Domestic travel and accommodation costs related to international marketing
visits.
Issue:
This ruling clarifies Austrade's policy position where marketing visit claims
include fares and daily overseas visit allowance for time spent travelling
within Australia to connect with international flights.
Subsection 34(4) of the EMDG Act 1997 provides that $200 for each day spent
during any overseas marketing visit on an approved promotional purpose is
to be an allowable expense for grant calculation purposes.
As a general rule, domestic travel and accommodation costs will be covered
where the costs are linked to meeting international flights being undertaken
for export promotion purposes.
Ruling:
Austrade will allow any fares expenses directly attributable to boarding
an international flight being undertaken for eligible export promotional purposes
including taxi, bus or domestic air fares incurred by the applicant.
In calculating the $200 per day daily allowance, Austrade will consider the
international visit to commence when the applicant's traveller departs home
to meet the particular international flight. Similarly, the visit will end
for the purposes of the $200 per day calculation when the traveller returns
home.
The arrangements for travelling to and from the airport should be as direct
as reasonable. The $200 per day allowance is only payable in relation to travel
time.
Examples
Applicant travels from a regional centre in NSW to Sydney by bus and taxi
on 1 July 2001 and, being required to leave for USA at 7am 2 July, stays at
a Sydney airport hotel that night. Where the marketing visit is made for eligible
purposes, Austrade will allow the bus and taxi fares of the traveller and
will start the $200 per day calculation on 1 July, thus providing the EMDG
support for the required overnight accommodation.
The above assessment principles will also apply in cases where a traveller
lives in or near the city where the particular airport is located and where
taxis, for example, are used. In the same way, Austrade will consider the
international visit to commence when the applicant departs home to meet the
international flight and to end when the traveller returns home, assuming
that the travel to and from the airport is as direct as reasonable.
© Australian Trade Commission