Travel
Charged to Federal Sponsored Agreements
All travel costs
charged to grants and contracts must be reasonable and comply
with policies
established by SMU, Federal regulations and the sponsoring agency terms,
conditions and regulations. Travel policies of federal and nonfederal sponsors
vary. The specific terms and conditions of an award must be consulted before
making any travel arrangements. If there is a conflict between a sponsor's rule
and SMU’s rule, the more restrictive rule applies.
In the event that the
trip is completed in the last month of a sponsored
agreement, expenses
must be submitted within 30 calendar days of trip
completion to allow
for submission of the final financial report.
Listed below are two
of the general terms affecting Federal funded grants and contracts:
1. Office
of Management and Budget Circular A-21 provides principles for determining the
costs applicable to research and development, training, and other sponsored
work performed by colleges and universities under grants, contracts, and other
agreements with the Federal Government. These agreements are referred to as
sponsored agreements. Circular A-21 addresses travel expenses specifically
at section J-48.
“48. Travel costs.
a. General. Travel costs are the expenses for transportation, lodging, subsistence, and related items incurred by employees who are in travel status on official business of the institution. Such costs may be charged on an actual basis, on a per diem or mileage basis in lieu of actual costs incurred, or on a combination of the two, provided the method used is applied to an entire trip and not to selected days of the trip, results in reasonable charges, and is in accordance with the institution's travel policy and practices consistently applied to all institutional travel activities.
b. Lodging and subsistence. Costs incurred by employees and officers for travel, including costs of lodging, other subsistence, and incidental expenses, shall be considered reasonable and allowable only to the extent such costs do not exceed charges normally allowed by the institution in its regular operations as a result of an institutional policy and the amounts claimed under sponsored agreements represent reasonable and allocable costs. In the absence of an acceptable institutional policy regarding travel costs, the rates and amounts established under subchapter I of Chapter 57 of Title 5, United States Code, or by the Administrator of General Services, or the President (or his or her designee) pursuant to any provisions of such subchapter shall apply to sponsored agreements (41 U.S.C. 420).
c. Commercial air travel. Airfare costs in excess of the lowest available commercial discount airfare, Federal Government contract airfare (where authorized and available), or customary standard (coach or equivalent) airfare, are unallowable except when such accommodations would: require circuitous routing; require travel during unreasonable hours; excessively prolong travel; greatly increase the duration of the flight; result in increased costs that would offset transportation savings; or offer accommodations not reasonably adequate for the medical needs of the traveler. Where an institution can reasonably demonstrate to the sponsoring agency either the nonavailability of discount airfare or Federal contract airfare for individual trips or, on an overall basis, that it is the institution's practice to make routine use of such airfare, specific determinations of nonavailability will generally not be questioned by the Federal Government, unless a pattern of avoidance is detected. However, in order for airfare costs in excess of the customary standard commercial airfare to be allowable, e.g., use of first-class airfare, the institution must justify and document on a case-by-case basis the applicable condition(s) set forth above.
d. Air travel by other than commercial carrier. "Cost of travel by institution-owned, -leased, or -chartered aircraft," as used in this subsection, includes the cost of lease, charter, operation (including personnel costs), maintenance, depreciation, insurance, and other related costs. Costs of travel via institution-owned, -leased, or -chartered aircraft shall not exceed the cost of allowable commercial air travel, as provided for in subsection c.”
It is possible that
the specific terms and conditions of an agreement will be
more restrictive than
the OMB Circular A-21 cost principles. It is
important for the
traveler to review the terms and conditions of each
agreement before a
trip.
2. Fly
whose air travel is
being financed by the
carrier service for
all international air travel when available. The Federal Travel
Regulations Sections
301-10.131 through 301-10.143 define
service and provide
exception criteria for the use of non-U.S. flag air carrier
service.
Travelers using a
non-U.S. flag air carrier requesting reimbursement from a
government-sponsored
project must qualify for an exception under the act. The
traveler must complete
the Fly America Act Exception Request form. The form
must be signed by the
traveler and submitted with the travel report. The traveler must obtain
approval of the Exception Request form before booking the trip to ensure that
the costs will be allowable on the federally sponsored project. The traveler
must use a
Code-Shared Flights
Some flights may
qualify as a
The determining factor
for identifying the use of a
carrier's designator
code, which precedes the flight number (e.g., NW2222).
A list of the major
Some major airlines that are
NOT
** Boarding pass without passenger receipt is not acceptable for reimbursement.
A complete list is available through the Department of Transportation at http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/certific/certlist.pdf
Other
Travel related information:
Passports and Visas
Reimbursement may be permitted
for actual passport and visa fees for business travel; however, the expense may
not be eligible as a direct cost to a sponsored program. Since a passport can
be used for multiple trips over several years, the cost is not a
project-specific expense and therefore is not allowed on most sponsored
projects as a direct cost. Visas are generally required in relation to a
specific trip and therefore the cost is generally allowable as a direct cost
for a sponsored project.
Travel Classifications
- CONUS/O-CONUS, Domestic/Foreign
Terminology for
foreign travel differentiates between domestic and foreign
destinations and
reimbursement methods distinguish between CONUS
(continental
These terms are used
throughout sponsored funding programs, and do affect the reimbursement when per
diem is approved in lieu of receipts. If
per diem is approved, it must be used to determine reimbursement for the entire
trip. Per diem allowances may be for
meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) or lodging or both.
Agency Pre-Approval – Many agencies
require 45 days advance notice and pre-approval for foreign travel even
if it is specified in the Statement of Work, Budget and Award document. Be ware, agencies have been known to wait
until the day before the expected travel date to notify the Principal
Investigator that the travel is NOT approved.
* * * * * * * * * *
The following is
presented as a sample of locating per diem rates using the NIH definition of domestic vs. foreign
travel.
|
|
CONUS
Rates |
O-CONUS
Rates |
|
Domestic
travel includes these
areas: |
48
continental United States |
Territories* |
|
Foreign
travel includes these
areas: |
None |
All
locations EXCEPT: Territories* |
|
|
|
|
*Puerto Rico; Guam;
Islands; Midway
Islands; Wake Island;
NSF defines Domestic Travel as: travel in the
DOD Travel Regulations defines foreign area
and foreign country as: Any area or
country outside the 50 States,
Federal Travel Regulations define foreign area
as: “Any area, including the
Department of Energy (DOE) refers to the Federal
Travel Regulations.
Department of State distinguished between
international and domestic travel by saying that international travel is
outside of the
It is safe to say that any travel outside of the 48 contiguous states should be looked at carefully before making arrangements.