FCRA Department comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. FCRA Registration is optional for NGO / Trust / Section 8 Company. In order to regulate the foreign contribution or foreign hospitality received by any individual, association or company the Government has consolidated all the laws & regulations relating to such transactions. For this purpose Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 was enacted. This was done to create a transparent mechanism for individuals & organizations through E-governance of FCRA related activities. This transparent system was created to discourage any detrimental activities which can be against national interest.

Types of FCRA Registration

FCRA Registration can be categorized in two types, one is proper FCRA registration and other is prior permissions. Apart from the eligibility criteria defined for the applicants, period of existence of the applicant organization is also a determining factor for deciding the Category of FCRA registration. Following are the specifications determining the type of FCRA registration.

1. Proper FCRA Registration - In order to be eligible to apply for proper FCRA registration, following are the minimum requirements:

• The applicant must be registered and operating for a minimum period of 5 years.
• The organization must have spent minimum 10 Lakh rupees in the last 3 years for furtherance of its main objects. This amount shall not include any kind of administrative expenditure.
• The applicant is also required to submit last 3 years financial statements. These financial statements must be audited by qualified Chartered Accountant.

2. Prior Permission - On the other hand, if a newly registered organization is willing to receive any kind of foreign contribution then it can apply for prior permission. Following are the minimum requirements:

• The foreign owner is specified at the time of making application.
• The funding is to be used for specific purpose.
• Amount of foreign contribution is also defined.