State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch (NDMB) has opened 13,729 Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) accounts till date. This branch was designated to open FCRA accounts by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in October 2020.

Out of the total 22,598 active FCRA Associations, 17,611 entities (NGOs and Associations) approached SBI for opening of FCRA Accounts, India’s largest bank said in a statement.

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“The bank has already opened accounts of 78 per cent of the applicants. The rest of the accounts shall also be initiated once their pending documentation formalities are completed,” the bank said.

New provision in Act

The FCRA Act regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by individuals, associations and companies. Also, a new provision — that makes it mandatory for all non-government organisations and associations to receive foreign funds in a designated bank account (SBI’s New Delhi Main Branch) — has been inserted in the Act.

All SBI branches are authorised to receive Account Opening Application from FCRA Associations. The branches submit those forms and documents to the NDMB through email.

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“In many cases the documentation was conducted in multiple branches to enable signatories at different locations,” the statement said.

Functionaries of FCRA Associations can process their account-opening formalities from their nearest SBI branch without having to visit the NDMB.

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