What is Bribery?
Bribery is an act of offering something of value to a corporate or public official in order to influence their decision-making process, commit or allow fraud against their organization, or otherwise conduct their improper official duties. Bribery is considered a criminal offence.
What is Corruption?
Corruption is a misuse of power or position for improper grains. Corruption includes any behaviour that is unlawful, unethical, or improper in order to achieve personal, commercial, or financial gain.
Do's & Don'ts – Anti Bribery
Do’s
- To remain ethical in business dealings and to comply with all applicable laws, businesses must maintain high standards of conduct.
- Government officials must get written pre-approval from the General Counsel or Executive before accepting business entertainment, gifts, or payment for travel expenses.
- The expenses towards government officials must be within the acceptable norms of law and internal policies including policy on conflict-of-interest management, gifts and entertainment etc.
Don’ts
- No payments are made to government officials to assist certain categories of individuals and entities in obtaining or retaining business.
- No business person should offer a Govt official anything in exchange for using their position to gain an advantage in business.
- The expenses towards government officials shall not cause any damage or embarrassment to the reputation of the company.
Prevention Of Corruption Act [Amendment] Act, 2018
- The Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988 (PC Act) was passed to combat corruption in government agencies and to prosecute and punish public officials who engage in corrupt behaviour.
- The Amendment Act requires the Central Government to develop and prescribe guidelines to help prevent commercial organizations from bribing public officials.
- If a commercial organisation is accused of an offence under the PC Act, it may be a defence to it that it had adequate procedures in place to ensure compliance with government guidelines issued to prevent improper conduct by those associated with the organisation. Hence, having a proper anti-bribery framework is important for a corporate as it establishes a good defence in case of any allegation.
- The corporate sector in India will have to be swift in enacting its internal guidelines in order to protect itself from any prosecution under the PC Act in the event of any associated person charged with the act of giving a bribe.
What can companies do for creating an Anti-Bribery Policy?
For creating an Anti-Bribery Policy companies can follow the below guidelines:
- Business entertainment, gifts, and payment for travel expenses for government officials, all should be covered within the policy framework and procedural prudential norms. These norms may be in relation to gifts and entertainment, sales and promotion expenses, travel expenses etc.
- Employees must respond truthfully to any questions from internal or independent auditors.
- All third parties involved in your business dealings are subject to anti-bribery laws. This includes anyone representing you or working on your behalf, as well as any agents or intermediaries.
- Regular communication to employees for increasing awareness of anti-bribery policies, training on the policy