DECISION No 2021/02 OF THE REGIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE TRANSPORT COMMUNITY

on the rules on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by persons from outside the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community who are invited to participate in meetings of the Transport Community [2023/560]

THE REGIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE TRANSPORT COMMUNITY,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Transport Community, and in particular Article 35 thereof,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The rules on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by persons from outside the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community who are invited to participate in meetings of the Transport Community, set out in the Annex, are hereby adopted.

Upon their adoption, the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community shall publish the rules on the website of the Transport Community.

Article 2

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done in Sarajevo, 7 June 2021.

For the Regional Steering Committee

The Chairman

ANNEX

RULES ON THE REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES INCURRED BY PERSONS FROM OUTSIDE THE PERMANENT SECRETARIAT OF THE TRANSPORT COMMUNITY WHO ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN MEETINGS OF THE TRANSPORT COMMUNITY

1. Scope

1.1.

These rules apply to persons from outside the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community (‘Permanent Secretariat’) who are invited to participate in any of the meetings of the Transport Community listed in rule 1.2.

1.2.

The meetings which are covered by these rules are meetings of the following configurations, committees and other fora of the Transport Community:

(a) the Ministerial Council, the Regional Steering Committee, technical committees, the Social Forum;

(b) the Budget Committee;

(c) task forces, coordination groups and other working bodies established by the decisions or conclusions of the Ministerial Council and of the Regional Steering Committee;

(d) conferences, workshops and other fora organised by the Permanent Secretariat relating to the work program of the Transport Community;

(e) other meetings organised within the scope of Transport Community Treaty implementation (high level debates, workshops etc.);

(f) selection procedures for posts published by the Transport Community (selection panel members); and

(g) selection procedures for posts published by the Transport Community (applicants).

1.3.

Only one representative per ministry, regulatory authority, agency, entity or other beneficiary party shall be entitled to reimbursement of expenses under these rules. However, in the event of meetingslisted in rule 1.2 being organised jointly, the Director of the Permanent Secretariat (‘Director’) may depart from this rule by a reasoned decision.

1.4.

These rules cover the reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs only. Participants shall not be entitled to additional sums such as a daily subsistence allowance.

2. Travel expenses

2.1.

All participants shall be entitled to the reimbursement of their travel expenses from the place specified in their invitation (work or home address) to the place of the meeting, by the most appropriate means of transport given the distance involved. In general, this shall be second-class rail travel for journeys of less than 400 km (one way, according to official distance by rail), and economy class air travel for distances of 400 km or more.

2.2.

The Director shall endeavour to ensure that meetings are organised in such a way as to enable participants to benefit from the most economical travel rates.

2.3.

Travel expenses shall be reimbursed only on presentation of original supporting documents.

2.4.

When air or rail transport is not available or is not cost-effective, travel by bus or car shall be authorised.

2.5.

The cost of travel by private vehicle shall be reimbursed at the rate of EUR 0,22 per km.

2.6.

Taxi fares shall only be reimbursed if no local public transport is available.

2.7.

Travel costs shall be reimbursed up to EUR 700.

3. Accommodation expenses

3.1.

Participants shall be entitled to the reimbursement of their accommodation expenses. Accommodation expenses are the costs incurred in staying overnight at the place where the meeting is held because the meeting times are incompatible with the times of flights or trains. Accommodation expenses shall be reimbursed up to EUR 120 per night. The number of overnight stays shall not exceed the number of meeting days + 1.

3.2.

Subject to the prior approval of the Director, participants may exceptionally be entitled to the reimbursement of the accommodation expenses related to an additional night at the place where the meeting is held if, by prolonging the stay, the participant is able to obtain a reduction in the cost of transport worth more than the accommodation costs related to the additional night.

3.3.

Participants shall not be entitled to the reimbursement of other expenditure related to the stay at the hotel such as internet, telephone, photocopying, minibar, non-included breakfast.

4. Purchase of tickets and accommodation

4.1.

In principle, theparticipants invited to a meeting listed in rule 1.2, points (a) to (e), shall book their own tickets and accommodation. The bookings shall be made as early as possible so that the most economical fare or rate can be obtained. The Permanent Secretariat shall book travel or accommodation on behalf of participants or make advanced payment for expenditure only in exceptional cases and subject to rule 6.

4.2.

For participants invited to a meeting listed in rule 1.2, points (f) and (g), the travel and accommodation arrangements shall be made by the Permanent Secretariat.

5. Reimbursement procedure

5.1.

To obtain reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses, participants shall submit a request for the reimbursement of expenses ('reimbursement request'). The reimbursement request shall be:

(a) made using the form set out in Appendix 1;

(b) submitted in electronic format to the Permanent Secretariat at the latest 15 calendar days after the date of the meeting in question; and

(c) accompanied by a complete set of original supporting documents, such as tickets and invoices or, in the case of online bookings, the printout of the electronic reservation and boarding cards for the outward journey, as evidence of the costs incurred and showing the class of travel used, the time of travel and the amount paid.

5.2.

Correspondence regarding reimbursements shall be sent to the Permanent Secretariat at finance@transport-community.org.

5.3.

Reimbursement shall be made in euro. The rate of exchange that applies to the reimbursement shall be that applicable on the date of the meeting.

5.4.

Reimbursement shall be made via bank transfer to the bank account of the institution or organisation designating the participant, using the bank account details submitted in accordance with rule 5.5. However, reimbursement may be made to a private bank account of the participant if that institution or organisation so requests in writing.

5.5.

The bank account details to be submitted for the purposes of rule 5.4 shall contain the following information relating to the beneficiary: name and address of the account holder, name of the bank, bank account number (IBAN) and SWIFT code (BIC).

6. Advanced payment of travel and accommodation expenses

6.1.

In exceptional cases, a designating institution or organisation may submit a request to the Permanent Secretariat for the advanced payment of travel or accommodation relating to a participant invited to a meeting listed in points (a) to (e) of rule 1.2. Such a proceeding includes the booking of travel and accommodation by the Permanent Secretariat.

6.2.

Requests for advanced payment shall be made using the form set out in Appendix 2 and sent at least 21 calendar days before the date of the meeting to the Permanent Secretariat at finance@transport-community.org.

6.3.

Where a request is submitted in accordance with rule 6.2, the Director may grant the request. If a request is submitted late, the Director may reject the request.

6.4.

Following the grant of a request under rule 6.3, and having regard to the draft agenda for the meeting, the Permanent Secretariat shall book the travel and accommodation for the participant in question. The Permanent Secretariat shall send the booking confirmations for the ticket and accommodation to the participant by email.

6.5.

By requesting advanced payment of travel expenses, the participant commits to attend the meeting.

6.6.

Where the participant is unable to attend the meeting for reasons which are not directly attributable to the Transport Community, the designating institution or organisation shall indemnify the Permanent Secretariat for the costs incurred in relation to the organisation of the trip (e.g. costs of tickets booked including cancellation fees).

7. Administrative and final provisions

7.1.

The Director is responsible for the proper implementation of these rules.

7.2.

The Permanent Secretariat shall retain, for a period of five years, the records, documents and evidence related to reimbursements under these rules, including documents related to exceptional treatment.

Appendix 1

TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST

1.	MEETING DETAILS Description of the meeting:

Place:

Date:

No. of days:

2.	PARTICIPANT

FAMILY NAME:

FIRST NAME:

INSTITUTION/ORGANISATION:

TITLE:

COUNTRY:

E-MAIL:

TEL:

3.	BANK DETAILS — please provide full IBAN and SWIFT code (BIC)

NAME AND ADDRESS OF ACCOUNT HOLDER (INSTITUTION): (please indicate the name of owner/beneficiary of the bank account in this field)

BANK NAME

Account number

IBAN

SWIFT (BIC)

4.	ACCOMMODATION

From:

To:

DATES OF STAY

Total number of hotel nights (max. rate of 120 EUR/night)

Please attach a copy of the hotel receipt invoice

5.	TRAVEL EXPENSES

Airplane, train, long distance bus, local public transport, etc.

FROM

CLASS

AMOUNT

CURRENCY

In EUR

Itinerary

Continue on a separate sheet if required. Please attach a copy of the available receipts/invoices, including boarding passes for flights/train/bus

CAR

From:

To:

To: (Return)

Proof of distance attached (copy of the route from Google Maps or

ViaMichelin.com or Rome2Rio.com, to be submitted in PDF or JPG format)

KM both ways:

Total EUR:

TAXI (if local public transport was not available) – receipts required; additional justification necessary

Amount

Currency

In EUR

TOTAL AMOUNT CLAIMED in EURO:

Other remarks:

I certify that this travel reimbursement request is a true statement of travel expenses incurred by me. I have not been and will not be reimbursed for these expenses from any other source nor have I included any expenses paid or to be paid directly from another source.

Date:

PARTICIPANT SIGNATURE:

Appendix 2

REQUEST FOR ADVANCED PAYMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES

1.	Traveller's details - please fill in ALL fields marked with {* }

Last name*:

First name*:

Name of the organisation/ institution*:

Function:

Passport number* (required for booking purposes):

Contact phone No.:

E-mail:

Title and place of meeting:

Dates of the meeting:

From:

To:

Travel route:

Departing from:

Arriving to:

2.	Request for Booking – please tick relevant box

TRAVEL ☐ ACCOMMODATION ☐

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR PARTICIPANTS:

—

This form serves as a basis for the travel arrangements made by the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community on behalf of the traveller. It shall be approved in advance by the traveller's direct superior and submitted in a scanned form to the Permanent Secretariat's mailbox: finance@transport-community.org.

—	The traveller is solely responsible for the correctness of the submitted details and bears full responsibility for incomplete or erroneous data that might result in cancellation, impossibility to travel, change of booking details or additional related charges.

—	All extra costs (use of mini-bar in the hotel, parking fees, additional nights etc.) shall not be reimbursed.

—	The traveller is obliged to keep all boarding passes and travel tickets as proof of travel and upon return he/she is asked to send the scanned copies to the email specified above.

—	The Permanent Secretariat shall make travel arrangements within the available travel and accommodation offers on the market that match the Reimbursement Rules limits and rates.

—

The undersigned confirms that he/she is aware of the refunding clause laid down in rule 6.6 of the Reimbursement Rules: Where the participant is unable to attend the meeting for reasons which are not directly attributable to the Transport Community, the designating institution or organisation shall indemnify the Permanent Secretariat for the costs incurred in relation to the organisation of the trip (e.g. costs of tickets booked including cancellation fees).

Signature: ________________

Date: _____________________

Head of designating institution/organisation approval: _____________ Date: __________

3.	FOR TRANSPORT COMMUNITY PERMANENT SECRETARIAT INTERNAL USE

Estimated costs (in EUR)

Budget Availability

Flight ticket / Train ticket/ bus ticket / Car

YES ☐ NO ☐

Financial & Accounting Officer:

Accommodation

TOTAL:

DIRECTOR'S APPROVAL:

☐ Approved ☐ Not approved

Budgetary commitment No.: