Board of Contract Appeals

                 General Services Administration

                      Washington, D.C. 20405







                     ________________________



                           June 8, 2001

                     ________________________





                         GSBCA 15404-RELO





                 In the Matter of LEE A. GARDNER





     Lee A. Gardner, Woodbridge, VA, Claimant.



     Bonnie J. Britten, Chief, Travel Policy Division, Department of Veterans Affairs,

Washington, DC, appearing for Department of Veterans Affairs.



WILLIAMS, Board Judge.



     An employee whose travel orders erroneously authorized reimbursement at a higher

per diem rate than is permitted by regulation may not be reimbursed in excess of the amount

established by regulation.



                            Background



     Effective March 12, 2000, claimant, Lee A. Gardner, a personnel management

specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), was transferred from Topeka,

Kansas, to Washington, D.C.  Claimant was authorized certain expenses associated with her

transfer, including real estate transaction expenses, temporary quarters subsistence expenses

(TQSE), en route travel, and per diem expenses.  Claimant's travel authorization contained

an error with respect to her TQSE allowance.  The authorization provided that Ms. Gardner

was authorized "an en route per diem rate in lieu of subsistence and a per diem rate for her

family . . . not to exceed $164, $123 (spouse)."  She was also authorized TQSE for herself

and her family for sixty days at an estimated cost of $7200.  According to the VA, she should

have been authorized the PCS rate of $85 for herself and $63.75 for her spouse, which

includes miscellaneous and incidental expenses (M&IE) and lodging.  Claimant expended

lodging costs of $12 per day above these limits and seeks reimbursement of $564.



                            Discussion



     As claimant and the agency recognize, claimant's travel orders erroneously authorized

reimbursement for her TQSE at the travel per diem rate instead of at the TQSE rate.  The

governing regulations for TQSE provide:  



      302-5.100    What am I paid under the actual TQSE reimbursement

     method?



          Your agency will pay your actual TQSE incurred, provided the

     expenses are reasonable and do not exceed the maximum allowable amount. 

     The "maximum allowable amount" is the "maximum daily amount" multiplied

     by the number of days you actually incur TQSE not to exceed the number of

     days authorized, taking into account that the rates change after 30 days in

     temporary quarters.  The "maximum daily amount" is determined by adding the

     rates [specified] for you and each member of your immediate family

     authorized to occupy temporary quarters.



     This regulation further provided that claimant would receive the "applicable per diem

rate" for temporary quarters and her accompanied spouse would receive .75 times the

"applicable per diem rate" for the first 30 days and .5 times the "applicable per diem rate" for

any additional days of TQSE.



FTR Section 302-5.102 provides:



      302-5.102    What is the "applicable per diem rate" under the actual

     TQSE reimbursement method?



          The "applicable per diem rate" under the actual TQSE reimbursement

     method is as follows:



          For temporary quarters located in the continental United States

     (CONUS).



          The applicable per diem rate is the standard CONUS rate.



     The applicable CONUS rate for March 2000 was $85 per day which included $55 for

lodging and $30 for M&IE.  41 CFR Ch. 301 App. A (2000).  In contrast, the temporary duty

travel allowance per diem for the Washington, D.C., area, which was included in claimant's

travel authorization, was $164, representing $118 for lodging and $46 for M&IE.  Id. 

Unfortunately, claimant is not entitled to recover in an amount above the regulatory

maximum even though the agency erred in preparing her travel orders.  See Raymond W.

Martin, GSBCA 15433-RELO, 01-BCA  31,292 (agency properly limited TQSE

reimbursement to $85 per day, though employee spent considerably more while occupying

temporary quarters).



     It is well established that an agency may not alter travel orders retroactively to

authorize recoupment of an expense that is not permitted by statute or regulation or to

increase or decrease entitlements fixed by statute or regulation.  Thomas W. Schmidt,

GSBCA 14747-RELO, 00-1 BCA  30,858; Daniel P. Carstens, GSBCA 14519-RELO,

98-2 BCA  30,048; Michael K. Vessey, B-214886 (July 3, 1984); Erwin E. Drossel,

B-203009 (May 17, 1982).  Here, the agency's travel authorizing personnel mistakenly

entered the wrong per diem rate on claimant's travel authorization.  Such mistake does not

operate to expand the entitlement to reimbursement established by regulation.  The

Government is not bound by the erroneous advice of its officials even when the employee

has relied on this advice to his detriment.  E.g., John J. Cody, GSBCA 13701-RELO,

97-1 BCA  28,694 (1996).   Erroneous travel orders, reflecting mistaken assumptions on the

part of authorizing officials, cannot obligate the Government to expend monies contrary to

regulation.  Charles M. Ferguson, GSBCA 14568-TRAV, 99-1 BCA  30,299; James F.

Black, GSBCA 14548-RELO, 98-2 BCA  29,876; William Archilla, GSBCA 13878-RELO,

97-1 BCA  28,799.



                             Decision



     The claim is denied.









                                   ________________________________

                                   MARY ELLEN COSTER WILLIAMS

                                   Board Judge