Foreign Contribution Regulation Law
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 33 of 2020) amended the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. It received Presidential assent on 28 September 2020 and was brought into force from 29 September 2020.
Section 1 - Short title and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be called the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
The Central Government appointed 29 September 2020 as the date on which the provisions of the Amendment Act came into force.
Amendment of Section 3
In section 3 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, in sub-section (1):
(i) Clause (c) was substituted to cover a "public servant, Judge, Government servant or employee of any corporation or any other body controlled or owned by the Government".
(ii) The Explanation was substituted to define "public servant" by reference to section 21 of the Indian Penal Code as then enacted and to explain the expression "corporation", including a Government company as defined in section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013.
Substitution of Section 7 - Prohibition on transfer of foreign contribution
7. No person who-
(a) is registered and granted a certificate or has obtained prior permission under the Act; and
(b) receives any foreign contribution, shall transfer such foreign contribution to any other person.
Amendment of Section 8 - Administrative expenses
In section 8(1), the words "fifty per cent." were substituted with "twenty per cent.". The provision therefore reduced the statutory ceiling for administrative expenditure from foreign contribution to 20%, subject to the Act, Rules and any applicable approval or later rule-based treatment.
Amendment of Section 11
The amendment expanded the Central Government's power, on the basis of information or a report and after a summary inquiry, to restrict utilisation or further receipt of foreign contribution by a person granted prior permission where there is reason to believe that the Act has been contravened, pending further inquiry and subject to prior approval requirements.
Amendment of Section 12 - FCRA Account details in application
Section 12(1A): Every applicant under section 12(1) is required to open an "FCRA Account" in the manner specified in section 17 and mention the details of that account in the application.
New Section 12A - Aadhaar and identification documents
Section 12A authorises the Central Government to require specified identification documents for persons seeking prior permission, prior approval, registration or renewal. For Indian office bearers, directors and other key functionaries, the provision refers to Aadhaar; for a foreigner, it permits a copy of the passport or Overseas Citizen of India Card.
Amendment of Section 13 - Suspension
The maximum statutory framework for suspension was modified so that a certificate may be suspended for 180 days and, where specified, for a further period not exceeding another 180 days.
New Section 14A - Surrender of certificate
The amendment inserted section 14A, enabling the Central Government, on request and after such inquiry as it considers fit, to permit surrender of an FCRA certificate where it is satisfied regarding compliance and the management of foreign contribution and assets created out of such contribution is vested in the authority contemplated by section 15(1).
Amendment of Section 15
Section 15 was amended to extend the statutory mechanism concerning management of foreign contribution and assets to certificates surrendered under section 14A, in addition to certificates cancelled under section 14.
Amendment of Section 16 - Renewal inquiry
A proviso was inserted authorising the Central Government, before renewing a certificate, to make such inquiry as it considers fit to satisfy itself that the person has fulfilled the conditions specified in section 12(4).
Substitution of Section 17 - Receipt through designated FCRA bank account
Section 17 was substituted to require every person granted registration or prior permission to receive foreign contribution only in an account designated as the "FCRA Account" in the specified State Bank of India branch at New Delhi.
The law also permits another FCRA account in a scheduled bank for keeping or utilising foreign contribution received through the designated SBI FCRA Account, and one or more utilisation accounts in scheduled banks.
No funds other than foreign contribution may be received or deposited in such FCRA accounts.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has specified the State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch, Sansad Marg, as the designated branch for receipt of foreign contribution under the amended framework.
Current FCRA compliance note
Persons and associations dealing with foreign contribution should not rely only on the 2020 amending text. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011 have been amended repeatedly after 2020, including in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The current forms, filing requirements, definitions, supporting-document requirements and procedural compliance should be verified from the official FCRA portal before filing or acting.
The 2024 amendment, effective from 1 January 2025, modified the Rules concerning administrative-expense treatment and annual-return related compliance. The 2025 amendment revised application-form documentation requirements, while the 2026 amendment introduced, among other changes, a definition of "key functionary" in the Rules.