Separate the statutory allowance and permitted travel reimbursement from any additional professional fee you agreed with the company. Section 4(4) and Rule 3 address the external Internal Committee member's prescribed payments, with the employer responsible. Your appointment letter and invoices matter for a higher contractual fee or other expenses. Ask for a written reconciliation rather than letting an accounts dispute influence the inquiry.
Which payment rule applies to an Internal Committee member?
Rule 3 is the relevant starting point for the member appointed from a non-government organisation. It provides an allowance of Rs 200 per day for holding committee proceedings and travel reimbursement subject to the travel modes and limit stated there. The employer bears that payment responsibility. Read section 4(4), the appointment category and the rule together rather than applying a general consultant rate by assumption.
Rule 5 concerns the Local Committee and places responsibility on the District Officer. It should not be used to tell a company Internal Committee member to recover expenses from the district administration. The two committees have different payment arrangements.
The prescribed allowance is not proof that every invoice for training, policy drafting, travel upgrades or general advisory work must be paid at the amount billed. If the company agreed additional fees, identify that agreement separately. This answer does not promise recovery of an unwritten professional-fee arrangement.
What should I attach to the payment request?
- The written nomination or appointment order and your accepted terms.
- A date-wise list of proceedings attended, verified without unnecessary complaint details.
- Travel tickets or receipts, the route and the amount claimed.
- The contractual fee schedule, if there is one.
- Earlier invoices, approvals, payments and the disputed balance.
- A request identifying which line items accounts accepts or disputes.
Use separate columns for statutory allowance, travel reimbursement and additional agreed fees. This prevents the company from treating a dispute over one consulting invoice as an answer to every payment obligation. It also lets you correct a mistaken claim without abandoning the undisputed part.
How much complaint information should go to accounts?
Only what is needed to verify the work and payment. Section 16 protects complaint contents, identities, witnesses and proceedings from public disclosure. Accounts staff do not need the allegations pasted into an invoice description. Use a confidential case reference, meeting date and attendance confirmation through an authorised person.
Do not circulate the inquiry report to pressure the company for payment or threaten publication. Keep financial correspondence in a separate file with restricted access. A fee dispute does not relax the committee's obligation to handle the underlying material properly.
What wording keeps the two issues separate?
You can write: "Please reconcile the attached statement showing the Rule 3 allowance and travel claim separately from the additional fees under the appointment terms. Kindly identify any disputed item and the reason. This request is administrative and does not concern the merits or outcome of the pending inquiry." Give actual dates and amounts instead of a rounded total without support.
If HR says the fee depends on whether management accepts the report, object in writing to that condition. Payment should not be used to purchase a finding. Preserve the communication and seek advice on protecting the committee's independence and the continuity of the process.
Can I simply stop attending until I am paid?
Do not treat absence as a harmless collection tactic. Rule 7(7) requires a minimum of three members, including the Presiding Officer or Chairperson, for an inquiry sitting. Other composition requirements also remain relevant. Your absence can create questions about how the inquiry was conducted and may harm people who have no responsibility for the accounts dispute.
If continued service is impossible, communicate formally under the appointment terms and seek advice on transition, records and any replacement required. Do not sign a report for hearings you did not attend merely to finish the file. A payment claim and a valid inquiry record should each be capable of standing on their own documents.
The next step is a dated reconciliation request with the appointment order and itemised evidence. If it remains unpaid, the recovery route depends on the statutory claim, contract and employer's response. A generic POSH appeal is not automatically the forum for an external member's commercial fee dispute.
Read the general POSH procedure and our answer on challenging a committee recommendation for the adjoining stages.