FCRA Registration of 6,000 NGOs Lapses

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration of nearly 6,000 Non-Governmental Organisations has ceased to operate from January 1, 2022 as the Ministry of Home Affairs refused to renew their application or the NGOs did not apply for one.

• FCRA registration is necessary for the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions. Thus, if the licence lapses or is revoked, the organisation will be prevented from receiving foreign funds in the future and will also have to relinquish access to the funds already received from foreign sources.
• Several NGOs could not complete the renewal process due to the COVID pandemic and the amendments to the FCRA Act in 2020 that introduced other stringent compliance measures such as-
  • prohibiting those who have an FCRA registration from transferring foreign-sourced funds to any other persons/organisations;
  • making it mandatory for every FCRA-registered organisation to have a specific FCRA account at a State Bank of India branch in Delhi for receiving their funds; etc.