Rule 9 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 second half of rule 9 deals with money and eligibility around the application. Sub-rule (3) bars a second application within six months. Sub-rule (4) fixes the fees: rupees ten thousand for registration and rupees five thousand for prior permission, with an add-on of rupees three hundred introduced in 2026. Sub-rule (5) deals with applications pending under the 1976 Act, and two Explanations added in 2026 deal with foreign nationals as key functionaries and use of funds in India.
This article covers rule 9(3), (4) and (5) and the two Explanations as per the Rules as amended by the notifications named in this article: G.S.R. 695(E) of 10 November 2020 and S.O. 3272(E) of 22 June 2026, the latest consulted. Sub-rules (3), (4)(c) and (5) rest only on the third-party consolidation of 17 September 2019; confirm them against the official text. Later amendments should be checked. For the related profile and documentation work, see our NGO Darpan and NITI Aayog service; some Forms print "Darpan ID" as a field.
No second application for registration or prior permission within six months (rule 9(3)). Fees (rule 9(4)): rupees five thousand only for prior permission, rupees ten thousand only for registration, each paid through the payment gateway specified by the Central Government; the registration fee covers one State or Union territory and one purpose, with rupees three hundred more per State or Union territory and per purpose. Clause (d) is omitted. Foreign nationals not of Indian origin as key functionaries are ordinarily not eligible (Explanation 1).
Rule 9(3): no second application within six months
The copy consulted prints: "No person shall prefer a second application for registration or prior permission within a period of six months after submitting an application either for the grant of prior permission for the same project or for registration." None of the notifications held amends it. Three points:
- The six months run "after submitting an application", not after its disposal.
- The bar covers an application "for registration" or for prior permission "for the same project".
- The sub-rule does not say what follows if a second application is made inside the six months.
Section 12(2) separately provides that the Central Government shall reject an application not in the prescribed form or lacking particulars; see the article on section 12.
Rule 9(4): the fees
| Clause | Fee | How it reached its present words |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Prior permission | "rupees five thousand only, which shall be paid through the payment gateway specified by the Central Government" | Substituted by G.S.R. 695(E), paragraph 6(v)(A) |
| (b) Registration | "rupees ten thousand only, which shall be paid through the payment gateway specified by the Central Government" | Substituted by G.S.R. 695(E), paragraph 6(v)(B) |
| (c) | "The fee may be revised by the Central Government from time to time" | The base, unamended in the notifications held |
| (d) | Mode of remittance by demand draft or banker's cheque | Omitted by G.S.R. 695(E), paragraph 6(v)(C) |
The rule names the payment gateway only as one "specified by the Central Government"; this article gives no portal step. The compounding of an offence has its own fee in rule 21; see the article on rules 20 and 21. Renewal has a fee in rule 12(4); see the article on rule 12.
The proviso to rule 9(4)(b), added in 2026
Paragraph 4(d) of S.O. 3272(E) inserted in clause (b): "Provided that the fee specified above shall be for registration to operate in one State or Union territory and to conduct activities for one purpose only; and where the application relates to more than one State or Union territory, an additional amount of rupees three hundred per State or Union territory shall be payable, and where the application relates to more than one purpose, an additional amount of rupees three hundred per purpose shall be payable."
How to read it:
- The base fee of rupees ten thousand covers "one State or Union territory" and "one purpose only".
- Where the application relates to more than one State or Union territory, rupees three hundred is added "per State or Union territory".
- Where it relates to more than one purpose, rupees three hundred is added "per purpose".
- The proviso does not say whether the first State or first purpose is counted in the "per" figure. Because the rupees ten thousand already covers one State and one purpose, the additional amount most naturally applies beyond the first, but this is a reading and not the text. Confirm against the official text before paying.
The proviso sits on clause (b), which is the registration fee. Clause (a), the prior permission fee, has no such proviso in the notification. Rule 17B applies the same proviso when a registered association adds a purpose or a State or Union territory; see the article on rule 17B. Purposes are listed in the Schedule.
Example (invented). The Prerna Mahila Mandal applies for registration for one purpose in one State. The fee printed in clause (b) is rupees ten thousand only. If it applied for two purposes in one State, the proviso adds rupees three hundred "per purpose" where the application relates to more than one purpose, and the question of whether that is for each purpose or each further purpose is the point to settle against the official text.
Rule 9(5): applications pending under the 1976 Act
"Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rules (1) to (4), every application made for registration or prior permission under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 (49 of 1976) but not disposed of before the date of commencement of these rules shall be deemed to be an application for registration or prior permission, as the case may be, under these rules, subject to the condition that the applicant furnishes the prescribed fees for such registration or prior permission, as the case may be." This matches the saving in section 54 of the Act; see the article on sections 53 and 54.
The two Explanations after rule 9(5)
S.O. 3272(E), paragraph 4(e), inserted two Explanations after sub-rule (5).
Explanation 1. "It is hereby clarified that an association having foreign nationals, other than those of Indian origin, as its key functionaries shall ordinarily not be considered eligible for grant of registration or prior permission under the Act". The proviso adds that the Central Government "may, by order, specify such cases or circumstances in which foreign nationals may be permitted to be key functionaries of an association for the purposes of consideration of registration or prior permission, and the conditions to be fulfilled for such consideration". No such order is among the texts consulted, so none is described. "Of Indian origin" is not defined in the Explanation.
Explanation 2. "For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the foreign contribution so received shall be utilised only for activities carried out in India in accordance with the association's stated objectives and for the purposes for which such contribution has been received."
Slip to note. Explanation 2 is printed in the notification without a closing quotation mark.
Need help with fees and eligibility?
Counting purposes and States, and checking whether any key functionary is a foreign national, should be done before the application. Our NGO Darpan and NITI Aayog team can help you prepare the key functionary list and the scope you will ask for.
Key takeaways
- A second application for registration or prior permission is barred within six months of submitting the first (rule 9(3)).
- Fees: rupees ten thousand only for registration and rupees five thousand only for prior permission (rule 9(4)(a) and (b)); clause (d) is omitted.
- The 2026 proviso adds rupees three hundred per State or Union territory and per purpose beyond the base fee for one State and one purpose.
- Foreign nationals other than those of Indian origin as key functionaries are ordinarily ineligible (Explanation 1).
- Foreign contribution is to be used only for activities in India in accordance with the stated objectives (Explanation 2).
Read next
- Rule 9: application for registration, conditions and scope
- Rules 9 and 9A: prior permission and receipt in instalments
- Rule 17B: change of scope of registration
- Rule 12: renewal of certificate of registration
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.