What are the Types of NGO Registrat...
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that is not a portion of a government...
Getting permission for Foreign contribution in an NFO is strictly regulated and in recent years, large no of the old license has been canceled and renewal has been stopped. Now, the Government is willing to issue FCRA registration only to an NGO who has done remarkable social reforms or have benefited society at large. In this article, we will discuss the FCRA Registration process.
Nonprofit Organizations[1] looking for foreign contributions for certain cultural, social, economic, educational or religious programs can obtain FCRA registration or receive the foreign contribution through “prior permission” route. It is desirable for an FCRA applicant to be Trust or Society or a Section 8 Company. The not-for-profit entity must have also been in existence for at least three years while making the FCRA application & shouldn’t have received any foreign contribution preceding to that without the Government’s approval. Moreover, the entity or the firm looking for registration should have spent a minimum of Rs.10,00,000/- over the last 3 years on its aims & objects, excluding administrative expenditure. Statements of Income & Expenditure, duly audited by Chartered Accountant (CA), for the last 3 years are to be submitted to validate that it meets the financial parameter.
If a newly registered entity would like to receive foreign contributions, then approval for a specific activity, specific purpose and from a specific source can be made to the MCA through the Prior Permission (PP) method.
Once, the FCRA application is made in the prescribed format, the following criteria are check before providing registration.
(a) The ‘person’ or ‘entity’ making an application for registration or grant of prior permission-
(b) The acceptance of foreign contribution by the entity/person is not likely to affect prejudicially –
(c) the acceptance of foreign contribution-
Application for FCRA Registration process can be made using Form FC-3. Along with the application, the following documents must be submitted:
Once FCRA registration is granted, it is valid for a period of 5 years. An application for renewal of FCRA registration can be made 6 months prior to the date of expiry, to keep the registration valid.
Read our article: Renewal Procedure of FCRA Registration
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