The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on November 10, 2020 has issued the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) (Amendment) Rules, 2020 to further amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011.
The following amendments have been made:
• Rule 3 (2), which specifies the nature of the organisations, has been inserted, namely:
“The organisations specified under clauses (v) and (vi) of sub-rule (1) shall be considered to be of political nature, if they participate in active politics or party politics, as the case may be.”
• Rule 9 (1) (d), which specifies that the applicant shall have FCRA account, has been substituted, namely:
“Any person making an application for registration under clause (a) of sub-rule (1) shall have an FCRA Account.”
• Rule 9 (1) (f), which specifies the conditions for the registration, has been inserted, namely:
“A person seeking registration under clause (b) of sub-section (4) of section 12 of the Act shall meet the following conditions, namely:
1.it shall be in existence for three years and have spent a minimum number of rupees fifteen lakh on its core activities for the benefit of society during the last three financial years.
2.if the person wants inclusion of its existing capital investment in assets like land, building, other permanent structures, vehicles, equipment in the computation of its spending during last three years, then the chief functionary shall give an undertaking that the assets shall be vested henceforth with the person till the validity of the certificate and they shall be utilised only for the activities covered under the Act and the rules made thereunder and shall not be diverted for any other purpose till the validity of its certificate of registration remains valid.
• Rule 9 (2A), which specifies that the applicant shall furnish the details of the FCRA account, has been inserted, namely:
“Every application for obtaining prior permission under clause (a) of sub-rule (1) made before the commencement of these rules but not disposed of, shall be considered after furnishing the details of FCRA Account.”
• Rule 9A, which specifies the permission for receipt of foreign contribution in application for obtaining prior permission, has been inserted, namely:
“If the value of foreign contribution on the date of final disposal of an application for obtaining prior permission under clause (a) of sub-rule (1) of rule 9 is over rupees one crore, the Central Government may permit receipt of foreign contribution in such instalments, as it may deem fit.”
• Rule 12 (2), which specifies the renewal of certificate of registration conditions, has been substituted, namely:
“An application for renewal of the certificate of registration shall be made to the Central Government in electronic form in Form FC-3C accompanied with an affidavit executed by each office bearer, key functionary and member in Proforma ‘AA’ appended to these rules within six months from the date of expiry of the certificate of registration.”
• Rule 15, which specifies the custody of foreign contribution in respect of a person whose certificate has been cancelled, has been substituted, namely:
“If the certificate of registration of a person who has opened an FCRA Account under section 17 is cancelled, the amount of foreign contribution lying unutilised in that Account shall vest with the prescribed authority under the Act.”
• Rule 15A, which specifies the voluntary surrender of the certificate, has ben inserted, namely:
“Every person who has been granted certificate of registration under section 12 of the Act may make an application in electronic form in Form FC-7 for surrender of the certificate of registration in terms of section 14A of the Act.”
[Notification No. G.S.R 695 (E)]
