Charitable Institutions: Decoding recent developments in FCRA and Income-tax

The Central Government has amended the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011 to strengthen oversight of organizations receiving foreign contributions. These amendments, inter alia, replace the broad category-based registration framework with activity-specific and geography-specific registration, introduces a new definition of “key functionary”, provides a monetary threshold for determining “reasonable activity” and enhance reporting and disclosure requirements for the organizations.

While the FCRA amendments mark a significant shift in the regulatory framework, certain developments in income-tax have a direct bearing on FCRA compliance as well.  The jurisprudence in income-tax on the manner of determining the tangible location at which charitable activities are carried out, would equally apply to FCRA. Separately, securing and retaining tax-exempt status, managing application of income requirements, addressing governance-related concerns, and meeting enhanced reporting and disclosure obligations are of equal importance to an FCRA registered organization.

The webinar will, inter alia, cover: 

• Key changes introduced vide the FCRA amendment and their impact

• Potential compliance risks and enforcement concerns

• Measures to strengthen governance and internal controls

• Developments in tax jurisprudence that may have an impact on FCRA compliance

• Other key Income tax developments

• Emerging issues, grey areas, and unresolved questions

• Interactive Q&A session
  

Speakers -

·         S. Sriram, Executive Partner

·         Mahendra Singh, Associate Partner

·         Tanmay Bhatnagar, Associate Partner