FCRA Registration Requirements

FCRA Registration Requirements

Regulating the acceptance of foreign contribution by persons having a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme :
NPOs are directly affected by the provisions of FCRA (both FCRA 1976 and 2010), and the Government closely monitors the inflow of foreign contribution into this sector.
Both under FCRA 1976 and FCRA 2010, any individual or organisation carrying out a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme is required to be registered with the Central Government or obtain prior permission of the Central Government before accepting any foreign contribution. Such an NPO cannot in turn transfer the foreign contribution received by it to any other person unless such other person is also registered or has obtained prior permission.
The process of registration is stringent and fraught with bureaucratic process. Unless the NPO has a track record of at least three years, as a matter of practice, registration has generally not been granted under FCRA 1976. Under FCRA 2010, the requirement of having a track record is now codified, as the Act specifically provides that before granting registration, the Central Government shall verify whether the NPO has undertaken reasonable activity in its chosen field for the benefit of society. If the NPO is not able to fulfil the requisite conditions for registration, then the only alternative would be to apply for prior permission, which would be valid only for the specific purpose and source for which it is obtained. Even for prior permission the NPO would have to show that it has a reasonable project for the benefit of society for which the foreign contribution is proposed to be utilised.
The Central Government, before granting registration or prior permission, is required to ensure that the person or organisation is in no way working to the detriment of national interest. For example, (and the below-mentioned items are only illustrative) it should not be engaged in :
(a) Religious conversion through inducement or force;
(b) Creating communal tension or disharmony;
(c) Propagation of sedition or advocating violent methods to achieve its ends;
(d) Undesirable purposes.

Application for Registration
An application for registration of an organisation for acceptance of foreign contribution shall be made electronically on-line in Form FC-3, and shall be followed by forwarding the hard copy of the on-line application duly signed by the Chief Functionary of the association together with the required documents: