Land line and mobile phones and broadband facility to babus – clarifications
The Department of Expenditure has clarified that
1. The total expenditure on one or all facilities should not exceed the ceiling. No separate ceiling has provided in respect facilities individually.
2. Officers of DS and above level are required to subscribe to Broadband facility and in its absence Rs. 400/- shall be deducted/reduced from the ceiling amount. However no individual/separate ceiling has been fixed in respect of the three facilities covered by the overall ceiling.
3. The entire amount shall be reimbursable if expenditure ceiling is observed. Even officers to whom telephone facility has been provided on functional basis can use mobile phone/broadband facility.
4. private Service provider can allowed in the case of landline telephones also and the Office/Deptt. can provide a telephone connection of private service provider.
5. Officers of the rank of Director/Deputy Secretary or below provided with the facility of residential telephone can avail mobile or broadband facility also within the ceiling fixed for each rank.
6. the facility of STD is permitted to Officers below the rank of Joint Secretary on residential telephone.
7. re-imbursement cannot be made to those Officers who are using pre-paid mobile connections and submit recharge coupons only instead of any proper bills/receipts etc
8. re-imbursement is to be allowed only in such cases where the mobile/telephone connection is in the name of the Officer.
9. The applicable taxes on the expenditure incurred upto the ceiling amount shall be paid for/reimbursed by the Office. Expenditure incurred if any in excess of ceiling amount shall be paid for by the Officer concerned along with taxes on the same.
10. Officers equivalent in rank to Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary/Director/Deputy Secretary to the Government of India area also entitled for mobile connection and broadband connection on their residential telephones.
11. In case the telephone has been provided by the Deptt.the installation charges for the same shall be borne by the Deptt. However in case of personal telephone, the said charges shall be borne by the individual.
12. Re-imbursement shall be restricted to one landline and/or one mobile connection only.
13. No ISD
14. in those cases where an officer has subscribed to broadband facility at his residence though not on a telephone in his name but in the name of one of his family members, full reimbursement (upto the ceiling amount )can be permitted on the landline/mobile connections in his name.
As complicated as the laws the Babus make! There should be a training course to the babus on their telephone entitlement.