FCRA Registration
What are the eligibility criteria for grant of registration ?
For grant of registration under FCRA, 2010, the association should:
(i) be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 or section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956(now Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013)etc;
(ii) 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.
For this purpose, the association should have spent at least Rs.10,00,000/- over the last three years on its activities, excluding administrative expenditure. Statements of Income & Expenditure, duly audited by Chartered Accountant, for last three years are to be submitted to substantiate that it meets the financial parameter
What are the conditions to be met for the grant of registration and prior permission ?
In terms of Sec.12 (4) of FCRA, 2010, the following shall be the conditions for the grant of registration and prior permission:
(A) The 'person' making an application for registration or grant of prior permission-
(i) is not fictitious or benami;
(ii) has not been prosecuted or convicted for indulging in activities aimed at conversion through inducement or force, either directly or indirectly, from one religious faith to another;
(iii) has not been prosecuted or convicted for creating communal tension or disharmony in any specified district or any other part of the country;
(iv) has not been found guilty of diversion or mis-utilisation of its funds;
(v) is not engaged or likely to engage in propagation of sedition or advocate violent methods to achieve its ends;
(vi) is not likely to use the foreign contribution for personal gains or divert it for undesirable purposes; (vii) has not contravened any of the provisions of this Act;
(viii) has not been prohibited from accepting foreign contribution;
(ix) the person being an individual, such individual has neither been convicted under any law for the time being in force nor any prosecution for any offence is pending against him.
(ix) the person being other than an individual, any of its directors or office bearers has neither been convicted under any law for the time being in force nor any prosecution for any offence is pending against him.
(B) the acceptance of foreign contribution by the association/ person is not likely to affect prejudicially –
(i) the sovereignty and integrity of India; or
(ii) the security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the State; or
(iii) the public interest; or
(iv) freedom or fairness of election to any Legislature; or
(v) friendly relation with any foreign State; or
(vi) harmony between religious, racial, social, linguistic, regional groups, castes or communities.
(C) the acceptance of foreign contribution -
(i) shall not lead to incitement of an offence;
(ii) shall not endanger the life or physical safety of any person.
What is the procedure of FCRA Registration ?
An application for registration of an organization for acceptance of foreign contribution shall be made electronically on-line in Form FC-3, together with the following documents:
• jpg file of signature of the chief functionary of the association
• Certified copy of registration certificate or Trust deed etc., as the case may be;
• Certified copy of the Memorandum of Association and/or the Articles of Association as applicable.
• Activity Report indicating details of activities during the last three years;
• Copies of audited statement of accounts for the past three years (Assets and Liabilities, Receipt and Payment, Income and Expenditure);
• If functioning as editor, owner, printer or publisher of a publication registered under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, a certificate from the Registrar of Newspapers for India that the publication is not a newspaper in terms of section 1(1) of the said Act.
• Fee of Rs. 2000/- by means of demand draft or banker’s cheque in favour of the “Pay and Accounts Officer, Ministry of Home Affairs”, payable at New Delhi.
