RBI & FCRA

Compliance with RBI & FEMA Guidelines

We have a dedicated knowledge desk that caters to the client’s requirements of compliying with RBI & Foreign Exchange Management Act. We can help you with the following:

1. Valuation as per RBI norms
2. Filing of Form FC-GPR, FC-TRS, or any other compliance form, mandatory under the guidelines of Foreign Direct Investment
3. Getting requisite approvals from RBI
4. Arranging for your Overseas Direct Investment (ODI)
5. To co-ordinate with RBI’s Foreign Investment Division for dealing with complaints

FCRA Compliance by Trusts / NGOs

It may be routine to establish a legal structure for an NGO or a Trust but what is crucial for a qualified professional is to first assess the client’s needs and then suggest what would suit him best. We have a multi decade experience in forming Trusts, AOPs, and Cooperative Societies after carefully going through your requirements. Whether it is getting registration certificate under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act or any other object, we serve as our clients single point of contact for everything that they would need. In our opinion, what is more important is to regularly comply after obtaining the registration, failing which can lead to stringent outcomes. We therefore advise our clients from the very beginning on what needs to be complied on an on-going basis.

Obtaining FCRA Registration

We have a dedicated team which is predominantly involved in obtaining FCRA Registrations under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Many of our clients in Rajkot, Ahmedabad & Mumbai have obtained FCRA Registration certificate for receiving overseas donations.

FCRA provides for two types of permissions in order to receive foreign donation:

1. Prior Permission: Under prior permission, an application needs to be made in the prescribed format to the Ministry of External Affairs. The application is online but it needs to be physically couriered along with certain attachments. If this permission is obtained, donation can be received only once, i.e. the permission is on a transaction to transaction basis.
2. Registration: If a registration application is made, it stays valid for a period of 5 years. Unlike the prior permission route, in this category there is no hassle of obtaining approvals for each transaction.

FCRA demands lot of care and attention as far as on going compliances are concerned. For e.g., all charitable organization's having FCRA registration are supposed to submit an annual statement in Form FC-4 (Form FC-6 under the erstwhile rules) along with a Certificate by a Chartered Accountant each year. This requirement is mandatory and we frequently come across NGOs which have failed to comply and which thus lead to permanent cancellation of their registration.