Restrictions on the Travel of Employees from the Regional Offices and Inspection Districts to the National Office

March 16, 1965 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 08-65 SUBJECT : Restrictions on the travel of employees from the Regional Offices and Inspection Districts to the National Office TO : All Regional Directors, Chief Revenue Officers and Others Concerned It has been observed by this Office that employees from Regional Offices and Inspection Districts are frequently seen in the National Office claiming that they are following up official matters, some of which are too minor in nature that the employee concerned need not go to the National Office for its accomplishment. Many are also coming to the National Office unofficially to follow up vouchers or other matters which cannot be considered as official in nature. cdt In the submission and follow up of vouchers it was likewise observed that traveling expense vouchers are submitted late and there are cases where the traveling expense voucher for one whole year are accumulated and claimed only after the end of the fiscal year. It was also discovered that vouchers are also being received by the National Office for processing much ahead of the required monthly reports which should not be so since it is a requirement that they should be submitted at the same time. These practices lead to the exhaustion of a big portion of the appropriations for traveling expenses which could have been better utilized in the travel of fieldmen, collection agents and others concerned within the region in connection with their official activities. Considering that the present appropriations for traveling expenses were submitted to the Budget Commission in December, 1963 for incorporation in the present budget (R.A. 4164) and the fact that GAO Circular No. 88 was received by this Office only in February of 1964, the present appropriation did not take into account that increased per diems and other allowances provided for in GAO Circular No. 88. Furthermore, frequent travels to the National Office impair the rendering of services in the region or in the inspection district because employees who should be in their respective station towns rendering services required of them are frequently seen in the National Office. In view of the foregoing, the following instructions are hereby promulgated for the guidance of all concerned: 1. No employee in the region, inspection district and collection agent's offices should go to the National Office unless he is called by the National Office for some official matter. 2. Any employee who wants to go to the National Office without being called should make a written request thereof, which should be coursed to the Regional Director for his recommendation and forwarded to the National Office for approval. 3. Unless called by the National Office as detailed in paragraph 1; no employee should leave his station town unless it is from the 21st day to the end of the month except that when the 20th day of the month falls on Saturday or Sunday, then the employee can only leave on the Tuesday following the 20th day of the month. 4. In the submission of vouchers for reimbursement the requirements that all reports such as the field audit reports, daily reports of activities, monthly reports, inventory of pending cases, collection reports and all other requirements should be submitted at the same time as the traveling expenses voucher. The Chief Revenue Officer or the Regional Director as the case may be should not give due course to the voucher unless the required reports are submitted. 5. The Chief of the Accounting Division in the National Office or the Chief of the Accounting Branch in the regional office should process only those vouchers which are submitted regularly. Vouchers of previous months which are submitted late or in branch composed of many months should not be given due course. Those that are submitted late should be processed only after all the current vouchers up to and including the last month of the fiscal year have been processed. cdta Strict compliance with these instructions is hereby enjoined. (SGD.) BENJAMIN N. TABIOS Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue