FCRA licence of IndustriALL Global Union's India arm nixed

The Union home ministry has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Registration Act (FCRA) licence of IndustriALL Global Union's India arm, saying that such organisations do not require FCRA licences, ET has learnt.

IndustriALL Global Union is a conglomerate of international affiliates, mobilising and organising against the abuse of human and labour rights, whether by businesses or governments, according to its website.

An email query sent to the IndustriALL New Delhi chapter remained unanswered, however, a senior functionary confirmed the denial of FCRA licences to ET.

Official sources said the decision to cancel the FCRA licence was taken after reviewing applications of NGOs who have international-affiliated offices in India and receive foreign grants. Earlier, the licence of International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), New Delhi, was cancelled, citing the same reasons, another official added.

In a recent email response, regional director of ICA, Balu G Iyer, told ET, "ICA's position was that our FCRA renewal in 2016 was based on our branch office status... Recently, we received confirmation from FCRA division that given our branch office status and the nature of our work as a regional organisation, ICA does not fall under their purview."

As per FCRA rules, "No association whose certificate of registration has been cancelled or expired shall either receive or utilise the foreign contribution until the certificate is renewed."

The rules required every NGO to maintain a separate register of investments which can be submitted for audit before the MHA. Prior to enactment of The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2020, exclusive FCRA bank accounts could be opened in any branch of the scheduled banks. The new law mandates that each FCRA NGO must compulsorily open an 'FCRA account' in SBI, Main Branch, New Delhi, for initial remittance, receipt of foreign contribution (FC) from a foreign source, according to officials.