[hillram]

The Spirit of Sodexo and Accor starting these coupons/passes is to encorage employers to give these in lieu of Salary for basic essentials of Life which is Food and Beverages.
As BBlost pointed out using Sodexo passes to buy luxuries is illegal and also unprofessional.
Members of T-BHP should refrain from such activities.
MODS: Please advise.

[binoyb22]

Originally Posted by hillram

The Spirit of Sodexo and Accor starting these coupons/passes is to encorage employers to give these in lieu of Salary for basic essentials of Life which is Food and Beverages.
As BBlost pointed out using Sodexo passes to buy luxuries is illegal and also unprofessional.
Members of T-BHP should refrain from such activities.
MODS: Please advise.

Hillram sometimes situation do arise like when people go onsite for long term basis(6 to 12 months),sodexho pass does get accumulated .Dont tell me..shop for food and beverages for that money.instead people do try to make use of that in a smart way and i dont think that is unprofessional.

[sukiwa]

But starting Apr 1, the card usage per day is restricted to Rs 100/day. A govt ruling, in order to ensure that the card is used only at cafeterias and not for buying Clothes at Westside!!

Very impractical, defeats purpose of moving to a Food card. If this really gets implemented, we will have revert back to paper coupons. How many cafeterias are advanced enough to support a Food card?

[babhishek]

this is a funny thread!

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by aka_iitd

I think this will create a amount which can never be used.
Suppose you don't swipe for 7 days your 700 bucks get blocked. No way you can use them if limit is 100 per day and if the card is loaded for 3000 bucks every month.
I think there is some gap in understanding the product

Yes! The whole purpose of the food cards to save tax is now gone! No way can you eat for 100 bucks everyday. And most shops don't accept cards for amounts less than 100.

So employees dont claim 3000. I, for example, just claim 1000 bucks. Even then most of it remains unused.

[aka_iitd]

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

Yes! The whole purpose of the food cards to save tax is now gone! No way can you eat for 100 bucks everyday. And most shops don't accept cards for amounts less than 100.

So employees dont claim 3000. I, for example, just claim 1000 bucks. Even then most of it remains unused.

I clarified with HDFC and they said Income Tax Dept had send this circular and it is up to the individual to maintain this decorum . Bank is not responsible in case IT dept ask any question.
When I asked about unused money there was no clarification from bank. They promised to come back and I will post the answer then.
I think with this rule only bank will enjoy unused blocked money that too interest free . Only I can say Jai ho !

[RAC]

In the company I work for, a huge no. of people protested when the Rs 100.00 per day rule came into picture. Now the card has been discontinued.

It was Catch22 - cannot spend more than 100 and shops don't accept less than 100. This means you eat in cafeteria for 100.00 everyday to utilize the amount. hmmm.. butter chicken...

[aka_iitd]

Originally Posted by RAC

In the company I work for, a huge no. of people protested when the Rs 100.00 per day rule came into picture. Now the card has been discontinued.

It was Catch22 - cannot spend more than 100 and shops don't accept less than 100. This means you eat in cafeteria for 100.00 everyday to utilize the amount. hmmm.. butter chicken...

Back to paper from plastic money

[bblost]

Originally Posted by binoyb22

Hillram sometimes situation do arise like when people go onsite for long term basis(6 to 12 months),sodexho pass does get accumulated .Dont tell me..shop for food and beverages for that money.instead people do try to make use of that in a smart way and i dont think that is unprofessional.

Well you can always host a team-bhp party.

[loving_alaap]

In Ahmedabad, Passes are accepted by almost all grocery stores. Birla More, Reliance fresh etc.

So, i usually take monthly grocery from them.

Routine food items from these stores are very reasonably priced & apart from there there are lots of schemes with average 10% discount / benefit.

So, Sodexo in Ahmedabad is not a big problem, one just love to spend.

[binoyb22]

Originally Posted by bblost

Well you can always host a team-bhp party.

Well Not a bad idea!! pray that i get a long term onsite

[Spitfire]

There is someone i know in bangalore who buys these coupons for 15% margin.

Is it legal? I know there is no way of tracking this but can someone actually buy these coupons for cash from someone else?

[leadf00t]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Sodexho and Tickets are passe.

These days it's food card that rules the roost. We use a HDFC food card and it works almost everywhere. Never tried it at non-food purchase outlets, need to do that asap

I too have a HDFC food card It was a great tax saving instrument till the GOV put the 100rs/day limits

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

Yes they are. We have HDFC Food Card, and we can load upto Rs 3000 per month which is tax free. Most of the supermarkets/shops used to accept these cards. I found them totally hassle-free, rather than waiting behind someone who goes on counting his Sodexho coupons.

But starting Apr 1, the card usage per day is restricted to Rs 100/day. A govt ruling, in order to ensure that the card is used only at cafeterias and not for buying Clothes at Westside!! (YES! The card works at Westside )

This rule sucks bigtime.

We can use it only in office cafeteria. You cant buy a decent meal within 100 bucks outside. say McDs or KFC or CCD and the like and other restos dont swipe the card unless the transaction amount is more than 100

A lose lose situation for me.

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

Yes! The whole purpose of the food cards to save tax is now gone! No way can you eat for 100 bucks everyday. And most shops don't accept cards for amounts less than 100.

So employees dont claim 3000. I, for example, just claim 1000 bucks. Even then most of it remains unused.

I have stopped claiming the Foodcard allowance. I have 1100 bucks accumulated and cant use it anymore.

OT: Fountainheader/mobike008 do by any chance work with cognizant like me. a HDFC food card, 3K limit, flexible allocation all seems like pointers for you to be with cognizant.

[null]

From what I understand, Sodexho charges 5% as commission on redemption from the storekeepers & hence the storekeepers usually charge you at the MRP. I have never come across situations where they demand more because we pay by Sodexho. Never heard of fuel bills being paid up by Sodexho. May be this could be the next thing coming up. As an incentive, you get 10000rs worth coupons for refilling at ur nearest shell bunk :P how is that for starters?

For those who want tips on how to exhaust their remaining coupons in blore - I use up my Sodexho coupons at Transit/Forum. With each meal there for 2, you would end up blowing away 250-350 rupees anyways

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by binoyb22

i was wondering if any fuel pumps accepts sodexho food coupons

Talking about Sodex ho, one day one of my colleagues didnt had change to give to a auto rickshaw. And found some food coupons in his pocket, and offered them to auto driver. He was puzzled, and couldnt understand what to do with it.
Later this chap convinced auto guy to take them and also took some time to explain him food coupons, and convinced him that he can buy food from nerest "darshini" as well !!!