Lok Sabha introduced Foreign Contribution Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020

Under which organizations in India can receive and utilize grants from foreign sources

• The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 was introduced in
  Lok Sabha on September 20, 2020
• The amendment seeks to make specific changes to the FCRA law, first introduced
  in 2010 by the UPA government
• The law provides the framework under which organizations in India can receive
  and utilize grants from foreign sources

Thematic goals of the Amendments

• To prohibit any grants from abroad being made to organizations that involve „public
  servants‟, or in other words, any organization that is “controlled or owned” by the
  government
• To prohibit the transfer of grants received under FCRA to any other person or
  organization
• To lower the cap on administrative expenses that can be funded by FCRA funds
  from 50% to 20%
• To expand the power of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government to cancel FCRA
  certificate for more than 180 days
• To make Aadhaar mandatory for persons who control recipient organizations, and
• To stipulate that foreign grants can only be received at the State Bank of India at
  New Delhi

Prohibition to accept foreign contribution

• Under the Act, certain persons are prohibited to accept any foreign contribution
• These include: election candidates, editor or publisher of a newspaper, judges,
  government servants, members of any legislature, and political parties, among others
• The Bill adds public servants (as defined under the Indian Penal Code) to this list
• Public servant includes any person who is in service or pays of the government, or
  remunerated by the government for the performance of any public duty

Transfer of foreign contribution

• Under the Act, foreign contribution cannot be transferred to any other person
  unless such person is also registered to accept foreign contribution (or has obtained
  prior permission under the Act to obtain foreign contribution)
• The Bill amends this to prohibit the transfer of foreign contribution to any other
  person
• The term „person‟ under the Act includes an individual, an association, or a
  registered company

FCRA account details

• Under the Act, a registered person must accept foreign contribution only in a single
  branch of a scheduled bank specified by them
• However, they may open more accounts in other banks for the utilization of the
  contribution
• The Bill amends this to state that foreign contribution must be received only in an
  account designated by the bank as “FCRA account” in such a branch of the State
  Bank of India, New Delhi, as notified by the central government
• No funds other than the foreign contribution should be received or deposited in
  this account
• The person may open another FCRA account in any scheduled bank of their choice
  for keeping or utilizing the received contribution

Surrender of certificate and Suspension of registration

• The Bill adds a provision allowing the central government to permit a person to
  surrender their registration certificate
• The government may do so if, post an inquiry, it is satisfied that such person has
  not contravened any provisions of the Act, and the management of its foreign
  contribution (and related assets) has been vested in an authority prescribed by the
  government
• Under the Act, the government may suspend the registration of a person for a
  period not exceeding 180 days
• The Bill adds that such suspension may be extended up to an additional 180 days

Pic courtesy : newsonair.com