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Registration under Section 6 of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act,

Foreign contribution is on of the major area that has to be regulated by the government. Any society, trust or charitable company, carrying on educational, charitable, religious, economic, cultural or social welfare activities, and desirous of receiving any foreign contribution from a foreign source, is required to obtain registration under Section 6(1) of the Act. Any such association which is not registered or which has been denied registration, can receive foreign contribution only after obtaining prior permission from the Central Government under Section 6(1A) of the Act. According to section 5(2) (a) “Except with the prior permission of the Central Government, no person, resident in India, and no citizen of India, resident outside India, shall accept any foreign contribution, or acquire or agree to acquire any foreign currency, on behalf of an organisation referred to in sub-section (1).”

Eligibility: Although FCRA does not distinguish between registered and unregistered organisations, normally organisations registered under Society Registration Act, 1860, the Companies Act, 1956, the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 or as a public trust are only eligible for registration. It may be difficult for an absolutely new organisation to get FCRA registration because certain past activities and records help the FCRA authorities to determine the genuineness and relevance of the organisation.

Separate Bank Account: It is necessary to every organization willing to receive foreign contribution to open and designate one specific bank account for receipt of foreign contribution. This bank account should be only for foreign contribution, and domestic contribution should not be mixed into this account. The foreign contribution received from abroad shall be deposited in this account only and this account shall be exclusively maintained for the purpose of foreign contributions.

Application: Organization seeking registration under FCRA has to apply in Form FC-8 along with the following enclosures be filed in duplicate to the Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Internal Security Wing-FCRA, 4th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Near Khan Market, New Delhi-110003:
• Completely filled Form, FC-8 in triplicate.
• Certificate from concerned District Collector/ Department of State Government/ Ministry or Department of Central Government.
• Activity report for past three years (or annual reports for three years)
• Audited Statements of Account for past three years (Balance Sheet, Income & Expenditure, Receipts & Payments Account along with audit report)
• List of states or districts you will be working in
• Not on socio-economic background of the beneficiaries and of the region to be covered.
• Detail of the beneficiaries and detail of the socio-economic factors of the region in which the NGO is working.
• Certified copy of the Bye-laws and Memorandum and Article of Association whichever is applicable.
• Copy of certificates of exemption or registration issued by the Income Tax Department u/s. 80G and 12A
• Copy of any prior permission granted to the organization
• Copy of resolution of Governing Body of the organisation, authorising the registration under FCRA
• Copy of Power of Attorney or the resolution of Governing Body by which the Chief Functionary is authorised to submit FC-8.
• Details of separate bank account maintained only for receiving foreign contributions.
• An undertaking by the chief functionary with regard to the following:
 Inform within 30days regarding change of name, address, objects, etc., with evidence
 Not to accept any foreign contribution without prior permission, if more than 50% of the office bearers as are mentioned in the application for registration are changed or replaced.
 Not to change the bank account or branch of the bank without prior permission.
 Not to accept foreign contribution before the registration is granted or with prior permission only.

If NGO is a society, then also attach:
• Certified copy of Registration Certificate issued by the Registrar of Societies
• Certified copy of Registration Certificate issued by the Charity Commissioner (in Gujarat and Maharashtra)
If NGO is a Trust, then also attach:
• Certified copy of registered Trust Deed
• Certified copy of Registration Certificate issued by the Charity Commissioner (in Gujarat and Maharashtra)
If NGO is a non-profit company, then also attach:
• Certified copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Certified copy of the registration certificate issued by the Registrar of Companies.
• Certified copy of the section 25 license issued by the Regional Director, Department of Company Affairs.
If NGO is bringing out a ‘registered newspaper’ (meaning that you have registered your newsletter as a ‘newspaper’), then also attach:
• ‘Category B’ certificate issued by the Registrar of Newspapers
Time Limit for Application:
The time limit for making an application for registration has not been prescribed in the Act. Therefore, an application for registering under FCRA can be made any time after the legal constitution of an organization
Granting of Registration and Refusal:
After the application is made, the FCRA department may make field inquiry with the help of Intelligence Bureau. On the basis of the report submitted by the Intelligence Bureau, the application would be processed and accordingly accepted or rejected. There is no time limit provided under FCRA for processing of the application. Normally, six months should be taken to process an application for registration. And if the Government satisfies that the organization is complying all the requirements as required under FCRA it may allot the registration number to the concerned applicant. But the government can also refuse to register under section 6 of the concerned act. The reasons for refusal are not explicitly, provided in section 6, but the refusal for registration could be on the basis of any of the reason specified in section 10:
• The sovereignty and integrity of India; or
• The public interest; or
• Freedom or fairness of election to any Legislature; or
• Friendly relations with any foreign State; or
• Harmony between religious, racial, linguistic or regional groups, castes or communities.