Indians can now receive up to Rs 10 lakh annually from relatives abroad

Indians can now receive up to Rs 10 lakh in a year from relatives living abroad without informing the authorities. The limit earlier was Rs 1 lakh.

The Union Home Ministry has amended certain rules related to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) on Friday. In a notification, the govt also said if the amount exceeds, the individuals will now have 90 days to inform the government instead of 30 days earlier.

"In the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011, in rule 6, for the words one lakh rupees, the words ten lakh rupees shall be substituted; and for the words thirty days, the words three months shall be substituted," the notification said.

It stated earlier that any person receiving foreign contribution in excess of Rs 1 lakh in a financial year from any of relatives shall inform the central government within 30 days from the receipt of such contribution.

Similarly, making changes in rule 9, which deals with application of obtaining 'registration' or 'prior permission' under the FCRA to receive funds, the amended rules have given individuals and organisations or NGOs 45 days to inform the home ministry about bank account (s) that are to be used for utilisation of such funds.

Now, anyone receiving foreign funds under the FCRA will have to follow the existing provision of placing the audited statement of accounts on receipts and utilisation of the foreign contribution, including income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account and balance sheet for every financial year beginning on the first day of April, within nine months of the closure of the financial year.

In case of change of bank account, name, address, aims or key members of the organisation receiving foreign funds, the home ministry has now allowed 45 days time to inform it.

The home ministry had made the FCRA rules tougher in November 2020, making it clear that NGOs which may not be directly linked to a political party but engage in political action like bandhs, strike or road blockades will be considered of political nature if they participate in active politics or party politics. According to the law, all NGOs receiving funds have to registered under the FCRA.

The organisations covered under this category include farmers' organisations, students, workers' organisations and caste-based organisations.

The new law also says that organisations receiving foreign funds will not be able to use more than 20 per cent of such funds for administrative purposes. This limit was 50 per cent before 2020.