Please clarify whether Overseas citizen of India (OCI) can be the president of an NGO registered under FCRA.
Regards
A.P. Singh
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So that there is no confusion, I would like to highlight that your query is relating to a person of Indian Origin holding OCI Card. Let me clarify Overseas citizen is not a citizenship under Indian constitution, it is simply a facility for certain benefits.
Coming to who can be a President or Trustee of an Indian NPO, please note there is no bar in FCRA laws, for appointing foreign citizens being appointed as Trustee or President for that matter. Section 12 (4) specifies conditions when an entity may not be given registration. Trustees having foreign citizenship is not a ground to deny registration. However on practical grounds, an organisation with foreign citizens, particularly who are not of Indian origin, are not likely to get their FCRA registration or could face issues in renewal too. This is stated as much under FAQ No. 8 on FCRA website.
Though foreign citizens, even holding OCI Card, are treated as Foreign Source under FCRA, however as per the same FAQ, now Govt allows them to be on Board. Again no legal basis whether they will be allowed as President, but our experience is that generally a foreigner should not be in a position to take active decisions. For example should not hold cheque signing authority, etc. What would be Dept’s position relating to a person holding OCI card to be President, this would very much depend upon the report of IB Team which comes for inspection. All I can say is, that it is quite risky and should be avoided.