FCRA-PERMANENT PREMISSION UNDER NGO

This generates applicability for those Associations that are already registered under the prevailing statute such as Societies Registration Act, 1860, Section 8 of Companies Act,2013 or Indian Trust Act,1882 and these Associations must exist for at least 3 years and thus undertaken charitable activities in such field. These Association must have spent at least Rs.10 lakhs on charitable based activities in last 3 years.

Application for FCRA registration can be done with the help of Form FC-3,also along with the application, the below mentioned documents must be submitted:

• Self-certified copy of Trust deed/Registration certificate etc., of the association
• Self-certified copy of related pages of Articles of Association/ Memorandum of Association that defines the objects and aim of the association.
• Activity Report providing details of activities of the last three years;
• Copies of related audited statement of accounts for the last three years (Assets and Liabilities, Income and Expenditure, Receipt and Payment) clearly reflecting expenditure incurred on objects and aims of the association and on administrative expenditure;

After FCRA registration is granted, its validity is for a period of five years. The renewal application for FCRA registration is to be made prior 6 months to the date of expiry, in order to keep the registration valid.

Inquiry at the time of Renewal of FCRA

Section 16 of the FCRA Act, 2010 states the process with respect to FCRA renewal, which needs to be done after every 5 years. However, the mentioned section does not entitle the department in making any inquiry of the renewal application at the time of processing, although FCRA department can start inspection and audit as per section 20 and 23 individually at any point of time. Although, together in these sections 20 and 23 the Central Government should with a reasonable reason for commencement of such audit or inquiry.

The latest FCRA Amendment Act, 2020 dated 29th September 2020, states that the central government is authorized in making inquiries and satisfy itself in respect to compliance of Section 12(4) prior for the renewal of FCRA. It should be noted that Section 12(4) is the provision where verification is done at that time of granting registration. Also, the government might make same inquiries before they grant the renewal of FCRA registration. Henceforth, with the proposed amendment, the renewal process has become difficult.

Delayed Application for Renewal

Situation where an NGO fails in applying for renewal that to within the due date, there the registration becomes invalid automatically. Hence, the department might accept the delay if the reason is satisfactory for not submitting the renewal application on time. Any delayed application for renewal can be filed within 1 year from the date of the expiry of the FCRA Certificate.

The rule 12(6) of FCRA Rules 2011 says that in case no application for renewal of registration is received or such application is not accompanied by the requisite fee, the validity of the certificate of registration of such person shall be deemed to have ceased from the date of completion of the period of five years from the date of the grant of registration. For instance, if there are no application is received or is not accompanied with renewal fee, the validity of the registration certificate issued on the 1st November, 2016 shall be believed to have expire with effect from the close of the day on 31st October, 2021.

Any application given for the renewal of the registration should be submitted with a fee of Rs. 1500 (Fifteen hundred only). But, in case of a delayed renewal application should be submitted with a fee of Rs. 5000(Five thousand only).

Documents needed for renewal of the FCRA Registration

Subsequent documents are needed for the renewal of FCRA registration

• Copy of signature of Chief Functionary
• Copy of seal of the Association.
• Registration certificate of the Association
• Trust Deed or Memorandum of Association.
• FCRA Registration Certificate of Association issued by MHA.
• Associations needs to upload affidavit of every key functionary
• Every key functionary in details that includes Aadhar of the Board members where the Indian members and also a copy of passport or overseas citizen card (OCI) in case of foreign members.

Situations where the registration can be cancelled

There are several reasons where a NGO’s foreign funding registration can be canceled on situations like-

• The fund transferred by the foreign contributor is not used appropriately and further used for their own individual interest
• When the NGO is unable to submit annual compliance for three successive years
• When any member of the company lodges a complaint where it says that the NGO is not working efficiently and further if it gets proved.

Disclaimer : The information contained in this article is intended solely for the dissemination of information and does not aim at solicitation of work. Though meticulous care has been taken but the author assumes no liability in respect of any loss/ damage incurred while acting on the information provided in this article. The author can be reached at sanjeev@semantictaxgen.in and can be called at +91-8126700005.