Initial Requirements for grant of Registration under FCRA

(i) the association should be registered under an existing statute like the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 or section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (Now Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013);
(ii) the association Normally be in existence for at least three years and
(iii) has undertaken reasonable activity in its chosen field for the benefit of the society for which the foreign contribution is proposed to be utilised.

Please Note That:-

For Revenue Expenditure: The Association can choose any type of Expenditure (Excluding the Administrative Expenditure as defined in Rule 5 of FCRR, 2011* (List of Expenses given below)) and
Minimum Threshold of ₹15,00,000(Fifteen Lakhs) spent during the period of last 3 (three) years.
For Capital Expenditure: If the association wants inclusion of its capital investment in assets like land, building, vehicles, equipments etc,
then the Chief Functionary shall have to give an Undertaking that these assets shall be utilized only for the FCRA activities
and they will not be diverted for any other purpose till FCRA registration hold by the association.

What are the Eligibility criteria for grant of prior permission?

An organization in formative stage is Not Eligible for Certificate of Registration.
Such organization may apply for grant of prior permission under FCRA, 2010.
Prior permission is granted for Receipt of a Specific Amount from Specific Donor/Donors for Carrying out Specific Activities/Projects.
For this purpose, the association should meet following criteria:
(i) Association Must registered under an existing statute like the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 or section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (Now Companies Act 2013) etc.
(ii)Submit a specific Commitment Letter from the Donor indicating the amount of foreign contribution and the purpose for which it is proposed to be given; and
(iii) Additional Conditions If there is common members in Indian recipient organizations and foreign donor organizations

a)The Chief Functionary of the recipient Indian organization should not be a part of the donor organization.
b) At least 75% of the office-bearers/ members of the Governing body of the Indian recipient organization should not be members/employees of the foreign donor organization.
c) In case of foreign donor organization being a single person/individual that person should not be the Chief Functionary or office bearer of the recipient Indian organization.
d) In case of a single foreign donor, at least 75% office bearers/members of the governing body of the recipient organization should not be the family members and close relatives of the donor.

Procedure to apply

Application for grant of registration or prior permission is to be submitted online in form FC-3 (A) or FC-3 (B) at the website- fcraonline.nic.in
The online application form FC-3 (A) for registration / FC-3 (B) prior permission has been designed in an easy to fill format. The applicant will find instructions on each web page of online form while filling the application; For all FCRA services provided through online portal, Aadhar Number & Darpan ID are mandatory now in case of any query connect us or write us on fcra@fcraindia.com

Required scanned copies of the following documents:

(A) Registration
(i) jpg file of signature of the chief functionary (size:50kb)
(ii) self-certified copy of Registration Certificate/Trust deed etc., of the Association (size:1mb)
(iii) self-certified copy of relevant pages of Memorandum of Association/ Article of Association showing Aim and Objects of the Association. (size:5mb)
(iv)Activity Report indicating details of activities during the last three years;(size:3mb)
(v) 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; (size:5mb)
(vi) Fee of Rs. 10,000/- is to be paid online through payment gateway
(B) Prior Permission
(i) jpg file of signature of the chief functionary(size:50kb)
(ii) self-certified copy of registration certificate/Trust deed etc., of the association (size:1mb)
(iii) Duly signed Commitment Letter from Donor. (size:5mb)
(iv)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.
(v) Fee of Rs. 5000/- is to be paid online through payment gateway.
(vi) Project Report for which Foreign Contribution will be received. (size:3mb)

Important Note on Bank Account

FCRA registered NGO shall have to open ‘FCRA account’ in SBI, Sansad marg, Main branch, New Delhi for receipt of foreign contribution. Organisations located anywhere in India can open and maintain designated FCRA account at SBI, Main branch, New Delhi without visiting physically to New Delhi. In this regard, a detailed SOP of State Bank of India is available in public domain on the portal of SBI & FCRA.

*Administrative Expenses:-

As per Rule 5 of FCRR, 2011 administrative expenses include the following :
(i) Salaries, wages, travel expenses or any remuneration realised by the Members of the Executive Committee or Governing Council of the person;
(ii) All expenses towards hiring of personnel for management of the activities of the person and salaries, wages or any kind of remuneration paid, including cost of travel, to such personnel;
(iii) All expenses related to consumables like electricity and water charges, telephone charges, postal charges, repairs to premise(s) from where the organisation or Association is functioning, stationery and printing charges, transport and travel charges by the Members of the Executive Committee or Governing Council and expenditure on office equipment;
(iv) Cost of Accounting for and administering funds;
(v) Expenses towards running and maintenance of vehicles;
(vi) Cost of writing and filing reports;
(vii) Legal and Professional charges; and
(viii) Rent of premises, repairs to premises and expenses on other utilities;
Provided that the expenditure incurred on salaries or remuneration of personnel engaged in training or for collection or analysis of field data of an association primarily engaged in research or training shall not be counted towards administrative expenses:
Provided further that the expenses incurred directly in furtherance of the stated objectives of the welfare-oriented organization shall be excluded from the administrative expenses such as salaries to doctors of hospital, salaries to teachers of school etc.
Maintenance of Accounts:- Accounts and records relating to receiving and utilization of foreign contribution are to be maintained exclusively/ separately.

When is a registration suspended or cancelled?

The MHA on inspection of accounts and on receiving any adverse input against the functioning of an association can suspend the FCRA registration initially for 180 days. Until a decision is taken, the association cannot receive any fresh donation and cannot utilise more than 25% of the amount available in the designated bank account without permission of the MHA. The MHA can cancel the registration of an organisation which will not be eligible for registration or grant of ‘prior permission’ for three years from the date of cancellation.