FCRA Compliance Checklist — FC-4 Annual Return, Accounts & Renewal

An annual FCRA compliance working table for registered associations — FC-4 return, the SBI New Delhi Main Branch account rule, utilisation accounts, the 20% administrative-expenses cap, FC-6 change intimations and 5-yearly renewal.

Free · CORAA original — SA-aligned

Updated 29 Jul 2026

Annual return

Form FC-4 by 31 December (NIL return mandatory)

Receipt account

FCRA Account at SBI, New Delhi Main Branch only

Admin expenses

≤ 20% of FC utilised (post-2020 Amendment)

Renewal

FC-3C, every 5 years — apply 6 months before expiry

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Your firm — letterhead

Appears at the top of the document as the audit firm letterhead.

Audit firm name

Audit firm address

Used as the letterhead block.

Engagement partner

ICAI membership no.

Firm registration no.(optional)

Engagement details

The client and period this document is for.

Trust / Society / Section 8 company name

PAN of the trust / institution

Registered address

Date of preparation

FCRA registration number

Registration valid up to

FCRA Account no. (SBI, New Delhi Main Branch)

Financial year

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FCRA Compliance Checklist — FC-4 Annual Return, Accounts & Renewal

31 July 2026

FCRA ANNUAL COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

Association: {{trust_name}} | PAN: {{trust_pan}} | Financial Year: {{financial_year}}

Registered address: {{registered_address}}

FCRA registration no.: {{fcra_reg_no}} | Valid up to: {{fcra_validity_date}} | FCRA Account (SBI NDMB) no.: {{sbi_account_no}}

A. Annual compliance working table

Sl.	Compliance	Requirement	Due date / trigger
1	FC-4 annual return	Online return of foreign contribution received and utilised, with audited FC receipt & payment account, income & expenditure account, balance sheet and CA certificate. A NIL return is mandatory even if no FC was received during the year.	31 December following the end of the financial year
2	FCRA Account — SBI New Delhi Main Branch	All foreign contribution must be received first and only in the designated 'FCRA Account' at State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch (Sansad Marg). No other receipt route is permitted.	Continuous
3	Utilisation account(s)	FC may be transferred from the SBI NDMB account to another FCRA account / utilisation account(s) in scheduled banks for utilisation. No local (non-FC) funds may be mixed into these accounts. Opening of a utilisation account is intimated in Form FC-6D.	Within 45 days of opening
4	Administrative expenses cap	Administrative expenses must not exceed 20% of foreign contribution utilised in the financial year (reduced from 50% by the FCRA Amendment Act, 2020). Exceeding the cap requires prior approval of the Central Government.	Monitor through the year; certify at FC-4
5	No transfer / sub-granting of FC	Foreign contribution cannot be transferred to any other person or organisation (section 7, post-2020) — including other FCRA-registered entities.	Continuous
6	Website disclosure	The earlier quarterly donor-wise website disclosure (old Rule 13(b)) stands omitted w.e.f. 1 July 2022 — no quarterly upload is required. Audited annual FC accounts must still be placed on the association's official website within nine months of the close of the financial year.	31 December following the financial year
7	Separate books for FC	Maintain a separate set of books of account exclusively for foreign contribution and its utilisation.	Continuous
8	Renewal of registration (FC-3C)	FCRA registration is valid for 5 years. Apply for renewal in Form FC-3C with the prescribed fee of ₹5,000, at least 6 months before expiry.	6 months before expiry of the certificate
9	Change intimations (FC-6 series)	Intimate within 45 days: FC-6A — change of name / address; FC-6B — change of nature, aims and objects or registration with local authorities; FC-6C — change of the designated FCRA bank account; FC-6D — opening of utilisation account(s); FC-6E — change in key members / office bearers.	Within 45 days of the change

B. Year-end verification points

Reconcile FC receipts per bank statements of the SBI NDMB account and every utilisation account with the FC-4 figures and the audited FC financial statements.
Trace administrative expenses to the utilisation classification and confirm the total is within the 20% cap; document the basis of allocation between administrative and programme heads.
Confirm no foreign contribution was received in any non-designated account, and no domestic funds were credited to any FCRA account.
Check the validity date of the registration certificate and diarise the FC-3C renewal filing at least 6 months before expiry — a lapsed registration bars receipt of any fresh FC.
Confirm interest earned on FC balances is treated as foreign contribution and reported in FC-4.

Prepared on: 31 July 2026

For {{firm_name}}

Chartered Accountants

Firm Registration No.:

_______________________________

Partner | Membership No.: {{icai_membership_no}}

Free · Email required once · Firm data stays in your browser

What’s inside

An excerpt from the template.

FCRA ANNUAL COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

Association: ___ | PAN: ___ | Financial Year: ___

Registered address: ___

FCRA registration no.: ___ | Valid up to: ___ | FCRA Account (SBI NDMB) no.: ___

↑ Excerpt only — the full template is what you download as Word

About this template

What you’re downloading, and when to use it.

This template follows the format published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in the AASB Audit Working Paper Templates (June 2023), the authoritative reference for Indian statutory-audit documentation. Fill in your firm’s letterhead and the engagement details on the form above, click Download Word file, and you’ll get a fully formatted .docx ready to use.

Everything is generated in your browser and on a stateless API endpoint — no account, nothing stored on our servers. We’ll ask for a work email once before your first download so we can send you the file and the occasional relevant update; after that, downloads on this device are instant. Edit freely in Word, Google Docs or Pages before sending to your client.

Common questions

FAQs.

When is the FC-4 annual return due, and is a NIL return required?

Form FC-4 is due online by 31 December following the end of the financial year — for FY 2025-26, by 31 December 2026. It is accompanied by the audited foreign-contribution receipt & payment account, income & expenditure account, balance sheet and a chartered accountant's certificate. A NIL return is mandatory even for a year in which no foreign contribution was received.

What is the SBI New Delhi Main Branch account rule?

Since the FCRA Amendment Act, 2020, every association must receive foreign contribution first and only in its designated 'FCRA Account' at State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch (Sansad Marg). Funds can then move to another FCRA account or to utilisation account(s) in any scheduled bank for spending — but no foreign contribution may be received directly into any other account, and no domestic funds may be mixed into the FCRA accounts.

What is the administrative-expenses cap under FCRA?

Administrative expenses must not exceed 20% of the foreign contribution utilised in a financial year — reduced from 50% by the FCRA Amendment Act, 2020. Spending beyond 20% requires prior approval of the Central Government. Salaries of administrative staff, office rent, travel not linked to programmes and similar overheads count toward the cap, so the classification between administrative and programme expenditure should be documented through the year, not reconstructed at FC-4 time.

Is quarterly disclosure of foreign contribution on the website still required?

No. The requirement to upload donor-wise details of foreign contribution every quarter (old Rule 13(b)) was omitted by the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2022, effective 1 July 2022. What remains is the annual requirement: the audited statement of foreign-contribution accounts must be placed on the association's official website within nine months of the close of the financial year — i.e. by 31 December, aligned with the FC-4 deadline.

How often must FCRA registration be renewed, and what are the FC-6 forms?

FCRA registration is valid for 5 years; renewal is filed in Form FC-3C with a fee of ₹5,000, at least 6 months before expiry. Changes are intimated within 45 days through the FC-6 series: FC-6A (name / address), FC-6B (nature, aims and objects or registration with local authorities), FC-6C (change of the designated FCRA bank account), FC-6D (opening a utilisation account) and FC-6E (change in key members or office bearers).

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