The employee stayed at the location of the business trip for the weekend or vacation. Delay at the place of business trip on weekends Delay on business trip
Question An employee, by agreement with the Employer, after the end of a business trip, remained at the point of assignment for weekends (holidays) due to personal (family) circumstances. How to properly reimburse business trip expenses? Answer It is necessary to formalize the employer's consent for the employee to stay at the place of business trip: for example, this may be a corresponding note in the business trip order. You can also make a separate order (see at the end of the answer) In this case, the employee will have to pay for travel to and from the business trip, accommodation, pay daily allowance and keep the average earnings for the business trip and travel time. At the same time, for the days for which the employee stayed at the place of business trip due to personal circumstances, he does not have to pay for accommodation, pay per diem and maintain his average earnings.
The employee stayed at the place of business trip for the weekend or vacation
Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work. In this case, the organization pays for an employee a ticket with an arrival date later than the end of the business trip specified in the business trip order, in accordance with paragraphs.
1 item 2 art. 211
Code is recognized as his income received in kind. The cost of the said ticket is subject to personal income tax in accordance with the provisions of Art.
211 Code. If, for example, the employee remains at the place of business trip, using weekends or non-working holidays, the organization's payment for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him. Let us note that the letters of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation do not provide a criterion for the significance of exceeding the travel period.
The employee was delayed on a business trip, taxation features
According to the Ministry of Finance of Russia, in this case there is an economic benefit provided for in Article 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work. Here the employee already receives income in kind, which, by virtue of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of Article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is subject to personal income tax.
Attention
AS IT WAS BEFORE Until recently, the main financial department believed that any discrepancy between the end date of a business trip and the date of departure from the place of assignment leads to the generation of income in kind, subject to personal income tax. At the same time, the explanations indicated that if a business trip ends on Friday, and tickets are purchased for Monday, then their cost is subject to inclusion in the employee’s taxable income *3.
*3See letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 22, 2009 No. 03-04-06-01/244, dated April 1, 2009 No. 03-04-06-01/74.
Taxes and law
After all, the letter is not about extending a business trip, but about a case where an employee decided to stay in the city on his own business. And the officials mentioned the order as if as a follow-up, reminding that if the company decides to extend the business trip, then the order is necessary.
Info
Therefore, if your employee decided to remain in the place of business trip at his own discretion, then an extension order is not needed. The costs of a return ticket can be confirmed by an advance report, which will be signed by the head of the company.
What to do However, there is a possibility that Field Inspectors will consider such expenses to be unreasonable, arguing that the employer in this case pays for the employee’s return not from a business trip, but from a vacation spot. But in this case, the organization has the opportunity to defend the disputed expenses in court - resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District dated June 19, 2007.
No. A50-17977/06.
Preparation of documents if an employee is delayed on a business trip
The employee was delayed on a business trip. Who will pay for the travel It happens that an employee, at the end of his business trip, decides to stay in this city for a few more days. For example, a business trip ends on Friday, and the employee wants to stay another weekend.
Is it possible to take into account the cost of a return ticket when calculating income tax? After all, the date on the return ticket will not coincide with the end date of the business trip on the travel certificate. According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, it is possible. However, permission must be given by the head of the company.
Financial department specialists spoke about this in a letter dated March 26, 2009 No. 03-03-06/1/191. The arguments are as follows: the company would have borne the costs of travel for an employee from a business trip to his place of permanent work in any case. Indeed, according to Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the company is obliged to reimburse travel expenses to a posted worker.
calendar of events
EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THE TERM The financial department considered the situation when an employee goes on a business trip earlier than its start date or is delayed at the place where the task is performed*1. *1 In the future, we will only talk about the case when the employee was delayed at the place of business trip, keeping in mind the opposite situation - arriving on a business trip earlier than its start date according to the order of the manager. The Russian Ministry of Finance analyzed two options: the employee stays at the place of business trip only on weekends or non-working holidays, or remains there for a significant period of time (for example, during vacation).
Let us remind you that, according to Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer, in the event of being sent on a business trip, is obliged to reimburse the employee, including his travel expenses.
Two norms of tax legislation are associated with this obligation: - the employer has the right to accept travel expenses to reduce taxable profit on the basis of subparagraph 12 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; - the employee as an individual is exempt from personal income tax on the amounts of such compensation by virtue of paragraph 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code RF. If an employee uses only weekends at his own discretion at the place of business trip, he, according to department experts, does not have any economic benefit, and travel expenses can be considered directly related to the business trip. This conclusion is explained by the fact that, according to Articles 106 and 107 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employee can use the rest time, which includes weekends and non-working holidays, at his own discretion and is free from performing work duties.
The employee stayed for the weekend at the place of business travel expenses
Therefore, when he stays at the place of business trip only for the weekend, he has no economic benefit (Article 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), in other words, income that is subject to personal income tax. That is, if an employee returns from a business trip after using weekends (holidays), travel expenses to the place of business trip are reimbursed within the framework of the guarantees provided by the Labor Code*2.
See also letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 05.08.08 No. 03-04-06-01/246. For the same reason, an employer may consider payment for travel from a business trip after a weekend to be directly related to the business trip and, therefore, has every reason to take these expenses into account when determining the tax base for income tax.
A different situation arises if the employee is delayed at the place of business trip, for example, for a vacation.
Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Is payment for travel to the employee’s place of permanent work considered income? Can the company take into account travel expenses? When can travel expenses be recognized? The company can take into account the costs of paying for a travel ticket for an employee’s travel from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work as expenses for profit tax purposes (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 26, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/34815) :
- - if the employee was delayed at the place of business trip with the permission of the manager, confirming the expediency of the expenses incurred by the employee;
- — the date of departure of the employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work coincides with the date for which the ticket was purchased.
The company has the right to adopt provisions for processing and reimbursement of travel expenses.
In order to recognize travel expenses for income tax purposes, the requirements common to all expenses, provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, so the main thing is that the expenses are economically justified and documented. In particular, the Ministry of Finance of Russia in its letters dated 09/03/2012 N 03-03-06/1/456 (clause 1), dated 09/20/2011 N 03-03-06/1/558, dated 08/16/2010 N 03-03 -06/1/545 (clause 2), dated 04/01/2009 N 03-04-06-01/74 (clause 2), dated 03/26/2009 N 03-03-06/1/191 explains that when When classifying the costs of paying for an employee’s travel to the place of business trip and back as expenses taken into account for corporate income tax purposes, it is necessary to take into account that these costs would have been incurred in any case, regardless of the length of the employee’s stay at the destination.
We send an employee on a business trip abroad to meet with our partners. The meeting will be on April 28 and 29. The question is this. Will April 30 be considered a working day if the employee is on the road on this day and this is confirmed a/b and is it necessary to issue an order to work on a day off? 2. If the employee wrote a note in which he expressed a desire to stay at the place of business trip on this day (April 30) and tickets for the return trip will be available on May 1. The legislation allows reimbursement of travel expenses from the place of business trip if the dates of the travel document differ from the end date of the business trip specified in the order, if the consent of the head of the organization is obtained. Should we pay an employee for a day of travel as work on a day off, if the employee will spend this day at his own discretion at the place of business trip and return to the place of work a day later? He still spends his travel time just not on April 30, but on May 1? And how to correctly calculate the daily allowance if the marks in the passport about crossing the Russian border are on May 1?
The company can take into account the costs of paying for a travel ticket for an employee’s travel from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work as expenses for profit tax purposes (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 26, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/34815):
If an employee remains at the place of business trip on weekends or non-working holidays, the company’s payment for his travel from the place of his free time from work to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 12, 2013 No. 03-04-08/ 37693 and dated August 10, 2012 No. 03-04-06/6-23).
How to pay for a business trip for a full-time employee
By order of the head of the organization, an employee may be specially sent on a business trip to work on a weekend or holiday. A posted employee has the right to claim time off or additional pay for these days.
If an employee is given time off, pay for work on a business trip on a day off at a single rate. Do not pay for a day off.*
If time off is not granted, the work must be paid:
The Labor Code does not prohibit an employee from taking annual paid leave without returning to work from a business trip.
According to experts from the main financial department, if an employee remains at the place of business trip for a vacation, the costs of paying for travel to the place of work are not considered justified for tax purposes: the company pays for the employee’s return from the place of vacation, and not from the business trip.
Consequently, the company cannot recognize the costs of paying for an employee’s travel from the place of vacation to the permanent place of work for profit tax purposes (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 8, 2013 No. 030306/1/47813).
The Tax Code does not provide for an exemption from personal income tax for employee travel expenses to the place of vacation and from the place of vacation to their place of residence. Therefore, the amount of payment for an employee’s travel from the place of business trip to the place of vacation and from the place of vacation to the place of work is his economic benefit, provided for in Article 41 of the Tax Code. This means they are subject to personal income tax (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 8, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/47813).
An employee of a company (CJSC Korobeinik) located in Moscow, P.R. Volkov was sent on a business trip to St. Petersburg from June 2 to June 11, 2014. From June 16, 2014, according to the vacation schedule, he has an annual paid vacation of 14 calendar days.
The company has a five-day work week. When must an employee report for a business trip?
Solution
ETC. Volkov is due to return from a business trip on June 11. The first three working days in which he must submit an advance report on travel expenses and a report on work performed fall during the period of annual leave (from June 16 to June 29, 2014).
On June 30, 2014, the employee must return to work after vacation. During the period from June 30 to July 2, 2014, he must report on the business trip - submit an advance report on business trip expenses and a written report on the work performed.
The employee was delayed on a business trip on weekends or holidays
Weekends, like non-working holidays, are the time during which the employee is free from performing work duties (Article and Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Is payment for travel to the employee’s place of permanent work considered income? Can the company take into account travel expenses?
The company can take into account the costs of paying for a travel ticket for an employee’s travel from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work as expenses for profit tax purposes (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 26, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/34815):
- - if the employee was delayed at the place of business trip with the permission of the manager, confirming the expediency of the expenses incurred by the employee;
- - the date of departure of the employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work coincides with the date for which the ticket was purchased.
- for employees who have an hourly rate - at least double the hourly rate;
- for piece workers - at least at double the piece rate;
- employees with a constant salary - depending on the fulfillment of the monthly work quota. If on a day off an employee worked within the monthly norm, he needs to be paid at least a single daily (hourly) rate. If he worked in excess of the monthly norm, the additional payment should be at least double the daily (hourly) rate.
From an article in “Salary” Magazine, No. 6, June 2014 Travel expenses from vacation to place of work
Payment for travel from vacation to place of work - employee income
Example 3
When can travel expenses be recognized?
- - if the employee was delayed at the place of business trip with the permission of the manager, confirming the expediency of the expenses incurred by the employee;
- - the date of departure of the employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work coincides with the date for which the ticket was purchased.*
The company has the right to adopt provisions for processing and reimbursement of travel expenses. It can state that posted workers, whose last day of business trip falls on the day preceding weekends or non-working holidays, have the right to submit an application to the employer with a request to leave them at the place of business trip for a short period.
Payment for travel is not an employee’s income*
If an employee remains at the place of business trip on weekends or non-working holidays, the company’s payment for his travel from the place of his free time from work to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 12, 2013 No. 03-04-08/ 37693 and dated August 10, 2012 No. 03-04-06/6-23).*
Example 4
Let's change the conditions of example 3. Employee of JSC "Korobeinik"
ETC. Volkov was sent on a business trip to St. Petersburg from June 2 to June 11, 2014. Before leaving for a business trip, he submitted an application to the employer with a request to allow, for personal reasons, to spend a “long weekend” at the place of business trip from June 12 to June 15, 2014. With the consent of the employer, he will return from a business trip on Monday, June 16, 2014.
Can a company take into account the costs of paying for the travel cost of a posted employee from St. Petersburg to Moscow? Is payment for travel to the place of permanent work recognized as employee income subject to personal income tax?
Solution
The employee stayed at the place of business trip for the weekend with the permission of the manager. Therefore, the cost of purchasing a ticket for travel P.R. Volkov from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work can be taken into account as expenses for profit tax purposes.
The company’s payment for the employee’s travel from the place where he or she spends his free time from work to his place of work does not lead to the emergence of economic benefits for him, is not a subject to a tax
Personal income tax.
There are situations when a posted employee, with the permission of the head of the organization, stays at the place of assignment for weekends, non-working holidays or during vacation. Upon arrival, the advance report for the business trip drawn up by the employee, along with other supporting documents, is accompanied by a return ticket with an arrival date later than the end of the business trip specified in the order sending the employee on a business trip. Are reimbursements for travel expenses to an employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work subject to personal income tax if he stays at the place of business trip on weekends, non-working holidays or during vacation? Is it possible to take into account as expenses when calculating income tax, the amount of reimbursement of expenses to an employee for the return trip in the above situation? Let's try to answer these questions.
In accordance with Art. 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a business trip is a trip by an employee by order of the employer for a certain period of time to carry out an official assignment outside the place of permanent work. At the same time, the employee is guaranteed the preservation of his place of work (position) and average earnings, as well as reimbursement of expenses associated with a business trip, in particular expenses associated with travel to the place of assignment and back (Articles 167 and 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The procedure and amount of reimbursement of expenses related to business trips are determined by a collective agreement or local regulations. This norm is also enshrined in Art. 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and clause 11 of the Regulations on the specifics of sending employees on business trips, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 N 749 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations).
Based on the employer’s decision to send an employee on a business trip, an order is drawn up defining the period for fulfilling the official assignment and a travel certificate confirming the period of his stay on the business trip (date of arrival at the point(s) of destination and date of departure from it (from them)) (Art. 166 Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clauses 3 and 7 of the Regulations).
Tax Code of the Russian Federation, clause 3, art. 217 provides for exemption from personal income tax of all types established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation, legislative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, decisions of representative bodies of local self-government of compensation payments (within the limits established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation), related, in particular, to the taxpayer’s execution labor duties, including reimbursement of travel expenses. In turn, when the employer pays the taxpayer expenses for business trips both within the country and abroad, the income subject to taxation does not include actually incurred and documented targeted expenses for travel to the destination and back.
In letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 09/03/2012 N 03-03-06/1/456, dated 08/10/2012 N 03-04-06/6-234, dated 08/07/2012 N 03-04-06/6-221, dated 06/10/2010 N 03-04-06/6-111 considered the procedure for taxing personal income tax in situations where an employee stayed at the place of business trip on weekends, non-working holidays or during vacation.
Financiers do not give a clear answer, arguing that if an employee returns from a business trip later than the established date specified in the business trip order, payment for his travel in some cases cannot be considered as compensation for expenses associated with a business trip. As a criterion for assessing the targeted nature of travel expenses from a business trip, it is proposed to use the length of the period of time for which the employee stayed at the place of business trip.
In particular, if the period of stay at the place of business trip significantly exceeds the period established by the order on the business trip (for example, if immediately after the end of the business trip the employee is granted leave, which he spends at the place of business trip), the employee receives economic benefits provided for in Art. 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work.
In this case, the organization pays for an employee a ticket with an arrival date later than the end of the business trip specified in the business trip order, in accordance with paragraphs. 1 item 2 art. 211 of the Code is recognized as his income received in kind. The cost of the said ticket is subject to personal income tax in accordance with the provisions of Art. 211 Code.
If, for example, the employee remains at the place of business trip, using weekends or non-working holidays, the organization's payment for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him.
Let us note that the letters of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation do not provide a criterion for the significance of exceeding the travel period. In some cases, vacation may be granted, for example, for one or two days. Therefore, the taxpayer will have to resolve this issue independently.
I would like to note that there is an opposite opinion of the courts. The Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District dated June 19, 2007 N F09-3838/07-C2 concluded that in the situation under consideration, reimbursement of the cost of a ticket to an employee is made in the interests of the employer and is compensation for expenses, and not income received by the employee; accordingly, personal income tax is not assessed . Similar conclusions are contained in the Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District dated May 4, 2007 N F09-3119/07-S2.
Thus, if an employee stays at the place of business trip for a long period of time to spend a vacation, in order to avoid disputes with the tax authorities, and also given the lack of extensive positive arbitration practice on this issue, it will be safer for the organization to tax the cost of return travel with personal income tax.
In accordance with paragraphs. 12 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, other expenses associated with production and sales include expenses for business trips, including expenses for the employee’s travel to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work.
In order to recognize travel expenses for income tax purposes, the requirements common to all expenses, provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, so the main thing is that the expenses are economically justified and documented.
In particular, the Ministry of Finance of Russia in its letters dated 09/03/2012 N 03-03-06/1/456 (clause 1), dated 09/20/2011 N 03-03-06/1/558, dated 08/16/2010 N 03-03 -06/1/545 (clause 2), dated 04/01/2009 N 03-04-06-01/74 (clause 2), dated 03/26/2009 N 03-03-06/1/191 explains that when When classifying the costs of paying for an employee’s travel to the place of business trip and back as expenses taken into account for corporate income tax purposes, it is necessary to take into account that these costs would have been incurred in any case, regardless of the length of the employee’s stay at the destination. Thus, regardless of the time spent at the destination, the costs of purchasing a travel document for the employee’s travel from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work can be taken into account as expenses for corporate income tax purposes if the date of departure of the employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work coincides with the date on which the above travel ticket was purchased, as well as if the delay in the traveler’s departure from the place of business trip occurred with the permission of the manager, confirming in accordance with the established procedure the expediency of the expenses incurred. Accordingly, if an employee plans to stay at the place of business trip, say, on weekends, he needs to inform the head of the organization about this and obtain his permission, for example, present the manager with a memo outlining his intentions to spend the weekend at the place of business trip and obtain a permit resolution on it, or the manager may issue a separate permitting order based on the employee’s memo. These documents must be attached to the advance report of the posted employee along with other supporting documents.
Sometimes employers have to recall employees from a business trip or, conversely, extend its duration. How to do this correctly, read the article.
The procedure for sending employees on business trips is established in the Regulations on the specifics of sending employees on business trips, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 No. 749 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations on Business Travel), and guarantees for seconded employees are in Chapter 24 of the Labor Code.
Business trip - a trip by an employee by order of the employer for a certain period of time to carry out an official assignment outside the place of permanent work (Part 1 of Article 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)
None of these documents establishes either the procedure for recalling an employee from a business trip or the procedure for extending a business trip.
Let's remember what documents an employer draws up when sending an employee on a business trip.
What documents are required for a business trip?
When deciding to send an employee on a business trip, the employer:
- draws up an official assignment, which indicates the purpose of the business trip (clause 6 of the Regulations on Business Travel). To do this, he can use form No. T-10a or a form developed independently and approved by the head of the organization (information of the Ministry of Finance of Russia No. PZ-10/2012);
An organization has the right to develop its own forms of primary accounting documents
From January 1, 2013, commercial organizations can use in their work forms of primary accounting documents developed by them independently (letter of Rostrud dated February 14, 2013 No. PG/1487-6-1).
Primary accounting documents must be approved by the head of the organization upon the recommendation of the official responsible for accounting.
Each primary accounting document must contain all the mandatory details established by Part 2 of Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting”.
Unified forms No. T-10a, T-9 and T-10 were approved by Decree of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1
- order (instruction) to send an employee on a business trip in form No. T-9 or an independently developed form;
- travel certificate in form No. T-10 or an independently developed form, confirming the length of the employee’s stay on a business trip indicating the date of arrival at the point(s) of destination and the date of departure from it (from them) (clause 7 of the Regulations on business trips);
- issues the employee an accountable cash advance for travel expenses, including daily allowances.
The duration of the business trip is determined by the employer, taking into account the volume, complexity and other features of the official assignment (clause 4 of the Business Travel Regulations).
Upon returning from a business trip, the employee must, within three working days (clause 26 of the Business Travel Regulations):
The unified form No. AO-1 was approved by Decree of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated 01.08.2001 No. 55
- submit to the employer an advance report in form No. AO-1 on the amounts spent in connection with the business trip or in an independently developed form (clause 4.4 of the Regulations on the procedure for conducting cash transactions with banknotes and coins of the Bank of Russia on the territory of the Russian Federation, approved by the Bank of Russia on October 12, 2011 No. 373-P);
- make a final settlement on the cash advance for travel expenses issued to him before leaving on a business trip.
To the advance report, the employee must attach a travel certificate, documents on the rental of living quarters, actual travel expenses and other expenses associated with the business trip (clause 26 of the Business Travel Regulations).
The report on the work performed is drawn up according to the unified form No. T-10a, approved by Decree of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1, or according to a form independently developed by the organization
In addition to the advance payment, he also needs to submit a written report on the work performed on a business trip, agreed upon with the head of his structural unit (clause 26 of the Business Travel Regulations).
Documentation of changes in business trip duration
Regulations on business trips. The procedure for recalling a business trip or extending its duration may be established in the regulations on business trips adopted by the organization. In it, in particular, it may be determined that, if necessary, the decision to recall an employee from a business trip (extension of the initially established period) is made by the general director in agreement with the immediate supervisor of the posted employee and an authorized representative of the receiving party. The decision is formalized by order of the head of the organization.
In this case, payment for travel expenses is made for the duration of the actual stay on the business trip.
If the duration of a business trip changes, there is no need to make changes to the official assignment, order or travel certificate, but additional documents will have to be completed.
Leader's order. Since the duration of the business trip is indicated in the order sending the employee on a business trip, it is logical that the decision to recall from a business trip or extend its period will also be formalized by the order. Experts from the Russian Ministry of Finance also agree with this (letter dated 04/01/2009 No. 03-04-06-01/74).
Instead of an order to change the duration of a business trip - a resolution
In practice, it often happens that the accounting department recalculates travel expenses on the basis of a travel certificate with a resolution of the head of the organization, for example this:
- “The duration of the business trip will be extended by four days. April 25, 2013 P.P. Gloucester" - in case of business trip extension.
An order to recall from a business trip or extend its duration will help to justify the additional expenses incurred and recognize them in full in tax accounting.
Review from a business trip
An employer can recall an employee from a business trip in several cases, for example:
- in connection with the early completion of an official assignment by an employee;
- if during the employee’s journey to the place of business trip there is no longer a need to perform a job assignment;
- it is impossible to complete an official task due to reasons beyond the employee’s control.
We will show you with an example what documents are used to document an employee’s recall from a business trip.
Example 1
Employee of OJSC Pastoral, leading legal consultant I.I. Pastushkov was sent on a business trip to Astrea LLC in Vladivostok to carry out preparatory work for concluding a contract. According to the order, the duration of the business trip will be 10 working days - from April 15 to April 26, 2013. On April 19, he informed the head of his structural unit that he would complete his official assignment ahead of schedule on April 22.
What documents need to be completed to recall an employee from a business trip?
Solution
To recall an employee from a business trip, you need a corresponding order from the head of the organization.
There is no unified form for such an order, so it is drawn up in any form based on a memo from the head of the structural unit where the posted worker works
Having received a memo from the head of a structural unit about recalling an employee from a business trip (a sample is given on p. 98), the head of the organization will put on it:
Your mark “I don’t mind. The HR department will prepare an order to recall I.I. Pastushkova from a business trip since April 23, 2013";
Signature.
Sample 1. Sample memo
After this, the HR department will prepare an order to recall the employee from the business trip.
If there is an order from the head of the organization, the head of the structural unit in which the posted worker works must inform the employee about the recall from the business trip.
The employee will be familiarized with the order against signature upon returning from a business trip.
And the employee will set out the reasons why he returned earlier in the report on the work performed using the unified form No. T-10a or a form independently developed by the organization and approved by its manager.
Unified forms No. T-12 and T-13 were approved by Decree of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1
Report card. If an employee returns from a business trip early, one of the “working” codes will be entered in the time sheet from the day he returns to work, depending on his work schedule, for example, the letter code I or the digital code 01 (duration of work during the day).
Advance recalculation. Based on the order to recall from a business trip, the accounting department will recalculate the amount of the cash advance for travel expenses issued to the employee before leaving on a business trip.
Sample 2. Sample order
The employee can return the unspent balance to the organization’s cash desk, or this amount will be withheld from his salary (Part 2 of Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
When paying wages, you can withhold no more than 20% of the accrued amount (Part 1 of Article 138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Extension of business trip period
For what reasons may a business trip extension be necessary? A business trip can be extended, for example, due to production needs, when:
- the receiving party is interested in this;
- the employer entrusts the posted employee with an additional amount of work;
- - the employee does not have time to complete a business trip, including for reasons beyond his control.
An extension is also possible due to employee illness, as well as due to transport problems (for example, a train or plane is late, lack of tickets, etc.).
Example 2
Let’s use the condition of example 1, only now, on the eve of the end of the business trip on April 25, I.I. Pastushkov informed the head of his structural unit that he needed four more days to complete his official assignment.
What documents need to be completed to extend a business trip?
Solution
As in the case of recall from a business trip, to extend the period of a business trip, an order from the head of the organization is needed. It is drawn up on the basis of a memo from the head of the structural unit where the posted employee works. For a sample memo, see p. 101.
Having received a memo from the head of the structural unit, the head of the organization makes a decision and puts on it:
Your mark “I don’t mind. The HR department will prepare an order to extend the business trip of I.I. Pastushkova from April 27 to April 30, 2013";
The head of the structural unit in which he works will inform the employee about the extension of the business trip.
The employee will be able to review the order upon returning from a business trip. In the report on the work performed using the unified form No. T-10a or a form independently developed by the organization, he will indicate the reasons why he was delayed on a business trip.
Sample 3. Sample memo
Time sheet. If an employee is delayed on a business trip, these days will be marked on the timesheet with the letter code K or the number 06 without indicating the hours worked.
Employees are involved in work on weekends and non-working holidays with their written consent (Part 2 of Article 113 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)
If an employee on a business trip was involved in work on a day off for him at his main place of work, such a day must be additionally reflected in the timesheet with the letter code РВ or digital code 03: К/РВ or 06/03. It is necessary to indicate the number of hours worked only if the employer gave him instructions about the duration of work on a day off. Such clarifications were given by specialists from the Russian Ministry of Labor in a recently published letter No. 14-2-291 dated February 14, 2013.
Payment to the employee. Upon returning from a business trip, a settlement will be made with the employee, namely:
- daily allowances have been paid in full (clauses 11, 17 and 19 of the Business Travel Regulations);
- documented expenses for renting residential premises were reimbursed in the amount determined by the collective agreement or local regulations (clauses 14 and 21 of the Business Travel Regulations);
- average earnings were paid for all days of work according to the schedule established by the sending organization, as well as for days on the road, including during a forced stopover (clause 9 of the Business Travel Regulations).
Sample 4. Sample order
In accordance with Art. 167 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, when sending an employee on a business trip, he is guaranteed to retain his place of work (position) and average earnings, reimbursement of expenses associated with the business trip, including daily allowances, as well as travel expenses (Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The procedure and amount of reimbursement of expenses related to business trips are determined by a collective agreement or local regulations.
Article 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the specifics of sending employees on business trips are established in the manner determined by the Government of the Russian Federation. Currently, there is a Regulation on the specifics of sending employees on business trips, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 No. 749 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation).
According to clause 4 of the Regulations, the duration of the business trip is determined by the employer independently, taking into account the volume, complexity and other features of the official assignment. Business trip time consists of the actual time spent at the business trip location and travel time. The actual period of stay at the place of assignment is determined by the marks on the date of arrival at the place of assignment and the date of departure from it, which are made on the travel certificate and certified by the signature of an authorized official and the seal used in the economic activities of the organization to which the employee is posted to certify such a signature. (Clause 7 of the Regulations). The day of departure on a business trip is the date of departure of a train, plane, bus or other vehicle from the place of permanent work of the business traveler, and the day of arrival from a business trip is the date of arrival of such a vehicle at the place of permanent work (clause 4 of the Regulations).
It does not follow from these norms that travel expenses are reimbursed to the employee only if he immediately returns to his place of permanent work after completing his official assignment. Moreover, paragraph 25 of the Regulations directly provides for a situation where an employee, due to temporary disability, is unable to return to his place of permanent residence due to health reasons. There is no provision in the Regulations that in such a situation return travel is not paid.
We believe that in the case where an employee returned to his place of work after the end date of the business trip determined by the employer and, accordingly, presented a ticket, the date of which does not coincide with the end date of the business trip, as confirmation of travel expenses to the place of permanent work, the employer has the right to refuse compensation to the employee only if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the expenses incurred are not related to the business trip. If the employer knew that the employee would return from a business trip later than the date originally specified in the order to send the employee on a business trip, and did not object to this, he is in any case obliged to compensate the employee for the return travel expenses. Indeed, in such a situation, the employer has no reason to say that the travel document is not related to the business trip. Expenses for returning from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work are incurred in any case, no matter what day the employee returns.
As stated in Part 1 of Art. 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, daily allowances are additional expenses associated with the employee’s accommodation outside his place of permanent residence. In accordance with clause 11 of the Regulations, daily allowances are reimbursed to the employee for each day he is on a business trip, including weekends and non-working holidays, as well as for days en route, including during a forced stopover. Accordingly, if an employee who carried out an official assignment was delayed at the place of business trip for personal reasons for several days, the employer is not obliged to compensate the employee’s expenses due to his residence outside his place of permanent residence, since such expenses are not related to the business trip.
