MAJOR FCRA COMPLIANCES
A very under rated, not widely discussed Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010, though, one of very rare law which only requires compliance with respect to Foreign Contribution received. Law was first introduced in 1976 in the era of emergency. The first release of law only required the reporting of Foreign contribution received and spent. As the time passed the requirement of Registration/ Prior Permission was introduced, the law became stronger and stringent. It was again the congress government of 2010 who changed FCRA 1976 to FCRA 2010.
Following MAJOR Forms are required to be filed under The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 (All the below given forms are to be filed online only)
|
Form Number |
Purpose |
Nature |
Due date of filling |
| FC-1
(Part-A) |
For informing the Government about receiving large gifts from relatives (Who are Foreign Citizen). This applies to all individuals and HUFs. The cut-off is Rs. one lakh in one financial year.
(Person has to file this intimation for each receipt after crossing Rs. One lakh during the financial year) |
Intimation | Within 30 days of receipt |
| FC-1
(Part-B) |
Providing information about Articles received during the year | Intimation | 31st December following the end of the year |
| FC-1
(Part-B) |
Providing information about Securities received during the year | Intimation | 31st December following the end of the year |
| FC-1
(Part-D) |
If Any Election Candidate has received any Foreign Contribution during 180 days prior to being nominated. There is no minimum amount limit.
(Election candidates are prohibited of taking any Foreign Contribution) |
Intimation | Within 45 days of being nominated |
| FC-2 | Persons holding public office should apply in form FC-2 before accepting foreign hospitality. There is no lower cut-off, though a dinner invitation or a lift is exempt. | Permission | 14 days in advance |
| FC-3
(Part – A) |
Persons who want to accept foreign contribution regularly should apply in form FC-3 for registration.
(Generally NGOs having a proven track record of three years and have spent Rs. Ten Lakhs or more for the object of the trust) |
Permission | NA (Generally takes 4 to 6 months to get registered) |
| FC- 3
(Part – B) |
Persons who cannot get FCRA registration should apply for prior-permission.
(Prior permission is linked to specific project of NGOs and for a specified sum of Foreign Contribution. Though Foreign contribution may be received in installments) |
Permission | NA (Generally takes 3 to 6 months to get Prior permission) |
| FC-3
(Part – C) |
The FCRA registration is valid for 5 years only so need to apply for renewal in FC -3 Part C | Permission | Ideally 5-6 months before expiry |
| FC-4
(Includes Auditor’s report) |
Form FC-6 is an annual report on how much foreign contribution has been received and used during the financial year. This includes contribution in money as well as in kind.– To be filed by FCRA registered person or having prior permission persons | Annual Return | 31st December
Following the end of the year. |
| FC-5 | Any FCRA registered person who intends to transfer Foreign contribution to any unregistered person. | Permission | Before transferring such contribution |
| FC-6 | Any FCRA registered person who wants to change Association name or Designated bank account or Utilization Bank Account or more than 50% of Key members. | Intimation | Within 15 days of change |
All FCRA Compliance are compulsory in nature and any violation thereof may lead to penalty or Imprisonment or both as per the provisions of the act.
From Bank’s Point of View (Can be used for BANK AUDITS– Concurrent & Statutory)
Banks are required to report two kinds of transactions to the Government.
The first is where a remittance has been received by someone without FCRA registration or permission.
The second is where a person (Having FCRA registration or not) receives more than one crore rupees in a period of thirty days. These intimations should be sent within 30 days.
Currently, A Scheme of Government is going on whereby All the Associations/Org. Having registration or Prior permission can file their Annual returns without penalty for FY 2010-11 to 2014-15. The scheme is available from 15th May 2017 to 14th June 2017.
Disclaimer: The above article is based on the understanding of the author of the revised rules published on 31st March 2017. Any Suggestion in this regard is highly appreciated. You can provide your suggestion on camayur2@gmail.com/ 85300 89839.
Author Bio
Well articulated and nicely described