PremiumForeign hospitality will mean any offer, not being a purely casual one, made in cash or kind by a foreign source for providing a person with the costs of travel to any foreign country or territory with free boarding, lodging, transport, or medical treatment.
Union Home Ministry on Monday issued an order stating that politicians, judges, legislators, government servants, and employees will now have to take online permission for accepting any kind of foreign hospitality during their abroad visit, according to the news agency PTI.
This clause has been incorporated in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act online services where permission accorded under FCRA, 2010 to accept foreign hospitality should not be construed as equivalent to 'administrative clearance' which has to be obtained separately by the person concerned from the competent authority in the concerned ministry or department, the order read.
The above-mentioned categories were also included in 2015, however, were not part of the online forms yet.
Foreign hospitality will mean any offer, not being a purely casual one, made in cash or kind by a foreign source for providing a person with the costs of travel to any foreign country or territory with free boarding, lodging, transport, or medical treatment, according to the order, as quoted by PTI.
The order stated that in case of "emergent medical need" for sudden illness during the visits, foreign hospitality is permitted on the condition that the person receiving it shall intimate the government within one month along with the source, approximate value in Indian rupees, and the purpose for which and the manner in which it was utilized.
"No member of a legislature or office-bearer of a political party or judge or government servant or employee of any corporation or any other body owned or controlled by the government shall, while visiting any country or territory outside India, accept, except with the prior permission of the Central government, any foreign hospitality," it added.
According to the Home Ministry order, any person who wants to receive foreign hospitality will have to apply to the Central government in electronic form in 'Form FC-2' for prior permission to accept it, at least two weeks before the proposed journey.
It also added that every application for acceptance of foreign hospitality shall be accompanied by an invitation letter from the host country, as per PTI reports.
The clearance of FCRA for foreign hospitality need not be submitted where the entire expenditure on the proposed foreign visit is being met by the Centre, state government, or any central/state PSU, etc, or the visit is in a personal capacity and the entire expenditure thereon is being met by the person concerned, where the hospitality is being provided by an Indian national living in a foreign country or territory, the order read.
It also stated that in case of acceptance of an assignment on salary, fee or remuneration, etc, funding offered by an agency or organization listed in the order, visits undertaken by the members of an Indian parliamentary delegation under bilateral exchange the clearance application for FCRA need not be submitted, PTI reported.
"The responsibility of ensuring full compliance with the provisions of FCRA, 2010 and FCRR 2011 lies with the person proposing to avail the foreign hospitality. It should, therefore, be ensured that the foreign visit involving acceptance of foreign hospitality is undertaken only after obtaining the requisite permission under the said Act," it said.
"A copy of the offer/invitation containing details of the foreign hospitality being offered should be invariably uploaded along with each application," the order added.
(With PTI inputs)