Dear Members,
I am writing on behalf of India Foundation for the Arts, a grant making organization using FCRA and Indian funds. I would like to know whether we can make grants as per the legal provisions in India.
- “Can foreign nationals be a principal researcher/grantee in case of a grant made to a non profit organization registered in India”?
- Can grant be made to PIO and OCO card holders?
Looking forward to your valuable opinion.
Regards,
Shekar
Thank you for the clarification on payments to ex-pats from FCRA funds. I have some other doubts:
Apart from visa rules, what if the ex-pat is hired on the staff and paid a salary from FCRA funds?
Is it permissible to hire foreigners on the staff of an NGO, in the first place?
It seems that not only FCRA but other Acts and regulations also need to be complied with?
Joe D’Souza
You are right, Joe, as I mentioned below, one would need to comply with Visa rules, which require that a ‘Work Visa’ needs to be obtained for working full-time in an NGO. Salary must not be less than USD 25,000/- per annum.
Another interesting question in this concern!
If an overseas associate enterprise charged the foreign technical assistance cost to the Indian Foundation, can their invoice also be paid using the FCRA funds?
Also, will the situation change if the associated enterprise raises invoice for foreign technical services on domestic funds?
In both the situations, the service provider is based out of India but send their staff for a few days to support Indian activities.
FCRA covers grants received by NGOs (associations with definite social objects). While it does monitor that FCRA funds rec’d are utilised for purposes of the objectives of NGOs but if in that process, funds have to be paid to a foreigner than that is not FCRA concern, as long as it complies with RBI and other guidelines (relating to visa). For example, if we need to hire a foreign body / persons to provide consultancy services, FCRA has no objection for the same. Therefore if you hire foreign nationals for a particular consultancy, as long as the benefit of the consultancy is for your objects and benefits Inida, it should not be an issue. But as I say above, before making grant, particularly to a foreign national, we have to ensure that it does not violate visa rules.
Accordingly, grants can be made to OIC / PIU card holder as long as benefit of their contribution will be within India.