FCRA Related

Prior Permission

Prior Permission: (Form FC-1A) 

To receive donations from foreign sources, NGOs in India need to apply for a Registration or Prior Permission with  the concerned department of FCRA. An organization can apply for the prior permission in the first year of its registration and before finalization of its accounts.  The concerned department will have tobe fully satisfied with the  documentation and credibility of the organisation. NGOs apply for Prior Permission in the following situations: .                     

•  An  NGO does not have an FCRA number (permanent FCRA  Registration)                   

•  An NGO may have got FCRA registration earlier but may have  cancelled by the FCRA   Department.                   

•  An NGOo may have applied for a Permanent registration and after    scrutiny, the department may have the concerned NGO to apply for     Prior Permissin under section 10 (b).                                    

 • The FCRA number may have  ‘frozen’ due to change in the Governing      Body or for any other reason as specified by the Deparment.             

How do you Apply for a Prior Permission:                        

 •  Use Form FC-1A (see the Forms section)                  

  •  Required documents as mentioned  in the FCRA Registration article((see separate article on FCRA Regn)                    

 • A copy of the letter from the donor who assures the NGO to give           funds for a particular purpose, amount and period.                   

• Send the proposal alongwith budget for which this Prior Permission is   sought.                   

• Send these by Registered post with AD to:     

                         The Secretary to Govt. of India

                         Ministry of Home Affairs

                         Jaisalmer House 

                         26 Mansingh Road

                         New Delhi    -110011                                     

How long it will take:   Based on the report and other factors, the department will either send you the permission  or  rejection letter  in 90 days.   They may also ask for another 30 days time.   Normally the reply comes by registered post.      

What should you do if the application is got rejected?                    •  

If your application is rejected, find out the  reasons for   rejection and you can reapply.                    

•   If you wish, you can also file an appeal against the rejection n the   High    Court within  60   days of date of letter (under section.21)                      

 • Prior Permission can be taken for more than once because an     organization may have different projects and can apply for each     project separately at a time or different at  times. 

From 1st August 2008 onwards organisations needs to apply online (see artilce on ON LINE registration for Prior Permission) and with a print out of the filled in ONLINE Form they need to send the other documents as mentioned in the Form to MHA by Registered Post/Courier.

  For further details visit http://www.mha.nic.in/fcra

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