Home Ministry notice to 1,775 NGOs for not filing foreign funding statements

The Union Home Ministry has issued showcause notices to 1,775 NGOs, including Infosys Foundation, Skoda Auto India, University of Rajasthan and Madras Christian College, for not filing annual income and expenditure statement on foreign funding for up to six years.

The Union Home Ministry has issued showcause notices to 1,775 NGOs, including Infosys Foundation, Skoda Auto India, University of Rajasthan and Madras Christian College, for not filing annual income and expenditure statement on foreign funding for up to six years.

In its notice, the ministry said the entities or associations have not submitted online their income and expenditure statement, receipts and payment account, balance sheet for up to six consecutive financial years 2011-12 to 2016-17 despite repeated notices served on them.

The ministry warned that if the entities and organisations fail to submit the returns for the said period by December 1, 2018, “appropriate action” will be taken under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

Showcause notice was also served to Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust, Mumbai, Loyola College Society, Vijayawada, Guru Harkrishan Education Society, Chandigarh and Allahabad Agricultural Institute. Others include National Association for the Blind, Gujarat, Vivekananda Seva Sadan, West Bengal, Bombay Memons’ Education Society, Rajiv Gandhi Social Service Centre, Madurai, Jawahar Sarvodya Vikas Samiti, Nalanda, Bihar, Indira Mahila Bikash Samiti, Odisha, Nehru Yuva Sankalp Sansthan, Rajasthan, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, a deemed university at Nagaur in Rajasthan.

Young Men’s Christian Association, Kutch, Midas Trust, Mumbai, Mewat Educational and Development Society, Haryana, North East Institute of Fashion Technology, Guwahati, and Jamia Islamia Ashraf Ul Ullom Arabic Education Public Charitable Trust, Visakhapatnam, were also among those served the notice.

FCRA provides that associations registered under the Act shall submit electronically online annual report with scanned copies of income and expenditure statement, receipts and payment account, balance sheet etc. for every financial year within nine months of closure of the financial year.

The MHA said that after scrutiny of records for the years 2011-12 to 2016-17, it was observed that the annual report/accounts for some of the financial years in the aforesaid period have not been found uploaded on the FCRA portal online by the said associations despite the fact that one final opportunity of one month was provided to all such associations to submit the annual reports without paying penalty on May 12, 2017.

Another notice was served on April 24, 2018 to these associations advising them to submit annual report/accounts. However, the said associations failed to submit them, the ministry said.

“Therefore, the said associations are hereby directed to explain within a period of 15 days from the date of issue of this showcause notice as to why appropriate action under FCRA may not be initiated against them,” it said.  The MHA has so far cancelled FCRA licence of over 13,000 NGOs for alleged violations under FCRA in the last four years.

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