What is FCRA Registration and Who Can Register?
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) was originally enacted in 1976 to regulate the inflow of money from abroad into the country. In 2010, the old law was repealed and a new FCRA was enacted.

Under the FCRA, there are certain categories of persons who cannot receive foreign contributions (including cash donations and even gifts of a certain value) under any circumstances: election candidates, the editors or publisher of newspapers, judges, public servants, members of Parliament and state legislatures, and even political parties.

However, in 2017, a retrospective exemption was created for donations received by political parties through Indian subsidiaries of foreign companies (which were supposed to be prohibited as well). This protected the BJP and Congress from falling foul of the law because of the donations they had received from Vedanta.

Organisations which do charitable work can receive foreign contributions if they register with the government or obtain prior permission for receipt of foreign funds.

Why is an FCRA Registration Important?
FCRA registration is necessary for the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions. In fact, it is mandatory for all associations, groups, and NGOs, which intend to receive foreign donations, to register themselves under the FCRA.

If the licence lapses or is revoked, not only will the organisation be compelled to abstain from receiving foreign funds in the future, but they will also have to relinquish access to the funds already received from foreign sources.

For instance, as per a report by The Hindu: Oxfam India — an organisation that works for economic and gender justice among Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims — stands to lose access to over ₹62 crore in its designated bank account. Some of the organisation’s biggest donors are Oxfam, Australia, Oxfam, Germany, Oxfam, Great Britain, and Stichting Oxfam International, Netherlands.

Most NGOs rely heavily on foreign funds to conduct their welfare and charity-related activities among the less-privilege, marginalised, or otherwise vulnerable populations of the country. Thus, an FCRA registration is of paramount consequence for them to continue to do so.

So, What Happened With Nearly 6,000 NGOS?
Media reports have quoted MHA officials as stating that the ministry declined to renew the FCRA registration of 179 NGOs. Further, as per the reports, 5,789 others did not apply for a renewal before the 31-December deadline.

“As many as 5,789 associations did not apply for renewal of their certificates despite numerous reminders. Of the applications received, 179 were refused renewal after a scrutiny by the MHA found them ineligible to receive foreign funds.”
MHA official, according to The Hindu
Meanwhile, the MHA official has claimed they are “processing the request of other NGOs who have applied, and due to the pendency, an extension was given till March.”

But there were also a slew of reasons that may have kept a multitude of NGOs from completing the renewal process.

These include the 2020's amendments to the Act, which prohibited those who have an FCRA registration from transferring foreign-sourced funds to any other persons/organisations, as well as made 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.

What Now? What Next?
When it comes to registrations and renewals, much of the process is unwritten, people who work on these matters explained to The Quint.

The process for both takes a long time, and applicants try to work with the MHA and other ministries to ensure that their applications are accepted and any issues resolved.

The refusal to renew a registration is different from a cancellation or even a suspension of an FCRA registration, as it does not require a violation of the FCRA. Unlike refusal of registration or cancellation of licence, there is also no specific appeal process under the FCRA.

However, since the government is supposed to provide reasons for this, it does mean that it is possible to file a writ petition in a court of law against this decision – though experts advise that this is unlikely to help unless there has been some gross misapplication of the law by the government.

If an FCRA registration is cancelled, then the person/organisation cannot make an application for a fresh registration for three years. If a renewal request is rejected, there is no such cooling-off period.
The documentation required for a fresh application by MoC is essentially the same as what they would have had to file for their renewal request, so provided any necessary amendments or corrections are made (if possible), this should not require any particularly onerous additional work. However, the process is likely to take time. Further, there is no guarantee that every organisation’s application would succeed.

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