Foreign Receipts From Relatives Abroad Upto Rs 10 Lakhs Per Year Exempted From Disclosure : Centre Amends FCRA Rules

The Central Government has amended the Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Rules 2011 exempting annual receipts up to Rs 10 lakh from foreign relatives(who are citizens of other countries) from declaration and increasing the time for declaration as three months.

As per Rule 6 of the FCRA Rules 2011, any person receiving foreign contribution in excess of one lakh rupees or equivalent thereto in a financial year from any of his relatives shall inform the Central Government in Form FC-1 within thirty days from the date of receipt of such contribution.

On July 1, the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules 2022. The amendment has increased the amount of "one lakh" mentioned in Rule 6 as "ten lakh" and has increased the time for declaration as thirty days.

Contributions made by NRIs ( Non-Resident Indian), from their personal savings, through the normal banking channels, is not treated as foreign contribution(see MHA clarification)

Also, making changes in rule 9, which deals with the application to obtain 'registration' or 'prior permission' under the FCRA to receive funds, the amended rules have given individuals and organisations or NGOs 45 days to inform the Centre about bank account (s) that are to be used for the utilisation of such funds. This time limit was 30 days earlier.

The amendment has also 'omitted' provision 'b' in rule 13, which dealt with declaring foreign funds including details of donors, amount received, and date of receipt, etc. every quarter on its website.

Also Read : Certain FCRA Violations Now Compoundable Before Prosecution By Paying Penalty : MHA Issues Notification

Click here to read/download the notification for Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules 2022