3. Prohibition to accept foreign contribution.—(1) No foreign contribution shall be accepted by
any—
(a) candidate for election;
(b) correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publisher of a registered
newspaper;
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[(c) public servant, Judge, Government servant or employee of any corporation or any other
body controlled or owned by the Government;]
(d) member of any Legislature;
1. Subs. by Act 33 of 2020, s. 2, for clause (c) (w.e.f. 29-9-2020).
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(e) political party or office-bearer thereof;
(f) organisation of a political nature as may be specified under sub-section (1) of section 5 by the
Central Government;
(g) association or company engaged in the production or broadcast of audio news or audio visual
news or current affairs programmes through any electronic mode, or any other electronic form as
defined in clause (r) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000
(21 of 2000) or any other mode of mass communication;
(h) correspondent or columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner of the association or company referred
to in clause (g).
1
[Explanation.1—For the purpose of clause (c), "public servant" means a public servant as defined
in section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
Explanation 2.—In clause (c) and section 6, the expression "corporation" means a corporation owned
or controlled by the Government and includes a Government company as defined in clause (45) of section
2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013).]
(2) (a) No person, resident in India, and no citizen of India resident outside India, shall accept any
foreign contribution, or acquire or agree to acquire any currency from a foreign source, on behalf of any
political party, or any person referred to in sub-section (1), or both.
(b) No person, resident in India, shall deliver any currency, whether Indian or foreign, which has been
accepted from any foreign source, to any person if he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such
other person intends, or is likely, to deliver such currency to any political party or any person referred to
in sub-section (1), or both.
(c) No citizen of India resident outside India shall deliver any currency, whether Indian or foreign,
which has been accepted from any foreign source, to—
(i) any political party or any person referred to in sub-section (1), or both; or
(ii) any other person, if he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such other person
intends, or is likely, to deliver such currency to a political party or to any person referred to in
sub-section (1), or both.
(3) No person receiving any currency, whether Indian or foreign, from a foreign source on behalf of
any person or class of persons, referred to in section 9, shall deliver such currency—
(a) to any person other than a person for which it was received, or
(b) to any other person, if he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such other person
intends, or is likely, to deliver such currency to a person other than the person for which such
currency was received.
4. Persons to whom section 3 shall not apply.—Nothing contained in section 3 shall apply to the
acceptance, by any person specified in that section, of any foreign contribution where such contribution is
accepted by him, subject to the provisions of section 10,—
(a) by way of salary, wages or other remuneration due to him or to any group of persons working
under him, from any foreign source or by way of payment in the ordinary course of business
transacted in India by such foreign source; or
1. Explanation subs. by Act 33 of 2020, s. 2 (w.e.f. 29-9-2020).
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(b) by way of payment, in the course of international trade or commerce, or in the ordinary course
of business transacted by him outside India; or
(c) as an agent of a foreign source in relation to any transaction made by such foreign source with
the Central Government or State Government; or
(d) by way of a gift or presentation made to him as a member of any Indian delegation, provided
that such gift or present was accepted in accordance with the rules made by the Central Government
with regard to the acceptance or retention of such gift or presentation; or
(e) from his relative; or
(f) by way of remittance received, in the ordinary course of business through any official channel,
post office, or any authorised person in foreign exchange under the Foreign Exchange Management
Act, 1999 (42 of 1999); or
(g) by way of any scholarship, stipend or any payment of like nature:
Provided that in case any foreign contribution received by any person specified under section 3,
for any of the purposes other than those specified under this section, such contribution shall be
deemed to have been accepted in contravention of the provisions of section 3.
5. Procedure to notify an organisation of a political nature.—(1) The Central Government may,
having regard to the activities of the organisation or the ideology propagated by the organisation or the
programme of the organisation or the association of the organisations with the activities of any political
party, by an order published in the Official Gazette, specify such organisation as an organisation of a
political nature not being a political party, referred to in clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 3:
Provided that the Central Government may, by rules made by it, frame the guidelines specifying the
ground or grounds on which an organisation shall be specified as an organisation of a political nature.
(2) Before making an order under sub-section (1), the Central Government shall give the organisation
in respect of whom the order is proposed to be made, a notice in writing informing it of the ground or
grounds, on which it is proposed to be specified as an organisation of political nature under that
sub-section.
(3) The organisation to whom a notice has been served under sub-section (2), may, within a period of
thirty days from the date of the notice, make a representation to the Central Government giving reasons
for not specifying such organisation as an organisation under sub-section (1):
Provided that the Central Government may entertain the representation after the expiry of the said
period of thirty days, if it is satisfied that the organisation was prevented by sufficient cause from making
the representation within thirty days.
(4) The Central Government may, if it considers it appropriate, forward the representation referred to
in sub-section (3) to any authority to report on such representation.
(5) The Central Government may, after considering the representation and the report of the authority
referred to in sub-section (4), specify such organisation as an organisation of a political nature not being a
political party and make an order under sub-section (1) accordingly.
(6) Every order under sub-section (1) shall be made within a period of one hundred and twenty days
from the date of issue of notice under sub-section (2):
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Provided that in case no order is made within the said period of one hundred and twenty days, the
Central Government shall, after recording the reasons therefor, make an order under sub-section (1)
within a period of sixty days from the expiry of the said period of one hundred and twenty days.
6. Restriction on acceptance of foreign hospitality.—No member of a Legislature or office-bearer
of a political party or Judge or Government servant or employee of any corporation or any other body
owned or controlled by the Government shall, while visiting any country or territory outside India, accept,
except with the prior permission of the Central Government, any foreign hospitality:
Provided that it shall not be necessary to obtain any such permission for an emergent medical aid
needed on account of sudden illness contracted during a visit outside India, but, where such foreign
hospitality has been received, the person receiving such hospitality shall give, within one month from the
date of receipt of such hospitality an intimation to the Central Government as to the receipt of such
hospitality, and the source from which, and the manner in which, such hospitality was received by him.
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[7. Prohibition to transfer foreign contribution to other person.—No person who—
(a) is registered and granted a certificate or has obtained prior permission under this Act; and
(b) receives any foreign contribution, shall transfer such foreign contribution to any other
person.]
8. Restriction to utilise foreign contribution for administrative purpose.—(1) Every person, who
is registered and granted a certificate or given prior permission under this Act and receives any foreign
contribution,—
(a) shall utilise such contribution for the purposes for which the contribution has been received:
Provided that any foreign contribution or any income arising out of it shall not be used for
speculative business:
Provided further that the Central Government shall, by rules, specify the activities or business
which shall be construed as speculative business for the purpose of this section;
(b) shall not defray as far as possible such sum, not exceeding 2
[twenty per cent.] of such
contribution, received in a financial year, to meet administrative expenses:
Provided that administrative expenses exceeding 2
[twenty per cent.] of such contribution may be
defrayed with prior approval of the Central Government.
(2) The Central Government may prescribe the elements which shall be included in the administrative
expenses and the manner in which the administrative expenses referred to in sub-section (1) shall be
calculated.
9. Power of Central Government to prohibit receipt of foreign contribution, etc., in certain
cases.—The Central Government may—
(a) prohibit any person or organisation not specified in section 3, from accepting any foreign
contribution;
(b) require any person or class of persons, not specified in section 6, to obtain prior permission of
the Central Government before accepting any foreign hospitality;
(c) require any person or class of persons not specified in section 11, to furnish intimation within
such time and in such manner as may be prescribed as to the amount of any foreign contribution
received by such person or class of persons as the case may be, and the source from which and the
1. Subs. by Act 33 of 2020, s. 3, for section 7 (w.e.f. 29-9-2020).
2. Subs. by s. 4, ibid., for “fifty per cent.” (w.e.f. 29-9-2020).
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manner in which such contribution was received and the purpose for which and the manner in which
such foreign contribution was utilised;
(d) without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 11, require any person or
class of persons specified in that sub-section to obtain prior permission of the Central Government
before accepting any foreign contribution;
(e) require any person or class of persons, not specified in section 6, to furnish intimation, within
such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, as to the receipt of any foreign hospitality, the
source from which and the manner in which such hospitality was received:
Provided that no such prohibition or requirement shall be made unless the Central Government is
satisfied that the acceptance of foreign contribution by such person or class of persons, as the case
may be, or the acceptance of foreign hospitality by such person, is likely to affect prejudicially—
(i) the sovereignty and integrity of India; or
(ii) public interest; or
(iii) freedom or fairness of election to any Legislature; or
(iv) friendly relations with any foreign State; or
(v) harmony between religious, racial, social, linguistic or regional groups, castes or
communities.
10. Power to prohibit payment of currency received in contravention of the Act.—Where the
Central Government is satisfied, after making such inquiry as it may deem fit, that any person has in his
custody or control any article or currency or security, whether Indian or foreign, which has been accepted
by such person in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, it may, by order in writing, prohibit
such person from paying, delivering, transferring or otherwise dealing with, in any manner whatsoever,
such article or currency or security save in accordance with the written orders of the Central Government
and a copy of such order shall be served upon the person so prohibited in the prescribed manner, and
thereupon the provisions of sub-sections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of section 7 of the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967) shall, so far as may be, apply to, or in relation to, such article or
currency or security and references in the said sub-sections to moneys, securities or credits shall be
construed as references to such article or currency or security.