The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA, 2010) is an Act of the Parliament of India that regulates the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution and foreign hospitality by individuals, associations, or companies. It is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Act was enacted to consolidate the law and address concerns about foreign interference in India's affairs, replacing the original FCRA, 1976, which was first introduced during the Emergency period. The FCRA, 2010 received Presidential assent on September 26, 2010, and became effective on May 1, 2011.
The core mechanism requires any association intending to receive foreign contributions for social, educational, religious, economic, or cultural purposes to obtain a certificate of registration from the Central Government, which is initially valid for five years. The Act prohibits certain entities, such as candidates for election, members of any legislature, political parties, judges, and journalists, from receiving foreign funds. Key provisions mandate that foreign contributions must be utilized only for the purpose for which they were received, and registered organizations must file annual returns in Form FC-4.
The Act was significantly amended by the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020, which introduced stringent restrictions. The 2020 Amendment, effective September 29, 2020, mandated that all foreign contributions must be received exclusively in a designated FCRA account at the State Bank of India's New Delhi Main Branch. Crucially, it prohibited the transfer of foreign contribution to any other person or organization, effectively banning sub-granting. It also reduced the cap on administrative expenses from 50% to 20% of the foreign contribution received in a financial year. The maximum period for suspension of a registration was also extended from 180 days to up to 360 days.