servants in the Defence Services, in connection with the affairs of the Union.
• ✅Persons employed under a State Government and who are on deputation with the Central Government.
• ✅Persons appointed on a contract basis.
• ✅Persons re-employed after retirement.

• 🚫Government servants not in whole-time employment.
• 🚫Persons in casual and daily rated employment.
• 🚫Persons paid from contingencies.
• 🚫Railway servants. ⚠️ Exception below
• 🚫Members of the Armed Forces.
• 🚫Local recruits in Indian Missions abroad.
• 🚫Persons eligible to any other form of travel concession available during leave or otherwise.

• ⏳LTC admissible on completion of one year's continuous service under CG.
• 📋Administrative authority must certify likely continuation for:
  • 🏠At least 2 years — for Home Town LTC.
  • 🗺️At least 4 years — for Any Place in India LTC.

• 📝If initial contract is for one year but later extended → total duration taken into account for LTC.

• 🔄Re-employed immediately after retirement without break → re-employed period treated as continuous with previous service.
• ⚠️LTC allowed only if it would have been admissible had the officer not retired.

• 🔭The LTC will cover the Government servant himself and his family.

• 🗺️Covers any place within the territory of India, whether mainland or overseas (A&N, Lakshadweep).
• ⚠️Local restrictions on border areas → GS's responsibility to fulfil.

• 👤Officer declared as such under Supplementary Rule 191.

• 💰Income from all sources (including pension, temp. increase, excluding DR) not exceeding minimum family pension + DR thereon (presently ₹9,000/- + DR as per 7th CPC) → deemed wholly dependent.
• 💡Dependency NOT applicable to husband & wife — one unit for LTC.

• 🏠Town, village or place declared by GS and accepted by Controlling Officer.

• 🛤️Same meaning as in Supplementary Rule 30.

• 📌Hometown once declared and accepted by CO → treated as final.

• ⚠️Change authorised by Head of Department (or Administrative Ministry if GS is HoD).
• 🔒Change shall not be made more than once during entire service.

• 📍Intended place of visit shall be declared in advance to the Controlling Officer.

• ✅May be changed before commencement — with CO's approval.

• ⚠️May not be changed after commencement except in exceptional circumstances (request could not be made before due to circumstances beyond control).
• 🏛️Relaxation by Administrative Ministry/Department or HoD.

• ⏳Admissible if one year's continuous service completed on the date of journey.

• ✅Admissible during any period of leave: Casual Leave, Special CL, CCL, Study Leave, Regular Leave (EL, HPL, Commuted, EOL), Medical Leave, Vacation (treated as regular leave).

• 🏠Admissible irrespective of distance between HQ and hometown.
• 📅Frequency: Once in a block of two calendar years (e.g., 2022–23, 2024–25).

• 🗺️Admissible irrespective of distance of place of visit from HQ.
• 📅Frequency: Once in a block of four calendar years (e.g., 2022–25, 2026–29).

• 🔄GS whose family lives away at hometown may, in lieu of all concessions (including AI LTC), choose LTC for self only to visit hometown every year.

Table: Options When HQ ≠ Hometown (Current Block 2022–2025)

Table: When HQ = Hometown

• 👨‍👩‍👧GS and family may travel in different groups at different times during a block.

• 📅Counted against the block within which the outward journey commenced, even if return journey after expiry of the block.

• ✅No restriction — family members may travel separately, to different destinations, at different times during a block.

• ✅No time-limit stipulation between when different groups travel. Carry forward also permitted even if one group has availed in that block.

• ⏩GS unable to avail LTC within a block may avail within the first year of the next block.

• ⚠️GS entitled to HT LTC can carry forward AI LTC for a block of 4 years only if he has also carried forward the HT LTC of the second sub-block of 2 years within that block.

• 🚫No carryover for fresh recruits — every-year LTC. If not availed → lapses at year-end.

• 🗺️GS and each family member may visit different places of their choice during a block of 4 years.
• ✅Not necessary for family to visit the same place as GS visited earlier in the same block.

• 🎫The travel entitlements of Government servants for LTC shall be the same as TA entitlements notified vide Ministry of Finance O.M. dated 13.07.2017.

• 🚂Travel allowed on LTC by: Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Tejas Rajdhani Express, Vande Bharat Express, and Humsafar Express trains — as per entitlement.

• ✅Flexi-fare (dynamic fare) applicable in Rajdhani / Shatabdi / Duronto trains shall be admissible for journeys performed by these trains on LTC.
• 🚫This dynamic fare component shall NOT be admissible where a non-entitled GS travels by air and claims reimbursement for the entitled class of Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto trains. Such GS will get reimbursement after deducting the dynamic fare component.
• 📅Applicable retrospectively from 9th September, 2016 (date flexi-fare was introduced by Railways).

• 👧Children aged 5–12 years: Actual rail fare shall be reimbursed as per the choice of rail tickets purchased by the GS (full fare if berth/seat reserved; half fare if not reserved).
• 🚫Children below 5 years — Air journey: No reimbursement shall be made for air journey of children below 5 years of non-entitled GS. However, this restriction does not apply under the Special Dispensation Scheme segments.
• 🚫Children below 5 years — Rail: No separate berth reimbursement (as Railways do not charge for children below 5 travelling by rail without separate berth).

• ♿Head of Department may allow use of own car / hired taxi for LTC journey on account of disability of GS or dependent family member, subject to:

• ①Medical Certificate from competent authority.
• ②Undertaking from GS that journey by authorised mode is not feasible and he actually travelled by own car/hired taxi.
• ③Claim shall not exceed the amount for journey by entitled class by rail/air by shortest route.

• 🍽️Catering charges: Wherever employees opt for catering services while booking eligible trains on LTC → reimbursement of catering charges shall be allowed.
• 📋Service Tax, Education Cess and other similar levies on Air/Road/Rail/Steamer travel on LTC are reimbursable.
• 🎫E-ticketing charges: Reimbursement of charges for booking rail tickets through Indian Railways website is allowed.
• 🚫Service charges paid to recognised Travellers' Service Agents for booking tickets on LTC → NOT reimbursable.
• 🚫Incidental expenses and local journey expenses → NOT reimbursable. Only point-to-point journey on through ticket over shortest direct route.
• 🚫Daily Allowance: No DA admissible for travel on LTC. All incidental/local journey expenses borne by GS.

• 💰Reimbursement shall cover only the expenses of journey — and only on the basis of a point-to-point journey on a through ticket over the shortest direct route.
• 🚫Reimbursement shall NOT cover incidental expenses and expenditure incurred on local journeys.
• 🚫Daily Allowance is not admissible for travel on LTC — all incidental and local expenses are borne by the Government servant.

• 🚂When a GS or family member travels by a longer route (which is not the cheapest) in two different classes of railway accommodation, the Government's share shall be:

• ①Entitled class rate for the corresponding proportion of the shortest or cheapest route; AND
• ②Lower-class rate for the remaining mileage by such route.

• 🎫Where a GS and/or his family avails of the concessional circular tour ticket offered by the Railways in conjunction with LTC, the reimbursement shall be:

• ▸Fare at normal rate for the entitled/lower class actually used between headquarters and declared place of visit by the shortest route for to-and-fro journey.

• ✅A GS and family are eligible for reimbursement of:
  • 🛏️Sleeper charges + Reservation charges — for journey in Second Class.
  • 📋Reservation charges only — for journey in First Class.

• 💻Charges for booking of rail tickets through internet / e-ticketing via the website of Indian Railways → reimbursable for official tours and LTC journeys.
• 🚫Service charges paid to recognised Travellers' Service Agents for booking of tickets on LTC → NOT reimbursable.

• 📋The element of Service Tax, Education Cess and other similar levies charged by Government on travel by Air / Road / Rail / Steamer on tour / transfer or LTC are reimbursable to the individual officer.

• ⏱️The following time-limits shall be followed while processing LTC applications/claims of Government servants:

* Additional 3 days transit time allowed where place of posting is away from Headquarters.

• 🍽️Wherever employees opt for catering services while booking tickets for eligible trains for LTC → reimbursement of catering charges shall be allowed.

• ✅Both types of cancellation charges shall be reimbursed on the ground of official exigencies only:
  • ①Cancellation charges levied by airlines
  • ②Cancellation charges levied by the three Authorised Travel Agents (ATAs) for utilisation of their portals/platforms
• ⚠️Cancellations made less than 24 hours before intended travel → self-declared justification required.
• 🚫Non-entitled GS (who are not under Special Dispensation Scheme) who travel by air → cancellation charges borne by the GS.

• 🚗Where a GS travels on LTC up to the nearest airport / railway station / bus terminal by authorised mode of transport, but undertakes the rest of the journey to the declared place of visit by private transport / own arrangement (personal vehicle or private taxi), the following rules apply:

• 🏛️In supersession of earlier O.M. dated 27.09.2007, Ministries/Departments and attached/subordinate offices can now admit belated LTC claims without reference to DoPT, subject to the conditions below:

• 💰Amount of advance in each case shall be limited to four-fifths (4/5th = 80%) of the estimated amount which Government would reimburse for the cost of journey both ways.
• 👨‍👩‍👧If family travels separately from the GS → advance may be drawn separately to the extent admissible.

• ✅Advance may be drawn for both forward and return journeys at the time of commencement of the forward journey — provided the period of leave / anticipated absence does not exceed 3 months (90 days).
• ⚠️If this limit is exceeded → advance may be drawn for the outward journey only.
• 🚨If the 3-month limit is exceeded after the advance had already been drawn for both journeys → one half of the advance should be refunded to Government forthwith.

• 🚫Advance should be refunded in full if the outward journey is not commenced within 30 days of the grant of advance.

• 📅Claim for reimbursement shall be submitted within 1 month of completion of return journey.
• 🚫Failure → GS required to refund entire advance forthwith in one lump sum. No recovery in instalments shall be entertained.

• ⚖️If a Disciplinary Authority decides to initiate disciplinary proceedings on the charge of preferring a fraudulent LTC claim → GS shall not be allowed LTC till the finalization of such proceedings.

• 🚫If proceedings result in imposition of any penalty under Rule 11 of CCS(CCA) Rules, 1965 → GS shall not be allowed the next two sets of LTC in addition to the sets already withheld during pendency of proceedings.
• ⬆️The Controlling Authority may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, disallow more than two sets of LTC.

• ✅If GS is fully exonerated of the charge → he shall be allowed to avail the withheld concession as additional sets in future block years — but before the normal date of superannuation.

• ❓If there is any doubt regarding any provision in these rules → the matter shall be referred to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
• ✅DoPT shall decide the matter.

• 🔓Where any Ministry or Department of the Government is satisfied that the operation of any rule causes undue hardship in any particular case → it may, by order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, dispense with or relax the requirements of that rule.
• ✅Relaxation may be to such extent and subject to such exceptions and conditions as may be considered necessary for dealing with the case in a just and equitable manner.

• 📜All existing instructions which are not contrary to any provision of these rules → shall continue in force.
• 📋All instructions which cover matters not specifically covered by these rules → shall also continue in force.
• ⏳Both categories continue until they are amended, modified or cancelled.