New Delhi, November 21
The process of taking permission from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) by politicians, judges, legislators, government servants and other employees for accepting any kind of foreign hospitality during their abroad visit has been made online.
In an order issued by the MHA today said this clause has been incorporated in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) online services, where permission accorded under the Act 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.
These categories were included in 2015 but had since not been part of the online forms.
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, it said.
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 utilised, the order said.
