Under the LTC(leave travel concession) cash voucher scheme, the central government employees will be eligible for reimbursement for premium paid for insurance policies between October 12, 2020 & March 31, 2021
The Department of Expenditure under the Finance Ministry while issuing the third set of FAQ also clarified that for purchases of goods like cars, employees the beneficiaries need not submit original bills of their purchases in order to avail reimbursement under the scheme and self-attested copies would work instead, it said. “However, the original bills may be produced on demand for information,” it added.
What are the new benefits?
So far, employees had only Leave Travel Concession (LTC) benefits on travels made, or else they had to forgo the amount.
On October 12, the government announced the LTC cash voucher scheme under which employees can purchase any goods or services with a GST rate of 12 per cent or above to avail the benefit. The caveat was the fact that payments for such purchases have to be made via digital mode or cheque or demand draft or NEFT/RTGS by March 31 next year, in order to receive reimbursement of the deemed travel fare amount and the leave encashment.
Doubts on Scheme :-
This clarification on the scheme came as it was the third set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) released by the finance ministry on Wednesday.
Whether or not premiums paid for existing policies be eligible under the LTC scheme was also a question received by the ministry a number of times. According to the ministry, premium paid with fresh policies purchased during the specified period only would be eligible. The premiums paid for existing insurance policies would not count.
For the submission of bills by employees who would superannuate before March, the Expenditure Department said, “vouchers/ bills should be submitted and settled before the date of superannuation”.
To a query on whether purchase receipt can be in the name of any dependent, the FAQ said, “The invoices of the goods and services purchased as per the scheme may be in the name of spouse or any family member who are eligible for LTC fare as declared in the service records”.
The expenditure department, under the Finance Ministry, said the special cash package scheme in lieu of one LTC is to “compensate and incentivise consumption” by government employees and the benefits can be availed up to March 31, 2021.
