CHANDIGARH: The Central Government has reportedly cautioned commercial banks against accepting donations for associations/ organizations in the country from foreign sources.
A number of cases have been detected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in which contributions/ donations were made to certain associations/organizations out of nonresident external accounts (NREA) by the account holders.
Under the provisions of the Foreign Continuations Regulation Act, 1976, (FCRA), organizations can accept contributions from foreign sources only if they are registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs or have obtained prior permission from the ministry.
In a large number of cases which have been recently detected, neither the organizations were registered nor had any permission been obtained from the Home Ministry. Under the FCRA, remittances from Indians abroad are received through “authorized dealers” in the form of contributions to associations/ organizations.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 21, 1990
