Non-Govt. Organisation (NGO) Registration

Basically, NGO Registration in India can be done under the following three methods:-

TRUST

One most suggestible way to form a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) is by registering it as a Trust under the Indian Trust Act 1882, if the NGO with charitable objects and works for eradicating poverty, giving education and providing medical relief. You might want to note that trusts are irrevocable. This means that they cannot change or terminated without the beneficiary's permission. Any legal entity can establish a Trust in India through a registered Trust Deed which becomes a legal entity. All activities of a NGO can be done through the objectives of the said trust.

A Trust can be formed and registered with a minimum of 3 members.

In Maharashtra and Gujarat have Public Trust Acts to look into the affairs of NGOs.

SOCIETIES

An NGO can be form as Society under the Society Registration Act 1960 with District Registrar of Societies.

This can be form at Central or State Level. For State level formation, minimum 7 members from the same state essential. And for Central level formation, minimum 7 members from each states includes one from the state wherein Society intended to be registered is essential. There is no upper limit on the number of members in the society. NGO is run by a governing body or a managing committee. In case of societies, through election politics, it is possible to remove the person who had initiated the society in the first place.

Unlike trusts, societies function only within a definite geographical area, if not form central level.

SECTION 8 COMPANIES

A Section 8 Company has limited liability and cannot make any profits. It is generally formed for promoting science, art, commerce, charity, religion or any other purpose that is useful to society.

When compared to Societies and Trusts, Section 8 Companies have more benefit in the sense that they have more legal standing and better credibility among government bodies and donors. Minimum 2 members required to form such NGO.

Big advantage is Section 8 Company may convert into any other kind of company under companies act 2013 subject to compliance of certain conditions as may be prescribed.

Process of registering NGO Under Trust/Society/Section 8 Company is describe Separately.

80G Registration with Income Tax 

Donations made to a NGO registered under section 80G are permissible for 50% deduction from the taxable income of the donation made for such a person or an organisation making the donation.

e.g. If a Person makes a donation of Rs. 10000 to an organization with 80G registration then the person can avail Rs. 5000 as deduction from his/her taxable income. Which encourages people to make more donation with 80G registered Organisation.

80G is a onetime registration with lifetime validity.

How to Register for 80G:-

• The application in form 10G is to be made along with required documents to the Income Tax commissioner who has jurisdiction over such an organization.
• Income Tax Officer verify and do inspection before grant.

12A Registration with Income Tax 

Section 11 and 12 of the Income- Tax Act 1961 are the most important sections of Income tax for Religious and Charitable trusts. The taxation of trusts formed with the objective of providing relief to the underprivileged, work for environment, general public benefit, religious purpose, etc fall under this section. The section defines what part of Income of such trust is taxable and what is exempt. The Income can be derived from capital gain from the assets of the Trust, its activities, or from donations.

Section 12AA of the new Income Tax act defines how a trust can register under these sections. An application is to be made using form 10A along with relevant documents to the Income Tax Commissioner. This is one time registration and to avail Tax exemption, NGO needs to register under section 12A.

How to Register for 12A:-

• The application in form 10A is to be made along with required documents to the Income Tax commissioner who has jurisdiction over such an organization.
• Income Tax Officer verify and do inspection before grant.

35AC Registration for Income Tax Benefit in Special Project

To encourage businesses and corporate houses to donate for specific approved social welfare projects, a tax incentive has been produced under 35AC of the Income Tax Act. This section offers full deduction of the entire amount paid by business for financing particular schemes or projects. There is no limitation for the donor to donate under section 35AC.

Some of the projects for which the 35AC is applicable are:

• Construction and maintenance of drinking water projects in rural areas and urban slums
• Construction of dwelling units for economically weaker sections
• Construction of schools for children belonging to weaker sections
• Relief and rehabilitation of handicapped children
• Establishment and running hospitals in rural areas exclusively for women and children.

How to Register for 23AC:-

The application for getting 35AC can be made to the Secretary, National Committee for Promotion of Social & Economic Welfare, Dept. of Revenue, Govt. of India, North Block, New Delhi – 110001, along with  information regarding the project/scheme and required documents.

For Registration of 80G, 12A and 35AC, take the help of FinTax Income Tax Consultant for hasslefree works. Our Service fee for each Registration is Rs 1,77,000/- all inclusive.

The NGO DARPAN was earlier maintained by erstwhile Planning Commission, which has been replaced by the NITI Aayog w.e.f. 1st January, 2015.

NOG-DARPAN being maintained at present under the aegis of NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog invites all Voluntary Organizations (VOs)/ Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to Sign Up on the Portal https://ngodarpan.gov.in.

VOs/NGOs play a major role in the development of the nation by supplementing the efforts of the Government. This portal enables VOs/NGOs to enrol centrally and thus facilitates creation of a repository of information about VOs/NGOs, Sector/State wise. The Portal facilitates VOs/NGOs to obtain a system generated Unique ID, as and when signed. The Unique ID is mandatory to apply for grants under various schemes of Ministries/Departments/Governments Bodies.

How to take Registration of NGO-DARPAN?

Who can take the on NGO-DARPAN?

Any Voluntary Organisation (VO) / NGO which is registered as a trust/ society/ a private limited non-profit company, under section-8 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 or earlier under section-25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956b can Sign Up on the NGO Darpan portal

Process of Registration on NGO-DARPAN?

• All VOs/NGOs which are already registered as trusts/societies/private limited nonp-rofit companies are invited to Sign Up on the NGO Darpan (NGO-PS) Portal/Website.
• Inside the box with "New Users" Heading, a "Sign Up" button is available.
• On clicking "Sign Up" button, an online form will appear which you are required to fill.
• While filling in the form, you are required to make a UserID (can be any word or name which you can remember and use in the future for Logging in to your account) and a Password.
• Once you click on the submit button after entering all your details, you will get a message on the screen, saying "You are Successfully Registered." And you will be shown a Unique ID, which you are required to note down very carefully (or print the page or save the page) at that time . It would be something like AB/2010/0001234.
• An Email with a link for activation will be sent to your email id, which you have given in your Contact Details in the portal. You are required to click on the link 'Activate your account'.
• After clicking on the link, you would be asked to provide the Unique ID which was shown to you earlier (i.e. something like AB/2010/0001234).
• After thus Activating your account you can use your User ID and the Password to Login into the website and avail the facilities.

Documents to be uploaded at the time of Registration at NGO-DARPAN

       1. Registration Certificate should be scanned in pdf or jpg (preferably) format, and uploaded. The size of the file should be less than 2MB.

       2. Incase of Trust deeds, only the first page and the page with the signature on it should be scanned and uploaded. Instructions for uploading are the same as (i) above.

Compulsory FCRA Registration for NGO who wish to receive contribution from foreign donors

The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act is the most important registration for a NGO that wish to receive contribution from foreign donors. Without FCRA registration an NGO cannot seek foreign donation in India. The Act is meant to regulate all donation foreign in nature received in India as donation for religious, charitable, social or environmental cause, whether such donation are received from Foreign Individual, Company, Society, Government or organisation.

The approval for the registration is given by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India.

Conditions Applies for Registration Grant:-

• The registration is provided to organizations registered under either of the Societies Registration Act 1860, Indian Trust Act 1882, Charitable and Religious Trust Act 1920 or as a Section 8 Company.
• It is provided as Prior Permission under section 6(1A) (or one time incident specific permission) or Permanent Permission under section 6(1)(a), (permanent registration).
• The registration process takes anywhere from 4 months to 1 year or more and is provided only after thorough documentation and investigation by the MHA.
• Yearly compliance needs to be followed by the NGO once registered under FCRA.
• An organization can only open only one FCRA account in any Scheduled Commercial Bank of India.
• The Bank is ordered by MHA post approval for FCRA to monitor foreign donation transaction and report annually the receipts.
• FCRA account is to be maintained separately and not mixed with Local receipts.
• FC-3 form is used for application of FCRA.
• Any 3 year old NGO can apply for FCRA.

For FCRA Registration , take the help of  FinTax  Consultant for hasslefree works. Our Service fee is Rs 1,18,000/- all inclusive.