Home ministry extends validity of FCRA registration for NGOs until June 2025

NEW DELHI: The home ministry has further extended by six months the validity of registration certificates issued to NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), where such licences were/are due to expire between April 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025 and an application for renewal is submitted to the home ministry before expiry of the validity period.
The FCRA registration of all such NGOs will now be valid until June 30, 2025 or till disposal of their application, whichever is earlier. Earlier on December 27, 2024, the validity of registration certificates of such NGOs was extended until March 31, 2025.
While the amendments to FCRA Act – requiring NGOs to open a dedicated bank account in SBI main New Delhi branch to receive foreign donations and prohibiting transfer of foreign contributions from the receiving NGO to any other entity, among others – came into force in late 2020, the government has since extended validity of NGOs’ five-year licences from time to time, to enable a smooth transition to the stricter FCRA regime.
In a public notice put out on Wednesday, the MHA stated: “The validity of registration certificates of such entities whose validity was extended till 31.03.2025....and whose renewal application is pending, will stand extended till 30.06.2025, or till date of disposal of renewal application, whichever is earlier.”

Also, the validity of those FCRA entities whose five years validity period is expiring between 01.04.2025 and 30.06.2025 and who have applied/shall apply for renewal before expiry of the five-year validity, will stand extended up to June 30, 2025, it added.
The

MHA notice

cites public interest as a ground for extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates. It however clarified that the FCRA licence of NGOs whose renewal plea has already been turned down, shall be deemed to have expired on the date of such refusal, rendering them ineligible to either receive or utilise any foreign contribution.
As per MHA's FCRA website, there are 16,112 NGOs and associations active as on 01.04.2025, while the FCRA licence of 14,997 entities is deemed expired. The FCRA registration of another 20,718 NGOs to receive foreign funds, has been cancelled.