An act to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of
foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain persons or
associations, with a view to ensuring that parliamentary institutions,
political associations and academic and other voluntary organisations as well
as individuals working in the important areas of national life may function in
a manner consistent with the values of sovereign democratic republic, and for
matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-seventh
Year of the Republic of India as follows:
Chapter I
Preliminary
1. Short
title, extent, application and commencement
(1) This Act
may be called the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976.
(2) It extends
to the whole of India, and it shall also apply to-
(a)
citizens
of India outside India; and
(b)
associates, branches of subsidiaries outside India, of companies or
bodies corporate, registered or
incorporated in India.
(3) It shall
come into force on such date
as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, appoint.
Section 2. Definitions-
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,
-
(a) “association” means an association of individuals,
whether incorporated or not, having an office in India and includes a society,
whether registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or
not, and any other organisation, by whatever name called;
(b) “candidate for election” means
a person who has been duly nominated as a candidate for election to any
Legislature;
(c)
“foreign contribution” means the donation, delivery or transfer made by
any foreign source,-
(i) of any article, not being an
article given to a person as a gift for his personal use, if the market value,
in India, of such article, on the date of such gift, does not exceed one
thousand rupees;
(ii) of any currency, whether
Indian or foreign;
(iii) of any foreign security as
defined in clause(I) of section 2 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act,
1973 (46 of 1973);
[Explanation- A
donation, delivery or transfer of any article, currency or foreign security
referred to in this clause by any person who has received it from any foreign
source, either directly or through one or more persons, shall also be deemed
to be foreign contribution within the meaning of this clause;]
(d)
“foreign hospitality” means any offer, not being a purely casual one,
made by a foreign source for providing a person with the costs of travel to
any foreign country or territory or with free board, lodging, transport or
medical treatment;
(e)
“foreign source’ includes-
(i) the Government of any
foreign country or territory and any agency of such Government,
(ii) any international agency, not
being the United Nations or any of its specialised agencies, the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund or such other agency as the
Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify in
this behalf,
(iii) a foreign company within
the meaning of the section 591 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), and
also includes-
(a) a company which is a
subsidiary of a foreign company, and
(b) a multi- national
corporation within the meaning of this Act,
(iv) a corporation, not being a
foreign company, incorporated in a foreign country or territory,
(v) a multi-national
corporation within the meaning of this Act,
(vi) a company within the meaning
of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), if more than one-half of the nominal
value of its share capital is held, either singly or in the aggregate, by one
or more of the following, namely:
(a) Government of a
foreign country or territory,
(b) citizens of a
foreign country or territory,
(c) corporations incorporated in a
foreign country or territory,
(d) trusts, societies or other
associations of individuals (whether incorporated or not), formed or
registered in a foreign country or territory,
(vii) a trade union in any
foreign country or territory, whether or not registered in such foreign
country or territory,
(viii) a foreign trust by
whatever name called, or a foreign foundation which is either in the nature of
trust or is mainly financed by a foreign country or territory,
(ix) a society, club or other
association of individuals formed or registered outside India,
(x) a citizen of a
foreign country,
but does not include any foreign institution, which has
been permitted by the Central Government by notification in the Official
Gazette, to carry on its activities in India;
(f) “legislature” means-
(i)
either House of Parliament,
(ii)
the Legislative Assembly of a State, or in the case of a State having
a Legislative Council, either House of the Legislature of that State,
(iii) Legislative assembly of a
Union territory constituted under the Government of Union Territories Act,
1963 (20 of 1963),
(iv)
the Metropolitan Council of Delhi constituted under Section 3 of the
Delhi Administration Act, 1966 (19 of 1966),
(v)
Municipal Corporations in metropolitan areas as defined in the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),
(vi)
District Councils and Regional Councils in the States of Assam and
Meghalaya and in the Union Territory of Mizoram as provided in the sixth
Schedule to the Constitution, or
(vii)
Any other elective body as may be notified by the Central Government,
as the case may be;
[(g)
“political party” means-
(i)
an association or body of the individual citizens of India-
(1)
which is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Election Commission
of India as a political party under the Election Symbols (Reservation and
Allotment) Order, 1968, as in force the time being; or
(2)
which has set up candidates for election to any Legislature, but is not
so registered or deemed to be registered under the Election Symbols
(Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968;
(ii)
a political party mentioned in Column 1 of table I to the
notification of the Election Commission of India No. 56\J&K\ 84, dated the
27th September, 1984, as in force for the time being;]
(h)
“ prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(i)
“registered newspaper” means a newspaper registered under the Press and
Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867);
(j)
“ subsidiary” and “ associate” have the meanings respectively, assigned
to them in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);
(k) “ trade Union”
means a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (16 of 1926).
Explanation- for the purposes of this Act, a
corporation incorporated in a foreign country or territory shall be deemed to
be a multi- national corporation if such corporation-
(a)
has a subsidiary or a branch or a place of business in two or more
countries or territories; or
(b)
carries on business, or otherwise operates, in two or more countries or
territories.
(2)
Words and expressions used herein and not defined in the Foreign
Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (46 of 1973), have the meanings respectively
assigned to them in that Act.
(3)
Words and Expressions used herein and not defined in this Act or in the
Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (46 of 1973), but defined in the
representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) or the Representation of
the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951), have the meanings respectively assigned to
them in such Act.
The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and
not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.
CHAPTER II
REGULATION OF FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION AND FOREIGN
HOSPITALITY
(1) No foreign contribution shall
be accepted by any —
(a) candidate for election,
(b) correspondent, columnist,
cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publisher of a registered newspaper,
(c)
[Judge],
Government servant or employee of any corporation,
(d) member of any legislature,
(e) political party or
office-bearer thereof.
Explanation- In clause (c) and in section 9,
“corporation” means a corporation owned or controlled by government and
includes a Government company as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act,
1956 (1 of 1956).
(2) (a) No person, resident in India, and no
citizen of India resident outside India shall accept any foreign contribution,
or acquire or agree to acquire any currency from a foreign source, on behalf
of any political party, or any person referred to in sub-section (1), or both.
(b) No person, resident in India, shall
deliver any currency, whether Indian or foreign, which has been accepted from
any foreign source, to any person if he knows or has reasonable cause to
believe that such other person intends, or is likely, to deliver such currency
to any political party or any person referred to in sub- section (1), or both.
(c) No citizen of India,
resident outside India shall deliver any currency, whether Indian or
foreign which has been accepted from any foreign source, to-
(i) any
political party or any person referred to in sub-section (1), or both, or
(ii) any other person, if he knows
or has reasonable cause to believe that such other person intends, or is
likely, to deliver such currency to a political party or to any person
referred to in sub-section (1), or both.
(3)
No person receiving any currency, whether Indian or foreign, from a
foreign source on behalf of any association, referred to in sub-section (1) of
Section 6, shall deliver such currency-
(i) to any association or
organisation other than the association for which it was received, or
(ii) to any other person, if he knows or has
reasonable cause to believe that such other person intends, or is likely, to
deliver such currency to an association other than the association for which
such currency was received.
Section 5. Organisation of
a Political nature not to accept foreign contribution except with the prior
permission of the Central Government
(1) No organisation of a political nature, not being a
political party, shall, accept any foreign contribution except with the prior
permission of the Central Government.
Explanation- For the purposes of this section,
“organisation of a political nature, not being a political party” means such
organisation as the central Government may, having regard to the activities of
the organisation or the ideology propagated by the organisation or the
programme of the organisation or the association of the organisation with the
activities of any political party, by an order published in the official
Gazette, specify in this behalf.
(2) (a) Except with the prior permission of the
Central Government, no person, resident in India, and no citizen of India,
resident outside India, shall accept any foreign contribution, or acquire or
agree to acquire any foreign currency, on behalf of an organisation referred
to in sub-section(1).
(b) Except with the prior permission of the
Central Government, no person, resident in India, shall deliver any
foreign currency to any person if he knows or has reasonable cause to believe
that such other person intends, or is likely to deliver such currency to an
organisation referred to in sub-section (1).
(c)
Except with the prior approval of the Central Government, no
citizen of India, resident outside India, shall deliver any currency, whether
Indian or foreign, which has been accepted from any foreign source, to-
(i) any organisation referred to
in sub-section(1), or
(ii) any person, if he knows or
has reasonable cause to believe that such person intends, or is likely, to
deliver such currency to an organisation referred to in sub-section(1).
[(1) No association {other
than an organisation referred to in sub-section(1) of section 5} having a
definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social programme shall
accept foreign contribution unless such association,-
(a)
registers itself with the Central Government in accordance with the
rules made under this Act; and
(b)
agrees to receive such foreign contributions only through such one of
the branches of a bank as it may specify in its application for such
registration, and every association so registered shall give, within such
time and in such manner as may be prescribed, an intimation to the
Central Government as to the amount of each foreign contribution received by
it, the source from which and the manner in which such foreign
contribution was received and the purposes for which and the manner in which,
such foreign contribution was utilised by it:
Provided
that where such association obtains any foreign contribution through any
branch other than such branch of the bank through which it has agreed to
receive foreign contribution or fails to give such intimation within the
prescribed time or in the prescribed manner, or gives any intimation which is
false, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
direct that such association shall not, after the date of issue of such
notification, accept any foreign contribution without the prior permission of
the Central Government.
(1-A) Every association referred to in sub-section (1)
may, if it is not registered with the Central Government under that
sub-section, accept any foreign contribution only after obtaining the prior
permission of the Central Government and shall also give, within such time and
in such manner as may be prescribed, an intimation to the Central Government
as to the amount of foreign contribution received by it, the source from which
and the manner in which such foreign contribution was received and the
purposes for which and the manner in which such foreign contribution was
utilised by it.]
(2) Every candidate for election, who had received any
foreign contribution, at any time within one hundred and eighty
days immediately preceding the date on which he is duly nominated as such
candidate, shall give, within such time and in such manner as may be
prescribed, and intimation to the Central Government as to the amount of
foreign contribution received by him, the source from which and the manner in
which such foreign contribution was received and the porposes for which and
the manner in which such foreign contribution was utilised by him.
(1) Every citizen of
India receiving any scholarship, stipend or any payment of a like nature from
any foreign source shall give, within such time and in such manner as may be
prescribed, an intimation to the Central Government as to the amount of the
scholarship, stipend or other payment received by him and the foreign source
from which, and the purpose for which, such scholarship, stipend or other
payment has been, or is being, received by him.
(2) Where any recurring
payments are being received by any citizen of India from any foreign source by
way of scholarship, stipend or other payment, it shall be sufficient if the
intimation referred to in sub-section(1) includes a precise information as to
the interval at which, and the purpose for which, such recurring payments will
be received by such citizen of India.
(3) It shall not be necessary to
give such intimation as referred to in sub-section(1)or sub-section(2)in
relation to scholarships, stipends or payments of a like nature, if the annual
value of such scholarships, stipends or other payments does not exceed such
limits as the Central Government may, by rules made under this Act, specify in
this behalf.
Nothing contained in section 4 shall apply to the
acceptance, by any person specified in that section, of any
foreign contribution, where such contribution is accepted by him, subject to
the provisions of section 10-
(a)
by way of salary, wages or other remuneration due to him or to any
group of persons working under him, from any foreign source or by way of
payment in the ordinary course of business transacted in India by such foreign
source; or
(b)
by way of payment in the course of international trade or commerce, or
in the ordinary course of business transacted by him outside India; or
(c)
as an agent of a foreign source in relation to any transaction made by
such foreign source with Government; or
(d)
by way of a gift or presentation made to him as a member of any
Indian delegation, provided that such gift or present was accepted in
accordance with the regulations made by the Central Government with regard to
the acceptance or retention of such gift or presentation; or
(e)
from his relative when such foreign contribution has been received with
the previous permission of the Central Government:
Provided that no such permission shall be
required if the amount of foreign contribution received by him from his
relative does not exceed, in value, eight thousand rupees per annum and an
intimation is given by him to the Central Government as to the amount
received, the source from which and the manner in which it was received and
the purpose for which and the manner in which it was utilised by him;
(f)
by way of remittance received, in the ordinary course of business,
through any official channel, post office, or any authorised dealer in
foreign exchange under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (46 of 1973).
Explanation- In this Act, the expression
‘relative’ has the meaning assigned to it in the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of
1956).
No member of a Legislature, office –bearer of a
political party,
(Judge), Government servant
or employee of any corporation shall, while visiting any country or
territory outside India, accept except with the prior permission of the
Central Government, any foreign hospitality:
Provided that it shall not be necessary to
obtain any such permission for an emergent medical aid needed on account of
sudden illness contracted during a visit outside India, but, where such
foreign hospitality has been received, the person receiving such
hospitality shall give, within one month from the date of receipt of such
hospitality, an intimation to the Central Government as to the receipt of such
hospitality and the source from which, and the manner in which, such
hospitality was received by him.
Section 10. Power of Central Government to
prohibit receipt of foreign contribution, etc. in certain cases
The Central Government may—
(a)
prohibit any association, not specified in section 4, or any person,
from accepting any foreign contribution;
(b)
[without
prejudice to the provisions of sub-section(1) of section 6, require any
association specified in that sub-section], to obtain prior permission of the
Central Government before accepting any foreign contribution;
(c)
require any person or class of persons or any association, not being an
association specified in section 6, to furnish intimation within such time and
in such manner as may be prescribed as to the amount of any
foreign contribution received by such person or class of persons or
association, as the case may be, and the source from which and the manner in
which such contribution was received and the purpose for which and the manner
in which such foreign contribution was utilised;
(d)
require any person or class of persons, not specified in section 9, to
obtain prior permission of the Central Government before accepting any
foreign hospitality;
(e)
require any person or class of persons, not specified in section 9, to
furnish intimation, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed,
as to the receipt of any foreign hospitality, the source from which and the
manner in which such hospitality was received:
Provided that no such prohibition or requirement
shall be made unless the Central Government is satisfied that the
acceptance of foreign contribution by such association or person or class of
persons, as the case may be, the acceptance of foreign hospitality by such
person, is likely to affect prejudicially-
(i) the sovereignty and integrity
of India; or
(ii) the public interest; or
(iii) freedom or fairness of
election to any legislature; or
(iv) friendly relation with any
foreign State; or
(v) harmony between religious,
racial, linguistic or regional groups, castes or communities.
(1) Every individual , association, organisation or
other person, who is required by or under this Act to obtain the prior
permission of the Central Government to accept any foreign contribution or
foreign hospitality, shall, before the acceptance of any such contribution or
hospitality, make an application for such permission to the Central Government
in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) If an application referred to
in sub-section (1) is not disposed of within ninety days from the date of
receipt of such application, the permission prayed for in such application
shall, on expiry of the said period of ninety days, be deemed to have been
granted by the Central Government:
Provided
that, where, in relation to an application, the Central Government has
informed the applicant the special difficulties by reason of which his
application cannot be disposed of within the said period of ninety days, such
application shall not, until the expiry of a further period of thirty days, be
deemed to have been granted by the Central Government.
CHAPTER III
MISCELLANEOUS
Where the
Central Government is satisfied, after making such inquiry as it may deem fit
that any person has in his custody or control any article or currency, whether
Indian or foreign, which has been accepted by such person in contravention of
any of the provisions of this Act, it may be, by order in writing, prohibit
such person from paying, delivering transferring or otherwise dealing with, in
any manner whatsoever, such article or currency save in accordance with the
written orders of the Central Government and a copy of such order shall be
served upon the person so prohibited in the prescribed manner, and thereupon
the pprovisions of sub-sections (2),(3),(4)and(5) of section 7 of the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967(37 of 1967) shall, so far as may
be, apply to, or in relation to, such article or currency and references in
the said sub -sections to moneys, securities or credits shall be construed as
references to such article or currency.
Every association, referred to in section 6, shall
maintain, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed,-
(a)
an account of any foreign contribution received by it, and
(b)
a record as to the manner in which such contribution has been
utilised by it.
If the Central Government has, for any reason, to be
recorded in writing, any ground to suspect that any provision of this Act has
been, or is being , contravened by-
(a)
any political party, or
(b)
any person, or
(c)
any organisation, or
(d)
any association,
it may, by general or special order, authorise such
gazetted officer, holding a
[Group A post], as it may
think fit( hereinafter referred to as the authorised officer), to inspect any
account or record maintained by such political party, person, organisation or
association, as the case may be, and thereupon every such authorised officer
shall have the right to enter in or upon any premises at any reasonable hour,
before sunset and after sunrise, for the purpose of inspecting the said
account or record:
Provided that no gazetted officer shall be
authorised to inspect the account or record maintained by political party,
unless he has been holding a *[Group A Post] in connection with the affairs of
the Union , or a State, for not less than ten years.
If , after inspection of an account or record referred
to in section 14, the authorised officer has any reasonable cause to believe
that any provision of this Act or of any other law relating to
foreign exchange has been, or is being, contravened, he may seize such account
or record and produce the same before the court in which any proceeding is
brought for such contravention:
Provided that the authorised officer shall
return such account or record to the person from whom it was seized if no
proceeding is brought within six months from the date of such seizure for the
contravention disclosed by such account or record.
[Section
15 A. Audit of accounts-
where any organisation or association fails to furnish
any returns under this Act within the time specified there of or the returns
so furnished are not in accordance with law or if, after inspection of such
returns, the Central Government has any reasonable cause to believe that any
provision of this Act has been, or is being, contravened, that Government may,
by general or special order, authorise such gazetted officer, holding a Group
A post, as it may think fit, to audit any books of account kept or maintained
by such organisation or association, as the case may be, and thereupon every
such officer shall have the right to enter in or upon any premises at any
reasonable hour, before sunset and after sunrise for the purpose of auditing
the said books of account:
Provided that any information obtained from such
audit shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed except for the
purposes of this Act.]
Section 16. Seizure of
article or currency received in contravention of the Act-
If any gazetted officer, authorised in this behalf by
the Central Government, by general or special order, has any reason to believe
that any person has in his possession or control any article exceeding
rupees one thousand in value, or currency, whether Indian or foreign, in
relation to which any provision of this Act has been, or is being,
contravened, he may seize such article or currency.
Section 17. Seizure to
be made in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-
Every seizure made under this Act shall be made in
accordance with the provision of section 100 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).
Any article or currency, which is seized under Section
16, shall be liable to confiscation if such article or currency has been
adjudged under Section 19 to have been received or obtained in contravention
of this Act.
Any confiscation referred to in section 18 may be
adjudged-
(a) without limit, by the Court of
Session within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the seizure was made;
and
(b) subject to such limits as may be prescribed, by
such officer, not below the rank of an Assistant Sessions Judge, as the
Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in
this behalf.
No order of adjudication of confiscation shall be made
unless a reasonable opportunity of making a representation against such
confiscation has been given to the person from whom any article or
currency has been seized.
(1) Any person aggrieved by any order made under
Section 19 may prefer an appeal-
(a)
where the order has been made by the Court of Session, to the High
Court to which such Court is subordinate; or
(b)
where the order has been made by any officer specified under clause(b)
of section 19, or to the Court of Session within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction such order of adjudication of confiscation was made, within one
month from the date of communication to such person of the order:
Provided that the appellant court may, if it is
satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring
the appeal within the said period of one month, allow such appeal to be
preferred within a further period of one month, but not thereafter.
(2) Any organisation referred to
in Section 5, or any person or association referred to in section9, or
section10, aggrieved by an order made in pursuance of the explanation to
sub-section (1) of section 5 or by an order of the Central Government refusing
to give permission, or by an order made by the Central Government, under
section5 or section 9 or section 10, as the case may be, may within
sixty days from the date of such order prefer an appeal against such order to
the High Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the
appellant ordinarily resides or carries on business or personally works for
gain, or where the appellant is an organisation or association, the principal
office of such organisation or association is located.
(3) Every appeal preferred under
this section shall be deemed to be an appeal from an original decree and the
provisions of Order XLI of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908(5of 1908) shall, as far as may be, apply thereto as they apply to an
appeal from an original decree.
Section 22. Penalty for
article or currency obtained in contravention of Section 12-
If any person, on whom any prohibitory order has been
served under Section 12, pays delivers, transfers or otherwise deals with, in
any manner whatsoever any article or currency, whether Indian or foreign, in
contravention of such prohibitory order, he shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with
both; and notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973(2of 1974), the court trying such contravention may also
impose on the person convicted an additional fine equivalent to the market
value of the article or the amount of the currency in respect of which the
prohibitory order has been contravened by him or such part thereof as the
court may deem fit.
(1)
Whoever accepts, or assists any person, political party or
organisation in accepting, any foreign contribution or any currency from a
foreign source, in contravention of any provision of this Act or any rule made
thereunder, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend
to five years, or with fine, or with both.
(2)
Whoever accepts any foreign hospitality in contravention of any
provision of this Act or any rule made thereunder, shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with
both.
Section 24. Power to impose additional
fine where article or currency is not available for confiscation-
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973(2of 1974), the court trying a person who, in relation
to any article or currency, whether Indian or foreign, does or omits to do any
act which act or omission would render such article or currency liable to
confiscation under this Act, may, in the event of the conviction of such
person for the act or omission aforesaid, impose on such person a fine not
exceeding five times the value of the article or currency or one thousand
rupees, whichever is more, if such article or currency is not available for
confiscation, and the fine so imposed shall be in addition to any other fine
which may be imposed on such person under this Act.
Section 25. Penalty for
offences where no separate punishment has been provided
Whoever fails to comply with any provision of this Act
for which no separate penalty has been provided in this Act shall be
punished with the imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or
with fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or with both.
[Section
25-A. Prohibition of acceptance of foreign contribution-
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act,
whoever, having been convicted of any offence under sub-section(1) of Section
23 or Section 25, in so far such offence relates to the acceptance or
utilisation of foreign contribution, is again convicted of such offence shall
not accept any foreign contribution for a period of three years from the date
of the subsequent conviction.]
(1) Where an offence under this act or any rule made
thereunder has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time the
offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company
for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall
be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly:
Provided
that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render such person liable to
any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his
knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the
commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything
contained in sub-section(1), where an offence under this Act or any rule made
thereunder has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence
has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to
any neglect on the part or, any director, manager, secretary or other
officer of the company, such director, manger, secretary or other officer
shall also be deemed to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation- For the purposes of this
section,-
(a)
“company” means any body corporate and includes a firm, society, trade
union or other association of individuals; and
(b)
“ director’, in relation to a firm, society, trade union or other
association of individuals, means a partner in the firm or a member of the
governing body of such society, trade union or other association of
individuals.
No court shall take cognisance of an offence under
this Act, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government or any
officer authorised by the Government in this behalf.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974), any offence punishable under this Act may
also be investigated into by such authority as the Central Government may
specify in this behalf and the authority so specified shall have all the
powers which an officer-in-charge of a police station has while making an
investigation into a cognisable offence.
No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against
the Central Government in respect of any loss or damage caused or likely to be
caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in
pursuance of the provisions of this Act, or any rule or order made thereunder.
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the
generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of
the following matters, namely-
(a)
the time within which, and the manner in which, intimation is to be
given by an association referred to in section 6, with regard to the
foreign contributions received by it;
(b)
the limits up to which receipt of scholarships, stipends or payments of
a like nature need not be intimated to the Central Government;
(c)
the time within which, and the manner in which, intimation is to be
given by the persons receiving any scholarship, stipend or any payment of a
like nature from a foreign source;
(d)
the time within which, and the manner in which, a candidate for
election should give intimation as to the amount of
foreign contribution received by him at any time within one hundred and eighty
days from the date when he became such candidate;
(e)
the form and the manner in which an application shall be made for
obtaining prior permission of the Central Government to
receive foreign contribution or foreign hospitality;
(f)
the manner of service of the prohibitory order made under Section12;
(g)
the form and manner in which account or record referred to in
section 13 shall be maintained;
(h)
the limits up to which an officer, not below the rank of an Assistant
Sessions Judge, may adjudication of confiscation;
(i)
any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.
(3) Every rule made by the
Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is
made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total
period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more
successive sessions, and if , before the expiry of the session immediately
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree
in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule
should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such
modified form or be of on effect, as the case may be; so, however that any
such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of
anything previously done under that rule.
If the central Government is of the opinion that it is
necessary or expedient in the interests of the general public so to do, it
may, by order and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order,
exempt any association(not being a political party), organisation or any
individual (not being a candidate for election) from the operation of all or
any of the provisions of this Act and may, as often as may be necessary,
revoke or modify such order.
Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to any
transaction between the Government of India and the Government of any
foreign country or territory.
In
exercise of the powers conferred by section 30 of the Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act, 1976( 49 of 1976), the Central Government hereby makes the
following rules, namely-
(1) These rules may be called the Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Rules, 1976.
(2) They shall come into force on the 5th
day of August, 1976.
In these rules unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a)
“Act” means the Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Act, 1976;
(b)
“Form” means a form appended to these rules;
(c)
“Section” means a section of the Act.
[(d) “Year means the
accounting year commencing from 1st day of April and ending on 31st
day of March of the next Calendar year.]
An application for obtaining prior permission of the
Central Government to-
(a)
receive foreign contribution under sub-section (1) of section 5, or
clause (a) of sub-section (2) of that section, shall be made in Form FC-1;
[(aa)
receive foreign contribution under proviso to sub-section (1) of section 6, or
under sub-section (1-A) of that section or clause (b) of section 10, shall be
made in Form FC-1A;]
(b)
accept foreign hospitality under section 9
[or clause (d) of section 10], shall be made in Form FC-2.
Rule
[3-A.
application for registration-
An application for registration of an
association referred to in sub-section (1) of section 6 for acceptance of
foreign contribution shall be made in Form FC-8.]
Rule 4. Intimation regarding
receipt of foreign contribution or scholarship or stipend or any payment of a
like nature or foreign hospitality
(1)
An intimation as to the receipt of...
*[(a) foreign contribution by an association referred
to in sub-section (1) and (1-A) of section 6 shall be given for every
year beginning on the 1st day of April, in Form FC-3 in duplicate,
within four months of the closure of the year.
Provided that a NIL report shall also be
furnished. The intimation to be furnished for the year beginning on the 1st
day of April 1991 shall also include the receipt and utilisation of
foreign contribution during the period commencing from 1st January
1991 and ending on 31st March, 1991.]
(b) foreign contribution by a
candidate for election, referred to in sub-section (2) of Section 6 shall be
given in Form FC-4, within fifteen days from the date on which he is duly
nominated as a candidate for election;
(c) any scholarship, stipend or
any payment of a like nature, from any foreign source in relation to which an
intimation is required to be given under sub-section(1)of Section 7, shall be
given in Form FC-5, within thirty days of receipt of such scholarship, stipend
or payment of a like nature:
Provided
that where the person receiving the scholarship, stipend or any payment of a
like nature is residing outside India, the intimation shall be given within
sixty days from the date of receipt of such scholarship, stipend or other
payment of a like nature;
(d)
foreign hospitality, referred to in proviso to section 9, shall be given on
plain paper within thirty days from the date of receipt of such
hospitality specifying the particulars as to the receipt of such hospitality
and the source from which and the manner in which such hospitality was
received.
Rule 5. Intimation of
receipt of scholarship, stipend or any payment of a like nature, when not
necessary
It shall not be necessary for a citizen of India to give any intimation under
section 7 regarding receipt of scholarship, stipend or any payment of a like
nature from any foreign source, if the value of such scholarship, stipend or
other payment does not exceed during an academic year, rupees thirty-six
thousand.
Explanation-
In calculating the value,—
(a) the amount received by the
citizen for the purchase of books, clothing and equipment and for
sight-seeing in a foreign country or territory shall be taken into account;
but
(b) the amount spent in travel by
air in economy class from India to a foreign country or territory and back to
India from such foreign country or territory, and the amount spent by the
foreign source in respect of such citizen towards tuition and other fees,
shall not be taken into account..
Rule 6. Authority to
whom an application or intimation to be sent-
Any application or intimation referred to in Rule 3,
[Rule 3-A] or Rule 4, as the case may be, shall be made or
given to the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home
Affairs, New Delhi, and such application or intimation shall be sent by
registered post.
A prohibitory order under section12 or any other order
or direction made or issued under the Act, shall be served on the
person concerned in the following manner, that is to say,--
(a)
by delivering or tendering it to that person or to his duly
authorised agent; or
(b) by sending it to him by
registered post acknowledgement due to the address of his last known place of
residence or the place where he carries on, or is known to have last carried
on, business or the place where he personally works for gain or is known to
have last worked for gain and in case the person is an organisation or an
association to the last known address of the office of such organisation or
association .
(c) if it cannot be served in any
of the manners aforesaid, by fixing it on the outer door or some other
conspicuous part of the premises in which that person resides, or carries, on,
or is known to have last carried on business or personally works for gain, or
is known to have last worked personally for gain, and in case the person is an
organisation or an association, on the outer door or some other conspicuous
part of the premises in which the office of that organisation or association
is located, or is known to have last located, and the written report whereof
should be witnessed by at least two persons.
(1) A separate set of accounts and
records shall be maintained, exclusively for foreign contribution received and
utilised,-
(a)
in Form FC-6,
where the foreign contribution relates only to articles as referred to in
item(I) of sub-clause (c) of clause(1) of Section 2;
(b)
in the cash
book and ledger account on the double entry basis, where the
foreign contribution relates to currency received and utilised, and a separate
bank account shall be maintained in respect of such contribution;
(c)
in Form FC-7,
where the foreign contribution relates to foreign securities.
[(2) Every account specified
in sub-rule (1) shall be maintained on a yearly basis, commencing on the 1st
day of
{April} each year and every
such yearly account, duly certified by a chartered accountant *(in Form FC-3
along with a balance sheet and statement of receipt and payment), shall be
furnished, in duplicate, to the Secretary to the Government of India, in the
Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, within four months of the closure
of the year.]
Explanation- In this rule “Chartered Accountant” has
the meaning assigned to it in the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of
1949).
Rule 9. Limits up to which an officer,
not below the rank of an Assistant Sessions Judge may make adjudication of
confiscation-
An officer referred in clause (b) of Section 19 may
adjudge confiscation in relation to any article or currency seized under
Section 16, if the value of such article or the amount of such currency
exceeds one thousand rupees but does not exceed fifty thousand rupees.
