Section 2635.202 - General prohibition on solicitation or acceptance of gifts(a)Prohibition on soliciting gifts. Except as provided in this subpart, an employee may not, directly or indirectly:(1) Solicit a gift from a prohibited source; or(2) Solicit a gift to be given because of the employee's official position.(b)Prohibition on accepting gifts. Except as provided in this subpart, an employee may not, directly or indirectly: (1) Accept a gift from a prohibited source; or(2) Accept a gift given because of the employee's official position.(c)Relationship to illegal gratuities statute. A gift accepted pursuant to an exception found in this subpart will not constitute an illegal gratuity otherwise prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 201(c)(1)(B) , unless it is accepted in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act. As more fully described in § 2635.205(d)(1) , an employee may not solicit or accept a gift if to do so would be prohibited by the Federal bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. 201(b) . Example 1 to paragraph (c): A Government contractor who specializes in information technology software has offered an employee of the Department of Energy's information technology acquisition division a $15 gift card to a local restaurant if the employee will recommend to the agency's contracting officer that she select the contractor's products during the next acquisition. Even though the gift card is less than $20, the employee may not accept the gift under § 2635.204(a) because it is conditional upon official action by the employee. Pursuant to §§ 2635.202(c) and 2635.205(a) , notwithstanding any exception to the rule, an employee may not accept a gift in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act.