Rules 6 and 6A of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011: foreign contribution from relatives and personal gifts

Rules 6 and 6A 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.

Rule 6 requires a person who receives foreign contribution from a relative above a threshold in a financial year to inform the Central Government in Form FC-1. As amended it is "ten lakh rupees" and "three months". Rule 6A says an article gifted for personal use does not amount to foreign contribution if its market value does not exceed the sum it prints.

This article reads rules 6 and 6A as per the Rules as amended by the notifications named in this article: G.S.R. 695(E) dated 10 November 2020 and G.S.R. 506(E) dated 1 July 2022 for rule 6; the latest consulted is S.O. 3272(E) dated 22 June 2026, which does not touch either rule. Rule 6A rests only on the third-party consolidation of 17 September 2019, as the copy consulted shows it; confirm against the official text. Later amendments should be checked. For questions on how your receipts from relatives are reported, see our legal consultation.

Rule 6: a person receiving foreign contribution in excess of ten lakh rupees or equivalent in a financial year from any of his relatives shall inform the Central Government of the details in electronic form in Form FC-1 within three months of receipt. Rule 6A: an article gifted for personal use whose market value in India on the date of the gift does not exceed one lakh rupees, as the copy consulted prints it, is not foreign contribution within sub-clause (i) of clause (h) of section 2(1).

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How rule 6 got its present words

Stated as it stands: "Any person receiving foreign contribution in excess of ten lakh rupees or equivalent thereto in a financial year from any of his relatives shall inform the Central Government regarding the details of the foreign contribution received by him in electronic form in Form FC-1 within three months from the date of receipt of such contribution."

Reading rule 6

• Who. "Any person" who receives foreign contribution from a relative. The Rules do not limit it to registered persons.
• Relative. Section 2(1)(r) gives "relative" the meaning in clause (41) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1956, as the Act prints it; check the current law for the corresponding provision. See the article on the definitions of person, association and political party.
• Threshold. More than ten lakh rupees or equivalent, in a financial year, from relatives. The text says "in excess of ten lakh rupees or equivalent thereto in a financial year"; it does not say whether the sum is counted per relative or across relatives. Read the words as they stand and take advice if the sums are close to the limit.
• Time. Three months "from the date of receipt of such contribution". The rule does not state whether the three months run from each receipt or from the receipt that takes the total past the threshold; the words say "the date of receipt of such contribution".
• How. In electronic form, in Form FC-1. The rule says nothing more about the method. Form FC-1 is explained in the article on Forms FC-1, FC-2 and FC-4. Flag: Part A, item 7 of Form FC-1 as substituted in 2020 still prints "if it exceeds one lakh rupees or equivalent in a financial year", while rule 6 now says ten lakh rupees; both are stated as printed.

Why the rule exists

Section 4(e) of the Act provides that nothing in section 3 applies to the acceptance, by a person specified in section 3, of foreign contribution "from his relative". Rule 6 sits beside that exception and adds a reporting duty above the threshold. Section 4 is explained in the article on section 4. The rule does not itself say it is made under any particular head of section 48(2); see the article on sections 48 and 49.

Compounding for not reporting

In the compounding table under section 41, serial number 8 covers an offence punishable under sections 3, 11 and 35 read with rule 6 for failure to intimate receipt of foreign contribution within the prescribed time limit. The amount printed in S.O. 3025(E) is five per cent. of such foreign contribution received in a financial year. See the article on section 41.

Example (invented). Meera Nair, a trustee, receives, from her brother living abroad, a total of twelve lakh rupees in a financial year, in several remittances. The total exceeds ten lakh rupees. Rule 6 requires her to inform the Central Government of the details in electronic form in Form FC-1 within three months from the date of receipt. If the total had been below the threshold, rule 6 would not apply on its words.

Rule 6A: articles gifted for personal use

The heading reads "When articles gifted for personal use do not amount to foreign contribution". The rule says: "Any article gifted to a person for his personal use whose market value in India on the date of such gift does not exceed shall not be a foreign contribution within the meaning of sub-clause (i) of clause (h) of sub-section (1) of section (2)."

• Origin. The copy consulted notes rule 6A as inserted by G.S.R. 292(E) dated 12.4.2012 (w.e.f. 29.4.2011). That notification is not held as an official copy.
• The figure. The copy prints "one lakh rupees" in square brackets without naming a notification. No official notification held fixes the figure, so confirm it against the official text before relying on it.
• Link to the Act. Section 2(1)(h)(i) excludes from "foreign contribution" an article "given to a person as a gift for his personal use, if the market value, in India, of such article, on the date of such gift, is not more than such sum as may be specified from time to time, by the Central Government by the rules". Rule 6A is that specification. See the article on foreign contribution.
• What it covers. Articles only, not currency or security, which are separate limbs of section 2(1)(h).

Slip to note. The copy prints "sub-section (1) of section (2)" with the section number in brackets, an obvious typing slip for "section 2".

Need help with reporting receipts from relatives?

Whether a receipt from a relative crosses the threshold, and how it appears in your returns, needs the dates and the amounts. Talk to us through a legal consultation and bring the remittance advices and any earlier Form FC-1.

Key takeaways

• Rule 6 now applies to foreign contribution above ten lakh rupees in a financial year from relatives, reportable in Form FC-1 in electronic form within three months.
• G.S.R. 695(E) changed the method; G.S.R. 506(E) changed the amount and time.
• Rule 6A takes a personal-use article gift out of "foreign contribution" if its market value does not exceed the sum printed.
• Rule 6A rests on the third-party copy; confirm the figure against the official text.
• Failure to intimate within time appears in the compounding table at serial number 8.

Read next

• Section 4: persons to whom section 3 does not apply
• Section 2: foreign contribution and foreign hospitality
• Rule 7: application to accept foreign hospitality
• Rules 18 and 19: election candidates and limit for confiscation

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.