The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Centre extends validity of FCRA registration of NGOs till September 30

    Synopsis

    The FCRA registration extension benefits NGOs with pending renewal applications. Scrutiny affected prominent NGOs, leading to new FCRA licenses being issued. The rules regarding foreign contributions and asset declaration are strictly enforced, ensuring compliance and transparency in the NGO sector.

    Centre Extends Validity of FCRA Registration of NGOs till Sept 30
    New Delhi: The Centre has granted three-month extension to validity of the FCRA registration of non-governmental organisations, renewal applications of which are pending, till September 30, 2024.

    In a public notice on Saturday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the validity of the registration of those FCRA entities whose validity had been extended till June 30, 2024, and whose renewal application is pending, will stand extended up to September 30, 2024, or till the date of disposal of renewal application, whichever is earlier.

    It also said that the validity of those entities which were registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and whose five year validity period is expiring during July 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, but have applied for renewal before expiry of the five year validity period, will stand extended up to September 30, 2024, or till the disposal of the renewal application -- whichever is earlier. It was further noted that the NGOs whose renewal application has been denied or FCRA licences cancelled are not eligible to receive or utilise foreign grants.

    This is the 10th time that the Centre has granted extension to NGOs following passing of FCRA Amendment Act, 2020, in September 2020. According to sources, several prominent NGOs have lost their FCRA licences in the latest round of scrutiny while 183 new FCRA registration licences have been issued to NGOs in the first six months of this year. These include Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Meer Foundation and Vedanta-backed Cairn Foundation, among others.

    The MHA recently sought from the NGOs registered under the FCRA details regarding moveable and immovable assets created by them using foreign grants. As per the FCRA laws, donations made by an Indian origin person who has acquired foreign citizenship is treated as foreign contribution. This will also apply to Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders. However, this will not apply to 'Non-resident Indians (NRI), who still hold Indian citizenship as they are not foreigners.



    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in