REMINDER – File FCRA FC-4 before 31st December

31^st December 2017 is the last date for organisations Registered or having Prior Permission under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 2010 to file their accounts online in the prescribed Form FC-4 pertaining to receipts and utilisation of funds received from ‘foreign source/s’ during the financial year 2016-17. Filing accounts after the due date will attract penalty/fine for compounding the offence.

Please note that even if no foreign contribution has been received during the financial year (1^st April 2016 to 31^st March 2017), the accounts must still be filed as a Nil Return. This is mandatory in order to keep your registration or prior permission alive.

Darpan UID

Vide Notification of 4^th October 2017 Ministry of Home Affairs has made Darpan UID mandatory for using all FCRA online services. However, though not officially announced, MHA seem to have relaxed this requirement for filing form FC 4, perhaps knowing that although many NGOs have successfully updated information on Niti Ayog’s NGO Darpan, due to system related glitches, several NGOs have still not received their Darpan UID. 

Darpan UID number is now something like an NGO Aadhar.

Those who have yet to file form FC 4 and have still not received the Darpan UID, simply click on the ‘close’ tab at the bottom of the page when there is a pop-up asking for your association’s Darpan ID. You should be able to proceed with filing FC 4 for the FY 2016-17 after that.

FCRA Accounting Requirements

• All FCRA accounts and records must be kept separately.

• Never mix local funds with foreign funds.

• Never transfer funds from your FCRA Bank account to your local or non-FCRA Bank account or the vice versa.

• NGOs are allowed to maintain more than one FCRA Utilization Account. However all foreign contributions must be received only in the designated bank account named in the FCRA Registration or Prior Permission letter/certificate issued by MHA.

• Any change in the FCRA Bank account or opening or closing of FCRA Utilization Account must be recorded online within fifteen days in Form FC 6.

• Fees and commercial receipts need not be accounted under FCRA even if received from a foreign source.

• FCRA funds may be invested in bank fixed deposit schemes but not in any Mutual Fund. Interest from such investment must be accounted for under FCRA.

• Income arising from assets created out of FCRA funds must also be accounted for under FCRA.

• If using Tally, we recommend opening separate companies for FCRA and non-FCRA funds.

• If donors insist on separate accounting for their donation/grant, please create separate groups within the Tally Company Account or Cost Centres to track each donor’s fund.

• Since MHA has not specified any particular system of accounting, NGOs may follow either cash or accrual system.

• Most NGOs (particularly those registered under Section 8 of the Indian Companies Act as also those having income generating activities) follow accrual system.

• Please upload FC 4 only when you are one hundred per cent certain. Once filed, there is no provision for filing rectification or for amending facts or figures.