Foreign Contribution 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.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 regulates how an association receives and uses money, articles and securities from a foreign source. This guide is a map: a paragraph on each stage, with the section or rule that governs it and a link to the detailed article.
This article is 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 before you act. For the tax-side registrations that sit beside the Act, see our 12A, 80G and CSR registration service.
A person with a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme may accept foreign contribution only with a certificate of registration or, if unregistered, prior permission (section 11). Registered persons receive it in an FCRA Account (section 17), use it for the purpose received, keep administrative expenses within twenty per cent. (section 8) and file an annual return in Form FC-4 (rule 17). Breach can lead to suspension, cancellation and prosecution.
Who the Act covers
Section 1(2) says the Act extends to the whole of India and also applies to citizens of India outside India and to associate branches or subsidiaries, outside India, of companies or bodies corporate registered or incorporated in India. Section 2(1)(m) says "person" includes an individual, a Hindu undivided family, an association and a company registered under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (as the Act prints it). An "association" under section 2(1)(a) is an association of individuals, incorporated or not, having an office in India, and includes a society whether registered or not. A society, a trust or a charitable company can therefore all be covered. The definitions are explained in the article on foreign contribution and foreign hospitality and the article on foreign source and foreign company.
"Foreign contribution" under section 2(1)(h) is the donation, delivery or transfer, made by a foreign source, of an article, currency (Indian or foreign) or a security. Interest and other income derived from it are also foreign contribution; fees and the cost of goods or services in the ordinary course of business are excluded.
Who may not accept it
Section 3(1) lists eight classes that may not accept foreign contribution at all, from a candidate for election to a political party and its office-bearers, a public servant or Judge, and certain news and current-affairs broadcasters. Section 4 lifts that bar for seven kinds of receipt, such as salary or money from a relative. Section 9 lets the Central Government prohibit other persons, or require prior permission, but only after satisfying itself on the public-interest grounds in its proviso. See section 3 and section 4.
Registration and prior permission
Under section 11(1), no person with a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme shall accept foreign contribution unless it obtains a certificate of registration. Under section 11(2), an unregistered person may accept it only after prior permission, valid for the specific purpose and from the specific source. Section 12 deals with the application, the ordinary ninety-day period for a decision, the conditions in sub-section (4) and the five-year validity of the certificate. Rule 9 sets the Forms: FC-3A for registration and FC-3B for prior permission, each in electronic form. The registration fee is rupees ten thousand only and the prior permission fee rupees five thousand only under rule 9(4), and the 2026 proviso adds rupees three hundred per State or Union territory and per purpose where the application relates to more than one. The detail is in section 11 and rule 9.
The designated account
Section 17, as substituted in 2020, requires a holder to receive foreign contribution only in an account designated "FCRA Account", in a State Bank of India branch at New Delhi that the Central Government specifies by notification. The section leaves the branch to notification and this guide names none. The holder may then open further accounts in scheduled banks of its choice for keeping and using the money, and no funds other than foreign contribution may go into these accounts. See section 17.
Use of the money
Section 7, as substituted in 2020, bars a registered person who receives foreign contribution from transferring it to any other person. Section 8 requires utilisation for the purpose received, bars speculative business, and caps administrative expenses at twenty per cent. of the contribution received in a financial year unless the Central Government approves more. Rule 5 lists what counts as administrative expenses. See section 8 and rule 5.
Accounts, returns and changes
Section 18 requires an intimation of each contribution received and its use, section 19 requires an account and a record, and section 20 lets the Central Government order an audit of books where an intimation is missing or doubtful. Rule 11 requires a separate set of accounts and records, exclusively for foreign contribution. Rule 17 requires an annual report in electronic form in Form FC-4 within nine months of the close of the financial year, and rule 13(a) the audited statement on the website within the same nine months. Rule 17A requires a change of name or address, objects, bank account or key functionaries to be intimated in electronic form within forty five days, and the change is effective only after final approval. See sections 18 to 20, rule 17 and rule 17A. Our books of accounts and compliance service prepares the ledgers behind these filings.
Renewal, suspension and cancellation
Section 16 requires renewal within six months before the certificate expires; rule 12 prescribes Form FC-3C and a fee of rupees five thousand only. Section 13 lets the Central Government suspend a certificate for one hundred and eighty days, or a further period not exceeding one hundred and eighty days, pending cancellation. Section 14 lists five grounds of cancellation, requires a reasonable hearing and bars the holder for three years afterwards. Section 14A, inserted in 2020, allows surrender on request, and section 15 vests the foreign contribution and assets in a prescribed authority. See section 16, section 13 and section 14.
Offences and remedies
Section 35 punishes accepting foreign contribution in contravention of the Act with imprisonment up to five years, or fine, or both. Section 33 punishes a knowingly false intimation or registration obtained by fraud (up to six months), section 37 is the residual penalty (up to one year), and section 41 allows compounding before prosecution on the sums the Central Government notifies. An appeal against the orders named in section 31(2) lies to the High Court within sixty days. See sections 35 and 36 and section 41. If a notice or order has reached you, our legal dispute resolution team can read it with you.
The stages at a glance
| Stage | Provision | Form or document |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Section 11(1), 12; rule 9 | Form FC-3A |
| Prior permission | Section 11(2), 12; rule 9 | Form FC-3B |
| Receipt | Section 17 | FCRA Account |
| Use | Sections 7 and 8; rule 5 | Utilisation accounts (Form FC-6D) |
| Annual return | Section 18; rule 17 | Form FC-4 |
| Changes | Rule 17A | Forms FC-6A to FC-6E |
| Renewal | Section 16; rule 12 | Form FC-3C |
| Surrender | Section 14A; rule 15A | Form FC-7 |
Need help with FCRA compliance?
An NGO with a certificate carries duties on the calendar every year: the return, the website statement, the renewal window and change intimations. Share your certificate and last return with our legal consultation team, and we will place each duty against its provision.
Key takeaways
- A person with a definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme needs registration or prior permission (section 11).
- Foreign contribution goes only into an FCRA Account, and may not be transferred to any other person (sections 17 and 7).
- Administrative expenses are capped at twenty per cent. of the contribution received in a financial year (section 8).
- The annual return in Form FC-4 is due within nine months of the close of the financial year (rule 17).
- Suspension, cancellation and prosecution follow breach; renewal falls within six months before expiry (sections 13, 14, 16 and 35).
Read next
- Section 2: foreign contribution and foreign hospitality
- Section 12: application, grant, refusal and validity
- Rule 17: annual return in Form FC-4
- Section 14: cancellation of the certificate
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.