Overview

The purpose of the FCRA is the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act which regulates and regulates foreign contributions occurring within India. The FCRA registration certificate issued by a governmental authority is a mandatory obligation by any registered trust, society, institution, association and NGO to obtain or obtain any foreign trust or foreign grant.

The primary purpose of FCRA registration is to legalize the receipt of any foreign contribution by domestic entities and to ensure proper use of such funds for a specified purpose.

Some requirement

The following are required to implement FCRA registration

Type of registration eg:

a) Obligations for proper FCRA registration:

• The applicant will be a registered institution and must have a minimum of 5 years of operation.
• The applicant unit will have to spend at least INR 10 lakhs in the last three years for the receipt of its main items, for which the unit was registered excluding administrative expenses.
• The last three years financial statement audited by qualified Chartered Accountant will be submitted by the applicant.

b) The obligation for Prior Permission FCRA Registration:

• If the newly registered body is willing to receive foreign contribution or foreign grant will apply for prior permission
• While applying for the same, it will give details related to a foreign owner who is contributing to the fund
• Funds received will be used only for the specified purpose

Eligibility criteria

The following are the entities eligible to apply for FCRA registration:

• Trusts registered under the Indian Trust Act
• Societies registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act
• Section 8 companies covered under the Companies Act
• The applicant should be registered as an NPO established with charitable objectives to serve the society by promoting health, education, economic development, arts, culture, religion, sports, etc.
• The entity should not be prohibited in any form by the provision of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
• Accepted foreign contribution will not endanger the life or safety of a person nor give rise to any crime.

Non-Qualified Entities

FCRA registration is not permitted to the following entities:

• Applicant is fictitious or anonymous.
• Applicants who are prosecuted for engaging in any inappropriate activity
• An applicant who has been convicted or prosecuted for any communal tension committed in a specified district or any region of the country
• Is involved in any violent activities
• has used foreign contribution for its personal use
• Any institution deported under any provision of law to accept any foreign receipt or foreign grant.
• Any approval of foreign grant which is affected by prejudice:

  • The sovereignty of India

  • Public Interest

  • Relationship with any state.

Registration Process

Following is the phased online procedure to apply for FCRA license:

• Apply online through filling online form FC-3 available on the official website of FCRA https://fcraonline.nic.in
• Click option “FCRA Online Forms” for registration under FCRA.
• The applicant will be redirected to the next page for several options such as application for seeking the permission of the central government, foreign receipt intimation, application for FCRA registration, etc.
• Select “Apply Online” option under Application for FCRA Registration (FC-3)
• New user needs to sign up for completing the application form
• Fill the form and complete all the mandatory details
• Once the form is completed, click the save button after which “User id” will be generated automatically.
• Then the applicant has to sign up using the automatically generated login credential on the above process.
• Continue to start the phase by step registration.
• After completion of the entire form, the applicant will have to scan and attach the documents in PDF format.
• Complete online registration by making online payment through online payment gateway.

Documents: The following documents will be attached to the online application:

• Self-attested copy of certificate of incorporation, trust deed, or any other certificate by such institution
• NGO's PAN
• Copy of MOA & amp; AOA of Associations and Institutions
• Signature of Chief Judiciary in JPG format
• A detailed report on the activities of the preceding three years.
• Verified copy of financial statement, P & amp; L Account, income-expenditure statement and cash flow statement for the preceding three years.
• CTC of a resolution passed by a governing body authorized by the NGO
• Certificate obtained under Section 80G and 12A of Income Tax. Sections 80G and 12A provide tax exemption under the Income Tax Act to NGOs.

Renewal process

FCRA registration is valid for five years, which can be renewed by applying for renewal. An entity will apply for renewal within the following timeframes:

The unit has been working on a multi-year project for at least 12 months prior to registration, when there is a shortfall in registration.

• At least six months before the license cancellation date.

Cancellation or suspension

If the authority is of the opinion that the registered entity is not functioning as per the provisions of law and its license needs to be revoked, such authority may do so by giving notice to the entity concerned. The following are some of the reasons that can be considered when canceling a license:

• The NGO fails to comply with the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
• If the unit fails to submit the annual return within the due date
• In such cases the allegations made by any institution for any wrongdoing are investigated, and such allegations are proved to be true
• Contribution received is neither used to achieve the main objective of the institution nor to achieve the objective stated during the FCRA registration application