FCRA Registration in India is a result from emergence of alleged adverse operations of the NGOs. The Home Ministry enacted the law to regulate the acceptance and usage of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain eligible individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and usage of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to national interest and for matters connected therewith. Registration of Charitable Trusts, Societies and Section 8 Company that receive foreign contribution or donation from foreign sources, under Section 6(1) of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 is called a FCRA Registration in India. 

Prior Permission Route  

To minimize the alleged adverse effects of foreign donations the Ministry of Home Affairs has established a Prior Permission Route to cut into the said problem. Now Organizations seeking foreign contributions for cultural, social, economic, educational or religious programmes may obtain FCRA Registration or receive foreign contribution through “Prior Permission Route”. 

Eligibility for FCRA Registration in India 

NGOs working with funds contributing to cultural, social, economic, educational or religious programmes are considered eligible candidates for an FCRA Registration. Entities including election candidates, political parties and their office bearers, those connected with a registered newspaper, judges, government servants or employees of any entity controlled or owned by the government and members of any legislature. 

Documents Required for FCRA Registrations in India 

Documents required for a FCRA Registration are given below-  

• Article of Association. 
• Memorandum of Association^[1] 
• Trust Deed 
• Activity Report 
• Statements of Income & Expenditure for the Last 3 Years 
• Audited Statement of accounts for the last three years 

Time Period Involved  

1. FCRA registration in India takes time of about four months but may vary due to the number of branches a NGO has.  

2. A registration for FCRA is valid for a period of five years at a time and has to be renewed after those five years. For renewal of application of FCRA Registration, application has to be made atleast 6 months prior to the date of expiry of the previous registration. 

Procedure to get FCRA Registration in India 

FCRA Registration in India can be easily done through its official web portal by following the steps given below-  

Step 1: Visit the official web portal for FCRA online services  

Step 2: Select “Service Under FCRA” for the application form for registration of FCRA. Select form FC-3A  

Step 3: Opting to apply online, Login into your account using User-Id and Password. User needs to create an account if does not have an account prior. Signup for new account by filling complete mentioned details 

Step 4: Opt for Apply Online and proceed to New Registration. 

Step 5: Applicant has to provide details given below-   

• Association Details, 
• Executive Committee details,  
• EC Details & others,  
• Bank Details,  
• Other Details,  

Note for Association Details mentioned on screen and make payment. All details need to be saved after filling up. Details can be edited, deleted, added and viewed from the Edit, Delete, Add /View option. After Final Submit, application details cannot be modified. 

Step 6: After the above five steps, now you need to upload all the required documents  

Step 7: Submit the application and make the payment.  

Conclusion 

The ministry has offered extension on FCRA Registrations in India till March 31, 2022 amid the pandemic and in view of amendments introduced in the Act in 2020. It is the responsibility of all eligible organizations to ensure that all formalities are adhered to before accepting any foreign contributions. This prevents any misappropriation of funds from foreign sources. In case you need any help you can contact Bizadvisors.

Read our article:A Complete Guide on NGO Registration in India