Rule 278 limits the exemption for travel concession or assistance from an employer to the amount actually spent, capped by class of travel — air, rail or other transport, with Rs. 30 per kilometre where no public transport exists — for two journeys in a block of four calendar years from 2022, with a carry-over and a limit on children.
278
Rules 2026 · Rule 278
Conditions for purposes of Schedule III [Table: Sl. No. 8] to the Act
Rules 261-310
Amount (sub-rule 1). The exemption is the amount actually incurred on travel by the individual and family, on leave to a place in India or to a place in India after retirement or termination of service, subject to: for air travel, the fare for the class the employee is entitled to by the shortest route; where the places are connected by rail and the journey is by any non-air mode, an amount not exceeding the air-conditioned first-class rail fare by the shortest route; and where the places are not connected by rail, the first or deluxe class fare on a recognised public transport system by the shortest route, or, where there is none and no rates are prescribed by the State or a neighbouring State's Directorate of Transport, Rs. 30 per kilometre for the shortest route.
Journeys and blocks (sub-rules 2 to 4). The exemption is available for two journeys in a block of four calendar years commencing from the calendar year 2022. If it is not availed in a block, the concession first availed in the first calendar year of the next block is also eligible, and that is not counted against the two-journey limit.
Children (sub-rules 5 and 6). The exemption is not available for more than two surviving children of an individual, a limit that does not apply to children born before 1 October 1998 or to multiple births after one child.