All About FCRA Registration and Renewal

Introduction :-

The Parliament has enacted FCRA 2010, to consolidate the law to regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution by certain NGO/Trust/Society to prohibit acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution for any activities detrimental to national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

If any NGO/Trust/Society wants to receive foreign Contribution for any activity related with cultural, economic, educational, religious or social then It must obtain the FCRA registration/prior permission from the Central Government.

Eligibility Criteria to take FCRA Registration:-

1. The association should be registered under an existing statute like the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 or Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013
2. The Association should normally be in existence for at least three years and has undertaken reasonable activity in its chosen field for the benefit of the society for which the foreign contribution is proposed to be utilised.
3. The entity seeking registration should have spent at least Rs.10,00,000/- over the last three years on its aims and objects, excluding administrative expenditure. Statements of Income & Expenditure, duly audited by Chartered Accountant, for the last three years are to be submitted to substantiate that it meets the financial parameter.
4. Shall have an ”FCRA Account.”

Documents Required for the registration

• Self-certified copy of registration certificate/Trust deed etc., of the association
• Self-certified copy of Memorandum of Association/ Article of Association showing aim and objects of the association.
• Activity Report indicating details of activities during the last three years;
• Copies of relevant audited statement of accounts for the past three years (Assets and Liabilities, Receipt and Payment, Income and Expenditure) clearly reflecting expenditure incurred on aims and objects of the association and on administrative expenditure;
• PAN (Permanent Account Number) of the association
• (Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act registration number and date (in case of renewal) – copy of certificate
• Amount of foreign contribution received during last three financial years:-
• Details of all office bearers or directors or other key functionaries of the person/association ( Name, Pan, aadhar, designation, contact no and mail id )
• Details of “FCRA Account” for receipt of foreign contribution
• Details of all utilisation bank accounts for utilisation of foreign contribution.

FCRA Associations Statistics ( As on 31/05/2021)

Active Registration :- active Registration means valid FCRA Registered entity till date

Cancelled Registration :- Cancelled Registration here means Registration cancelled by the department.

Deemed Expired :-. If no application for renewal of registration is received or the application is not accompanied by requisite fee before the expiry of the validity of the certificate of registration, the validity of the certificate of registration shall be deemed to have ceased from the date of completion of the period of five years from the date of the grant of certificate of registration.

From the statistics we can see 20,673 Registration has been cancelled which means approx. 50% Registration has been cancelled overed the Registration granted.

Reason for Cancellation of FCRA Registration

NOTE:- Once FCRA has been cancelled shall not be eligible for registration or grant of prior permission for a period of three years from the date of cancellation of such certificate.

Renewal of FCRA Registration

Certificate of Registration is valid for five years from the date of granted. Further An application for renewal of the certificate of registration shall be made to the Central Government in electronic form in Form FC-3C before 6 months from the date of validity of certificate.

Every person seeking renewal of the certificate of registration under section 16 of the Act shall open an FCRA Account and mention details of the account in his application for renewal of registration.

Before seeking renewal of Registrations. The The associations must have filed all previous ARs, Darpan ID and designated “FCRA Account” in SBI, Main Branch New Delhi. Filing of AR is mandatory for even ‘NIL’ FC receipt.

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DISCLAIMER: The entire contents of this article have been prepared on the basis of relevant provisions and as per the information existing at the time of the preparation. Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, the author assumes no responsibility therefore. Users of this information agrees that the information is not a professional advice and is subject to change without notice. The author assumes no responsibility for the consequences of use of this information. IN NO EVENT THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGE RESULTING FROM OR ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION.

THE AUTHOR – CS MONIKA MALHOTRA (PRACTICING COMPANY SECRETARY) CAN BE REACHED  AT csmonikamalhotra26@gmail.com or +91-9599561517.