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Foreign business trip - procedure

Travel abroad - procedure

Delegations abroad are handled by the Department of Research

Persons responsible for travel abroad of employees and students, and also visits of foreign visitors in the Toruń campus of the University:

Department of Research
13 Gagarina St., 87-100 Toruń
the NCU Main Library, room 100 D

tel: +48 56 611 42 29 / 42 85

Make an appointment: https://www.umk.pl/formularze/rejestracja_dn/

 Orders on travel abroad of employees, doctoral students, and students of the Nicolaus Copernicus University:

NOTE! Recent NCU orders on preventing the spread of SARS -CoV-2 are available on the website: https://www.umk.pl/en/coronavirus/

 

Please also refer to the latest information for travelers on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://www.gov.pl/web/diplomacy.

 Forms:

Abroad application generator -> Travel abroad application form

Other documents:

 

 Procedure of travel abroad of employees, doctoral students, and students

of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

Employees, doctoral students, and students may travel abroad based on the approval of the relevant superior in order to implement the tasks of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

Travel abroad under the Erasmus+ projects is regulated by separate rules: https://www.umk.pl/en/erasmus/

This procedure does not apply to travel regulated by internship agreements, and travel financed directly by external institutions or travel which a lump sum is paid out for by the Department of Payroll Services.

The functions of superiors in terms of delegating business travel are performed by;

1) the rector, in relation to:

a) the following persons performing management functions:

- vice-rectors,

-deans,

-directors of doctoral schools,

-director of the University Library,

- chancellor,

- bursar,

b) directors of research units, university didactic units, and auxiliary and service units;

2) director of the research unit, university didactic unit, and auxiliary and service units in relation to subordinate employees;

3) dean, in relation to employees of the faculty, except directors of the doctoral schools;

4) chancellor, in relation to one’s deputies, deputies of the bursar, except the deputy of the Bursar for Collegium Medicum and employees of the university-wide administrative units;

 

Additionally, the relevant vice-rector appointed by the rector, in relation to all the employees, doctoral students, and students traveling abroad for more than one month unless special provisions specify the competences of the rector.

 

Administrative and financial servicing of foreign business trips regulated by this procedure is performed by the Department of Research.

 

Applying for travel abroad

A person leaving abroad fills in the electronic form available on the NCU website (please click the link): Travel abroad application form. Please specify which costs are incurred by the inviting party and which ones are incurred by NCU and from which funds. When including estimated costs of a ticket or accommodation in the application form, you should take into account possible price increases and specify the upper limit with an appropriate margin for this purpose.

Data included in the electronic form must be generated to the PDF file, printed and signed (with a date) by the applicant, and then submitted for signatures of the relevant superior and authorizing officer who manages funds from which the travel is to be financed. 

A traveler shall submit to the Department of Research the travel abroad application in the original approved by the relevant superior and authorizing officer at least 14 days before the planned travel and payment of applicable fees. In order to improve the administrative and financial service, please submit applications with necessary attachments as soon as possible.

XPrimer – earmarking financial resources

The overarching requirement for preceding expenditure of funds for travel is earmarking the funds in the XPrimer system. All the planned travel costs require earmarking. The funds are earmarked on the basis of data included in the travel application. A demand (earmarking the funds) in the XPrimer system may be managed by the authorizing officer or administrative employee in the unit which may have a given source of financing (dean’s office, secretariat, administration and maintenance team).

In the demand, “Recipient” shall include the name and surname of the Traveler, and “Unit responsible” shall be DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH. The number of earmarking/demand assigned by the system shall be written by hand in the travel abroad application. 

Note: In the case of earmarking funds for travel of persons who are not NCU employees (students, doctoral students and contractors in a grant), in the box “Recipient,” the name and surname of the authorizing officer shall be chosen from the list of employees. 

Please place demands for travel in accordance with the rule:

1 demand = 1 person = 1 trip = 1 demand entry,

 in which you should specify all the costs planned in the travel abroad application 

More than one demand entry is recommended only when the expenses have to be divided into different sources of financing, indicated in the demand, or if the planned expense includes the cost of a conference fee. 

Communication on selecting appropriate resources for conferences:

The demand for the costs of domestic and foreign conferences should be placed from the following RESOURCES: 

conference fee for an employee – resource 05.69. other benefits

conference fee for a doctoral student or student – resource 05.89. other costs

If the demand is placed for the whole cost of a business trip and includes also the cost of a conference fee, PLEASE REMEMBER to divide the sources of financing into TWO RESOURCES:

1 – RESOURCE FOR THE COST OF A CONFERENCE – 05.69 or 05.89

2 – RESOURCE FOR BUSINESS TRIPS – 05.71

If a person placing the demand does not have access to all the sources from which the trip is to be financed, (for technical reasons) more than one demand for the same trip shall be placed.

Advance payment

The advance is paid on the basis of Advance payment application attached to the travel abroad application.

In the application form, please determine in what currency and how the advance is to be paid. (Note: Currently, the NCU cashier office is closed until further notice). The amount of the advance is calculated by an employee of the Department of Research based on the data indicated in the travel abroad application and in accordance with “Act by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 29 January 2013"

The advance may be paid in cash in foreign currency (appropriate for the departure country, according to “Table of diets and accommodation limits”) in Bank Millennium, 17 Szosa Chełmińska St. 87-100 Toruń or by bank transfer to a foreign currency account (it is required to provide the IBAN number or SWIFT/BIC code) or respectively in PLN to the PLN account of a traveler. 

Request payment of the advance to the bank account, issued by an employee of the Department of Research, is performed by the Department of Finance one week before the date of travel. Whereas transferring the request payment of the advance in cash is required at least 2 weeks’ notice so the bank could prepare cash in foreign currency. The traveler may collect the cash at the bank about one week before the planned travel.

If the traveler did not submit the advance payment application or the application was submitted to the Department of Research after the required deadline (at least two weeks before the travel), their rightful subsistence allowance will be paid after return from the trip, based on the settlement of travel abroad.

Travel

  1. Own ticket purchase – reimbursement:

The traveler may purchase an air, rail or bus ticket on their own in a travel agency or directly from a carrier. NCU makes a refund of costs incurred after the completion of travel on the basis of a personal invoice issued to the traveler (so-called invoice to a natural person). Note! The NCU data, i.e. the name, address or the NIP number on the personal invoice to a natural person are unacceptable.

  1. Ticket purchase via NCU:

Order of proceeding the ticket purchase by NCU

  1. The traveler is obliged to attach Ticket purchase order to the travel abroad application.

  2. The traveler shall determine (by email or phone) whether the Department of Research  (Anna Niemcewicz / Jowita Konrad / Alicja Roszkowska) received the travel abroad application, ticket purchase order, and demand to be performed in XPrimer.

  3. The traveler shall contact a travel agency and make a ticket reservation according to the data indicated in the application and ticket purchase order.

  4. The travel agency shall send a ticket purchase offer to the email addresses of Department of Research employees: anna.niemcewicz@umk.pl, jowita.konrad@umk.pl and alicja.roszkowska@umk.pl.

  5. If the travel agency is not able to purchase a ticket for a given traveler within the indicated limit, the Department of Research shall inform the person concerned. In this case, the traveler shall apply to the authorizing officer for increasing the ticket purchase limit. Additional earmarking of funds in the XPrimer system is required.

  6. After positive verification of the ticket purchase offer, the Department of Research requests selling of a ticket by the travel agency and issuing an invoice for NCU.

  7. The travel agency shall send the Department of Research the invoice to be paid by NCU and send the purchased tickets to the traveler. 

We inform you that:

  1. The costs of travel from Toruń to an airport or railway station are settled within national delegations at faculties and the delegating unit (dean’s office/ secretariat of the delegating unit) shall be a unit responsible for demands in XPrimer;

  2. The costs of foreign travel by private car shall be settled by the DELEGATING UNIT (dean’s office/secretariat of the delegating unit) – demands for international mileage costs in XPrimer shall be placed separately from other travel costs, indicating the DELEGATING UNIT (dean’s office/secretariat of the delegating unit) as the unit responsible. 

Further information on the cost refund of travel by private car can be found at the bottom of this website, in the section “Additional information.”

Stay


The current rates of allowances for foreign trips are regulated by the Ministerial Decree. (link to per diem rates: "Per diems and limits for overnight stays as per account"). When applying for a trip, the full rate of allowance is multiplied by the number of days of the trip abroad. When settling the travel (upon return), the amount of the allowance is reduced by the cost of free board and/or the cost of meals included in the price of accommodation or conference participation respectively (according to the price specified in the invoice for accommodation/conference or as a percentage, if the price of meals is not specified)

breakfast - 15% per diem
lunch - 30% of the daily allowance
dinner - 30% of the daily allowance
The departing employee is obliged to inform about meals that should be deducted from the accrued accommodation allowance before the advance payment and in the final trip settlement.

An employee is entitled to reimbursement for accommodation costs in the amount stated in the personal invoice. Attention: The data of the NCU, i.e. name, address, or NIP number on the personal invoice are not allowed. Reimbursement of accommodation costs is possible within the limits specified in separate regulations. Information on current limit rates can be found on the UMK website (link: "Per diems and limits for accommodation by invoice"). If the employee does not present an invoice for the overnight stay, he/she may receive a lump sum of 25% of the maximum limit. The accommodation lump sum is not payable for travel time. The lump sum is not entitled when the NCU or the foreign party provides the employee with free accommodation, as well as when the trip is financed by an international programme and the contract or the project budget does not provide for a lump sum for this purpose.

Conferences

If the travel abroad involves payable participation in a conference, the following data for issuing an invoice should be given to an organizer:

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Gagarina 11, 87-100 Torun / Poland, 

Tax number/ VAT ID number: PL879 0177 291, 

and the service description shall include the name and surname of a conference participant. 

The conference participant is obliged to verify the data in the invoice, paying special attention to the tax number (NIP) – it should be preceded by the indication of the country “PL.” In case of noticing gaps and errors, the conference participant has the right and obligation to request the rectification of the data in the invoice, immediately reporting the noticed gaps or errors to the issuer of the invoice. 

The full name, address and NIP of NCU must appear in the invoice for participation in the conference always and regardless if the prepayment is made directly from the NCU bank account by the Department of Finance or the conference participant makes the payment on their own to present the invoice for settlement of the travel costs after return (reimbursement) – this is an exception in terms of documents attached for settlement of the foreign travel costs, because all the other travel costs paid by the traveler directly should be documented in the personal invoice to a natural person (without NCU data); e.g. independent purchase of tickets, accommodation and other necessary services related to the foreign travel. 

While applying for payment of a conference fee by NCU directly, you should attach the invoice (INVOICE) or proforma invoice (PROFORMA INVOICE) issued to

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Gagarina 11, 87-100 Torun / Poland, 

Tax number/ VAT ID number: PL879 0177 291,

which shows the amount of the fee or document demanding payment with the precise bank data and details of the recipient. In the case of the PROFORMA invoice, an employee is obliged to submit  Declaration for a proforma invoice. In order to settle the travel, the employee is obliged to present the ORIGINAL invoice after return, under the pain of returning the amount transferred by NCU.

 

NOTE

In accordance with the Rector's Order No. 99 of 17 May 2022 on the introduction of electronic circulation and description of certain accounting documents in the Toruń part of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń; handwritten description of invoices has been abandoned.

Invoices issued at the Nicolaus Copernicus University are entered by the implementing unit (Science Department) in the XPRIMER system as Cost Documents and are then described electronically. Lack of a document described in XPRIMER system will prevent payment of the resulting receivables.

In the case when prepayment is required, the realizing unit (Science Department) activates it in XPRIMER system within the realized demand and attaches scan of proforma invoice, and immediately transfers the paper document to the Finance Department.

 

Insurance

The traveler is obliged to insure themselves on their own, including obtaining the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/EKUZ) before the travel. Please see: https://www.nfz.gov.pl/dla-pacjenta/medical-treatment-abroad/

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/EKUZ) is a document entitling you to use basic health care during your travel abroad. The EHIC card is issued free of charge. 

The EHIC card is valid in the 26 member states of the European Union. These are: Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Ireland, Slovenia, Finland, Luxemburg. Also, the European Health Insurance Card is recognized in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

If, despite having the EHIC card (EKUZ), the traveler buys additional individual insurance against accidents on their own, the settlement of costs shall be made after return on the basis of a personal policy covering the duration of the foreign travel. The requirement for the reimbursement of the insurance costs from the NCU funds is the acceptance of the expense by the authorizing officer and positive verification of eligibility in the XPrimer system.

If the purchased insurance is extended with additional clauses, e.g. referring to luggage insurance (so-called property insurance) and, at the same time, it is not possible to separate its fee from the total cost of the policy, the whole insurance premium will be charged with income tax and an insurance contribution which reduces the salary of the traveler. In the case of persons not employed at NCU, it is required to submit Taxpayer's declaration for PIT (applies to: students and doctoral students).

 

We inform that NCU concluded an insurance contract for the NCU employees traveling to the countries where the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC/EKUZ) is not valid.

In order to use the NCU insurance and obtain further information, please submit your request to Barbara Bielicka: basia24@umk.pl (Department of Administration and Maintenance).

The submission should include:

1. name and surname of an NCU employee;
2. Name of the University unit delegating the employee;
3. Travel date (from - to);
4. Name of the country to which the travel is planned

On the basis of the given data, it will be possible to calculate the amount for paying the contribution.

While earmarking the funds for the NCU insurance in XPrimer, you should indicate “Department of Administration and Maintenance, Central Administration in Toruń” as “Unit responsible.”

Use of the NCU insurance policy is not obligatory; however, the NCU employee who travels to a country where the EHIC card is not valid and insures themselves on their own misses the possibility of reimbursing the costs incurred from the NCU funds.

Additional information: The insurance does not cover employees going on long-term internships and courses.

Other expenses necessary for the travel

Test for Covid-19

Due to the current epidemiological situation in the world, taking a test for coronavirus is often required. The settlement of the test costs is made after return based on a personal invoice to a natural person (without NCU data) and bank payment confirmation in PDF. It is also necessary to present the information from a government website/rules of a carrier which indicates the requirement of taking the test. 

Visas 

NCU does not mediate in the process of applying for the visa necessary for the foreign travel and the settlement of the visa costs is made after return based on a personal invoice to a natural person (without NCU data) and bank payment confirmation in PDF.

Settlement

After return from the foreign trip, the traveler is obliged to settle the travel costs within the statutory period of 14 working days on the form attached as Annex 8 to NCU Rector Order No 15 of 12 February 2019. The settlement is checked in terms of the content by an employee of the Department of Research: Anna Niemcewicz, Jowita Konrad or Alicja Roszkowska. We provide substantive support in the proper preparation of the settlement. 

You can visit us from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

in the Main Library building, 13 Gagarina St., Toruń, room 100 D.

(Exception: on Wednesdays we are available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - due to the XPrimer training).

Make an appointment: https://www.umk.pl/formularze/rejestracja_dn/

Travel allowances and lump sums are settled on the basis on the declaration on the period of stay abroad, information on meals provided free of charge or as part of the fee, information if the traveler incurred the costs of airport/railway station transfer to the accommodation place in the city of destination abroad and back, and information if NCU or the host institution provided free accommodation.

 

Please note:

We ask all the employees, students, and doctoral students going for the business trip to refer to the rules of financing and refunding the delegation costs in the Act by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy on claims for a staff member employed by a State or local government unit of the budget sphere on business travel:  RMPiPS.29.01.2013.pdf.

Anna Niemcewicz, e-mail: anna.niemcewicz@umk.pl

Jowita Konrad, e-mail: jowita.konrad@umk.pl

Alicja Roszkowska, e-mail: alicja.roszkowska@umk.pl

Department of Research
13 Gagarina St., 87-100 Toruń
The University Library building, room 100 D

tel: +48 56 611 42 29 / 42 85

Make an appointment: https://www.umk.pl/formularze/rejestracja_dn/

***  Additional information ***

 

FOREIGN BUSINESS TRIP BY PRIVATE CAR 

- PROCEDURE -

FROM 01.12.2021, THE SETTLEMENT OF COSTS OF TRAVEL BY PRIVATE CAR IS PROCEEDED BY DELEGATING UNITS: DEAN’S OFFICES / SECRETARIATS

(due to entry into force of an Order No. 226 of  the NCU Rector of 16 November 2021)

 

We inform that, in exceptional cases (i.e. economic justification, reduced travel time, large luggage, lack of public transportation or more than one traveler), it is possible to travel abroad by private car according to the rules specified in the Order No. 226 of the NCU Rector of 16 November 2021 on using vehicles not owned by Nicolaus Copernicus University for professional purposes.

Reimbursement of the costs of travel by private car (in PLN) shall take place after return. Refunds are made to the bank account of a delegated person based on COST DOCUMENT in XPRIMER (which constitutes VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD) in the amount calculated by multiplying kilometers driven in the number of no more than indicated in BUSINESS TRIP ORDER and the rate per mileage kilometer in the amount of 100 percent of the maximum rate for a vehicle with a given engine capacity resulting from the Regulation of the Minister for Infrastructure of 25 March 2002, as amended.

The present stake for 1 km shall apply:

  • PLN 0.70 for passenger vehicles with an engine capacity of up to 900 cm3

  • PLN 1,00 for passenger vehicles with an engine capacity exceeding 900 cm3  

Order of proceeding reimbursement for the costs of travel by private car:

  1. The delegated person, superior, or authorizing officer shall complete the first page of the form BUSINESS TRIP ORDER. In the box “to” the planned route shall be indicated e.g. Toruń - Berlin - Toruń, together with possible indirect cities related to the trip, and the box “means of transport” shall include “private car with an engine capacity of ………… cm³”

  2. BUSINESS TRIP ORDER shall be submitted to the dean’s office/secretariat of the unit to which the delegated person belongs, hereinafter referred to as “THE DELEGATING UNIT.”

  3. THE DELEGATING UNIT shall send the scan of the first page of BUSINESS TRIP ORDER to the Department of Supplies and Transport (dzt@umk.pl) for calculating the number of kilometers at the most favorable rate, taking into account the distance and traveling time. 

  4. The Department of Supplies and Transport shall respond to the delegating unit via email, informing on the calculated kilometers on the proposed road and attaching a report (in PDF) which shows the calculations. 

  5. Based on the information from the department, the delegating unit shall complete the second page of BUSINESS TRIP ORDER and multiply the number of kilometers (indicated by the department) and the stake for 1 km according to an engine capacity: up to 900 cm³ = 0,5214 PLN, and exceeding 900 cm³ = 0,8358 PLN.

  6. The delegating unit shall send the completed BUSINESS TRIP ORDER for the approval of the superior indicated in art. 20 of the Organizational Regulations of the University (NCU Legal Bulletin of 2021, item 346 – Announcement 5/2021/346 on the consolidated text of the Organizational Regulations of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń).

  7. The scan of accepted BUSINESS TRIP ORDER shall be attached to the demand placed in XPRIMER, with THE DELEGATING UNIT (dean’s office/secretariat) as THE UNIT RESPONSIBLE.

  8. Before the trip, it is necessary to prepare an AGREEMENT according to the BUSINESS TRIP ORDER, a form of which is contained in the Annex no. 1 to the Order no. 226 of the NCU Rector of 16 November 2021. The delegated person shall enter into an agreement with the superior indicated in art. 5 of this order.

  9. During the trip, the delegated person shall keep the VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD according to the form specified in the Annex no. 2 to Order no. 226 of the NCU Rector of 16 November 2021.

  10. Immediately after return, the delegated person shall submit the VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD to the DELEGATING UNIT in order to write the document description. The description on the back of the VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD shall include the following information: 

Name and surname of a person delegated: ..........................
Unit (faculty): ..........................
Departure country: ..........................
Travel date from- to: ..........................
Name of the service / applies to: mileage: number of kilometers x stake for 1 km = amount to be paid in PLN
Amount to be paid in words: ..........................
Transfer / return to the personal account of the delegated person, in PLN: .......................... (bank account number)
Source of financing: ......................... (name of financing source i demand number in XPRIMER and print out of the report from the indicated XPRIMER demand). 

The person describing the VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD shall sign with a note: „Checked in terms of content on ……………………..”

  1. No later than 14 days after the completion of a trip, VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD shall be entered in the XPRIMER system as a COST DOCUMENT to the previously placed demand, which is followed by the COST DOCUMENT acceptance by the authorizing officer. (Note: Currently, for technical reasons, it is not possible to enter an EVIDENCE into XPrimer as a Cost Document - the return is processed on the basis of a paper document)

  2. Complete documents:

  • BUSINESS TRIP ORDER,
  • Information from the Department of Supplies and Transport (DZiT) with the number of kilometres of the declared route,
  • AGREEMENT for using a private car for business purposes,
  • VEHICLE MILEAGE RECORD,
  • and a printout of the XPRIMER demand circulation report;

to be submitted in papier form to the Department of Research, Gagarina 11, 87-100 Toruń, the NCU Main Library, room 100 D.

Pursuant to art.17.4. of the Act by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of 29 January 2013 (Journal of Laws of 2013, item 167) on claims for a staff member employed by a State or local government unit of the budget sphere on business travel, a lump sum to cover the costs of transport to and from a railway/bus station, airport or seaport in the city of destination abroad (so-called travel allowance) shall not apply if the delegated person travels by business or private car vehicle, motorcycle or motorbike. Therefore, the Department of Research, which settles allowances and lump sums for travel abroad, shall be informed of business travel abroad by car (this information should be included in the travel abroad application form in the box “MEANS OF TRANSPORT”: PRIVATE CAR – SETTLED BY THE DELEGATING UNIT (dean’s office/secretariat). 



INSTRUCTIONS IN THE CASE OF CANCELLATION OF TRAVEL ABROAD

 

  1. In the first instance, you should inform the Department of Research about the cancellation of the travel, reasons for cancellation, and costs incurred in connection with the planned travel.

  2. Subsequently, you should contact the organizers of the event, airlines, hotels, etc.

 

  • inform them about the cancellation of the travel,

  • request a return of the expenses incurred, and then

  • request a correcting invoice for the expense incurred (conference fee, tickers, accommodation, etc.)

 

  1. Then you should submit a written request filled out in the application form CANCELLED FOREIGN TRIP SETTLEMNT FORM to the NCU Rector.

  2. After obtaining the required signatures, you should submit the application to the Department of Research (please send the documents by correspondence, e.g. by the internal mail). The application should be accompanied by all the accounting documents confirming the expenses incurred and also any correcting invoices and documentation confirming the actions taken to recover the expenses incurred.

  3. The advance on the trip must be returned to the University bank account from which the advance has been paid within 3 days of cancelling the trip. The transfer title should read: “Advance return, cancelled trip, name and surname, country and date of the planned trip.”

  4. In the case of grants from the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), you should contact the grant supervisor at the University to determine a further course of action.

  5. In the case of grants from the sources other than NAWA, you should contact the grant supervisor in a financing institution, and then please contact the Department of Research to determine a further course of action.