Gifts and Hospitality Policy Template for Indian Firms

A gifts and hospitality policy sets out which gifts, meals and trips employees may give or accept in the course of business, up to what value, and how they are declared. In India the question comes up every Diwali, at every vendor meet and with every wedding invitation from a supplier. Clear limits and a simple register let employees stay courteous without putting the company's decisions in doubt.

When to use it: Issue it at joining to everyone in purchasing, sales, stores, admin, finance and management, and send a reminder a few weeks before Diwali and the year-end, when most gifts arrive. HR and finance draft it jointly. The managing director approves the value limits, which should be revisited every year or two.

Gifts and hospitality policy template

Copy the text below and replace everything in square brackets with your company details.

1. Purpose

This policy allows employees of [Company Name] to exchange normal business courtesies while making sure that no gift, meal or trip influences, or appears to influence, a business decision.

2. Scope

It applies to all employees and directors, and to their family members when a gift reaches them because of the employee's role. It covers gifts, meals, entertainment, travel, stays and event passes given to or received from customers, suppliers, contractors, bankers, consultants and government officials.

3. Definitions

Gift: anything of value given without payment, including goods, services, vouchers and discounts.
Hospitality: meals, entertainment, travel, accommodation or event tickets offered in a business context.
Nominal value: up to [Rupee Amount] per item and [Rupee Amount] in a year from any one party.

4. Policy

Occasional gifts of nominal value, such as sweets, dry fruits, diaries, calendars or branded items, may be given or accepted, especially at festivals.
Cash, cheques, gift cards, vouchers, jewellery, loans and personal discounts are never given or accepted, whatever the amount. This includes cash offered as shagun by a supplier or customer at a family wedding.
No gift or hospitality is accepted from a party while a tender, price negotiation, audit, inspection or dispute involving that party is under way.
Business meals must be reasonable in cost and frequency, serve a business purpose, and be attended by the host.
Travel or stay offered by a supplier, for a plant visit or an event, needs prior written approval from [Approver Designation], and the Company normally pays for its own staff's travel.
Gifts to government officials are limited to branded items of nominal value, and hospitality to a working meal.
A gift above nominal value that cannot be refused without causing offence is handed to HR, entered in the gift register, and used for a staff raffle or donated.

5. Procedure

Record every gift or hospitality above [Rupee Amount], received or offered, in the gift register within [Number] working days, with the giver, date, description and estimated value.
If unsure, ask your reporting manager or [Compliance Contact] before accepting.
To decline, return the gift with a polite note explaining the policy.
Gifts to customers need budget approval from [Approver Designation], an entry in the gift register, and respect for the customer's own gift rules where known.
Finance compares gift and entertainment expenses with the register every quarter.

Sample note for returning a gift: Thank you for your kind gesture. Our company policy does not allow me to accept this gift, so I am returning it with thanks. I value our business relationship. [Employee Name], [Designation]

6. Responsibilities

Employees: follow the limits, declare what they receive and decline politely when needed.
Managers: approve or refuse borderline cases quickly and set the example.
Finance: maintain the gift register and check gifting expenses.
HR: send the festival-season reminder and store annual declarations.

7. Exceptions

The managing director may approve an exception in writing, for example a memento presented at a public ceremony. Every exception is recorded in the gift register with the reason.

8. Review

[Finance Head Designation] and [HR Head Designation] review the value limits every [12] months, ahead of the festival season, and the rest of the policy every [24] months.

What to include

Limits in rupees

Write the nominal value as a rupee amount per item and per year from one party. Words such as modest or small invite each employee to set their own limit.

Never cash or its equivalents

Ban cash, vouchers, gift cards, jewellery and personal discounts at any value, and mention shagun at weddings specifically, because it is the most common grey area.

No gifts during live decisions

Block all gifts from a party during a tender, negotiation, audit or inspection involving it. Timing matters more than value when a decision is pending.

A simple register

Keep one register for gifts received and given, with giver, date, item and value. It protects honest employees and gives finance something to check against.

Reminder before the festival season

Send the reminder before Diwali and the year-end, not after. Most gifts arrive in those weeks, and it is easier to decline than to return.

Both directions

Cover gifts the company gives to customers as well as those employees receive. Sales teams need limits as much as purchase teams do.

Common mistakes to avoid

Setting no rupee limit, so each employee decides what a small gift means.
Allowing gift vouchers on the grounds that they are not cash.
Letting purchase staff accept vendor-sponsored holidays described as plant visits.
Keeping a register in purchasing only while sales gives costly gifts to customers.
Sending the festival reminder after Diwali, when the gifts have already been accepted.

Run it in ZeniaHR

Schedule the pre-Diwali reminder as a Company Wall announcement for the purchasing, stores, sales and admin departments, and require acknowledgement so you know who has read it. Keep each employee's signed annual gift declaration in Employee Documents. When a higher-value gift goes to a staff raffle, announce the draw and the winner on the Company Wall. The gift register itself is kept by finance outside ZeniaHR.

Policy settings Employee documents

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Frequently asked questions

Can employees accept Diwali gifts from vendors?

Yes, if the gift is within the policy's nominal value, such as sweets, dry fruits or a diary, and is not cash, a voucher or anything costly. Employees involved in a current tender or negotiation with that vendor should decline even small gifts. Anything above the limit is declared in the gift register and handed to HR.

What is a reasonable gift limit in a gift policy?

There is no single correct figure. Set a per-item limit and a yearly limit per giver that suit your industry and the seniority of the staff involved, write them in rupees, and review them every year or two. Keep the limit low enough that no reasonable person would think the gift could influence a decision.

How is a gift policy different from an anti-bribery policy?

An anti-bribery policy bans any payment or benefit meant to influence a decision. A gift policy handles the grey area of normal courtesy, such as festival sweets, a business lunch or a branded diary, through value limits, timing rules and a register. Together they let employees be polite without compromising the company.

What should an employee do with a gift they cannot refuse?

Accept it politely if refusing would cause real offence, then hand it to HR within a few days and record it in the gift register. The company can use it for a staff raffle, display it or donate it, and the giver can be told, with thanks, that the gift went to the team.