FCRA Compliance Checklist explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
A registered NGO under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 carries a mix of standing rules (how the money is received and spent), yearly filings and event-based intimations. This checklist puts each duty beside the provision it comes from, the form the Rules name and the time limit the Rules print. Where the Rules print no time limit, the table says so. Most of the duties are only as easy to meet as the books behind them; our books of accounts and compliance service covers that side.
It is written as per the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 read with the Amendment Act, 2020, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011 as amended by the notifications named in this article (latest consulted: S.O. 3272(E) dated 22 June 2026). Later amendments, notifications and Ministry of Home Affairs orders should be checked. Where a provision rests only on the third-party consolidation of the Rules (rules 6A, 13(a), 16, 17 and parts of rule 12), confirm it against the official text.
Standing rules: receive foreign contribution only in the FCRA Account, do not transfer it to another person, use it for the purpose received, keep administrative expenses within twenty per cent. unless approved, and keep separate accounts. Yearly: Form FC-4 within nine months of the financial year end, and the audited statement on the website within the same nine months. Events: forty five days for a new utilisation account (FC-6D) or a change of name, address, objects, bank or key functionaries (FC-6A to FC-6E); six months before expiry for renewal (FC-3C).
The checklist
A. Standing rules of receipt and use
| Duty | Provision | Form | Time limit as printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receive foreign contribution only in the FCRA Account; no other funds in it | Section 17(1) and its provisos | None | Standing |
| Do not transfer foreign contribution to any other person | Section 7 (as substituted in 2020) | None | Standing |
| Use the contribution for the purposes for which it was received | Section 8(1)(a) | None | Standing |
| No speculative business; keep a separate register of investments and submit it for audit | Section 8(1)(a) proviso, rule 4(1) to (4) | None | Standing |
| Administrative expenses not above twenty per cent. of the contribution received in a financial year, unless the Central Government approves in advance | Section 8(1)(b), rule 5 | The FC-4 table for any carry forward | Financial year |
| Keep a separate set of accounts and records, exclusively for foreign contribution | Section 19, rule 11 | None | Standing |
B. Yearly filings
| Duty | Provision | Form | Time limit as printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual return with the detailed activity report, income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account and balance sheet; certified bank statement | Section 18, rule 17(1), (6) | FC-4, signed or digitally signed, in electronic form | Within nine months of the closure of the financial year |
| NIL report where nothing was received | Rule 17(8) | FC-4 | The same nine months |
| Place the audited statement of accounts on receipts and utilisation on the person's website or the website specified by the Central Government | Rule 13(a) | None | Within nine months of the closure of the financial year |
| Preserve the accounting statements | Rule 17(7) | None | Six years |
C. Event-based intimations
| Event | Provision | Form | Time limit as printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening of a utilisation account | Rule 9(1)(e), (2)(e) | FC-6D | Within forty five days of opening |
| Change of name or address | Rule 17A(i) | FC-6A | Within forty five days; effective only after final approval |
| Change of nature, aims, objects or registration with local authorities | Rule 17A(ii) | FC-6B | Within forty five days |
| Change of designated FCRA account bank or branch | Rule 17A(iii) | FC-6C | Within forty five days |
| Change of key functionaries | Rule 17A(iv) | FC-6E | Within forty five days |
| Gift from a relative above ten lakh rupees in a financial year | Rule 6 | FC-1, in electronic form | Within three months of receipt |
| Adding or deleting a purpose or State or Union territory | Rule 17B | FC-6F, with a resolution of the governing body and the fee | None printed |
| Existing association choosing purposes and States to retain | Rule 9(1B)(c) | FC-6F | Within one year of the commencement of the 2026 Amendment Rules |
D. Renewal, suspension and cessation
| Duty | Provision | Form | Time limit as printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renew the certificate | Section 16, rule 12(2) | FC-3C, in electronic form, with Proforma 'AA' affidavits | Within six months before the date of expiry |
| Reasonable activity: ten lakh rupees of foreign contribution utilised in the last two financial years | Rule 14A (for cancellation and renewal) | None | Last two financial years |
| During suspension, use of the unutilised amount only up to twenty-five per cent. with approval | Rule 14 (as the copy consulted prints it) | None | During suspension |
| Surrender of the certificate | Section 14A, rule 15A | FC-7 | None printed |
Reading the table
Rows with "standing". The Act and the Rules attach no date to these duties. They are the duties a return, an audit or a compounding proposal tests; see section 8, section 7 and section 17. The speculative-activity rule is in rule 4 and the list of administrative expenses is in rule 5. A third proviso to rule 5, in force from 1 January 2025, gives the option to carry forward the unspent part of allowable administrative expenses to the next financial year, for reasons stated in Form FC-4.
The nine-month rows. The annual return and the website statement run from the same date, the closure of the financial year; for a year ending 31 March, nine months ends on 31 December. One goes to the Central Government in Form FC-4, the other is placed on a website. See rule 17 and rule 13.
The forty five days rows. G.S.R. 506(E) of 1 July 2022 replaced fifteen days with forty five days in rules 9(1)(e), 9(2)(e) and 17A. A change under rule 17A takes effect only after the final approval of the Central Government. See rule 17A and rule 9.
The one-year row. Rule 9(1B)(c), inserted on 22 June 2026, requires every association registered before that notification to submit, within one year of its commencement, an intimation in Form FC-6F specifying the purposes and States or Union territories it seeks to retain. Later changes are under rule 17B; see rule 17B.
Renewal. A certificate for which no application and fee are received before expiry is deemed to have ceased, and receipt and use must stop. See rule 12 and our renewal article.
What a missed item costs
The table notified under section 41 fixes amounts for several items: no intimation of receipt in time with rule 6 (five per cent. of the contribution received in a financial year); no intimation of a utilisation account or of changes under rule 17A (ten thousand rupees per account or per violation); no website statement under rule 13 (ten thousand rupees for each violation); administrative expenses beyond twenty per cent. (one lakh rupees or five per cent. of the excess, whichever is higher). Compounding is open only before prosecution. See section 41.
Need help setting up an FCRA compliance calendar?
Dates run from the end of the financial year, from the date a bank account is opened and from the expiry of the certificate. Speak to our legal consultation team to build a calendar from your certificate and account details.
Key takeaways
- Standing duties carry no date but are tested at every return.
- Form FC-4 and the website statement are each due within nine months of the close of the financial year.
- New utilisation accounts and changes: forty five days; renewal: within six months before expiry.
Read next
- Rule 17: annual return in Form FC-4
- Rules 10 and 11: validity of certificate and separate accounts
- Rules 14 and 14A: use of funds during suspension and reasonable activity
- Sections 18 to 20: intimation, accounts and audit
Disclaimer: Based on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 as enacted, read with the Amendment Act, 2020 and the other amendments named in this article, and on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011 as amended by the notifications named (latest consulted: S.O. 3272(E) dated 22 June 2026), as consulted on 2 October 2026. No consolidated official text was available; some provisions rest on a third-party copy and are identified as such. Later amendments, notifications and Ministry of Home Affairs orders should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.