Internal Audit Areas in respect of Foreign Guest in a Hotel
In respect of the Foreign Guests the Internal Auditor should ensure to check the following:
1. Visa Requirements: Ensure that foreign guests have the appropriate visa for their stay in India. Different types of visas (tourist, business, employment, etc.) have different requirements and durations.
2. Passport Validity: Check that the guest’s passport is valid for at least six months beyond their intended stay in India.
3. Purpose of Stay in India: The hotel staff should enquire about the purpose of stay in India from the Foreign Guest and the same should be mentioned in the A&D Register.
4. A&D Register: The Front office in the hotel should ensure that the details of the Foreign Guest are filled in the Arrival & Departure (A&D) Register of the Hotel just like the other guests. And further, the same should be complete in all respects.
5. Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office (FRRO) Reporting: The hotel is required to furnish the details of the Foreign Guest i.e. name, country of Origin, Passport No., Period of Stay in India etc. in Form C to the FRRO. The Internal Auditor should ensure, whether the hotel has submitted Form C to the FRRO with in 24 hours of arrival of the Foreign Guest in the Hotel.
6. Foreign Exchange Compliance: Hotels are generally authorized to deal in foreign exchange as a ‘restricted money-changer’ especially for accepting Foreign Currency/ Traveler’s Cheques. The authorization is subject to conditions laid down in this regard and remains valid for a limited period only and the hotel gets it renewed after that period. The hotel is required to issue encashment certificates to the Foreign Guests in respect of foreign currency/traveler’s cheques purchased and submit a report to the Authorized Dealers regarding encashment of foreign currency on a monthly basis.
7. GST on Forex Encashment: The Hotel should ensure that it had collected GST on Encashment Certificates and further made payment of GST to the government.
8. Guest paid-out: In many cases the hotel makes payment on behalf of the Foreign Guest as the later may not be having Domestic currency for payment like cab charges. Further, the hotel should ensure that the same is duly accounted for in the customer’s Invoice as a recovery.
9. Not to share personal information of Foreign Guests to outsiders: The Hotel should ensure that its staff does not share personal information of Foreign Guests including European Guests to outsiders to ensure compliance with the GDPR norms.
10. Not to take Cash of Rs. 2 lakhs or more: The hotel staff should ensure that it has not taken cash Rs. 2 lakhs or more, be it in Forex, from the Foreign Guests, to avoid non compliance of Section 269 ST of Income Tax Act, 1961.
Conclusion:
By checking the abovementioned areas, the Internal Auditor can be reasonably assured about the compliances to be checked in respect of a Foreign Guest and whether the concerned Hotel for which the Internal Audit is being done is comprehensively done or not.