Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
FC-4 by 31 December
Annual online return of foreign contributions and their use. Confirm the date.
Nil return + separate books
File even with no receipts, and maintain separate FCRA accounts.
What FC-4 needs, and the wider reporting
The annual FC-4 return is the centre of FCRA reporting, but it sits within a broader set of duties. FC-4 is filed online by 31 December for the preceding financial year, and reports the foreign contributions received, the donors and countries, the purposes, the opening and closing balances, and how the money was utilised, supported by audited FCRA accounts and the bank statements of the designated and utilisation accounts. It must be filed even if no foreign contribution was received in the year — a nil return — and a string of missed returns is a common reason registrations are suspended or cancelled. Alongside the annual return, the rules require keeping foreign funds entirely separate from domestic funds, observing the cap on administrative expenses, and in some periods placing certain receipt details on the organisation’s website. Changes — of office-bearers, address, bank account or objects — have their own intimation requirements within set timelines. Because FCRA enforcement has tightened, with registrations cancelled for lapses, the practical approach is to maintain the FCRA books contemporaneously, reconcile the designated account monthly, and file FC-4 well before the December deadline. Confirm the current return form, due date and the related intimation rules, which have changed in recent years.