The Delhi High Court has restrained the Centre from taking any coercive steps against an NGO that was unable to submit its annual return due to discrepancy in the new form prescribed for declaring foreign contributions.

“The citizen cannot be penalised for a discrepancy in the form prescribed by the respondent [Centre], which has resulted in the form being unable to be submitted even in the case of a law abiding citizen,” said Justice C. Hari Shankar.

The court’s order came on a petition by Arbor Charitable Foundation, an NGO, which receives foreign contributions in accordance with the protocol set out in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA). The NGO’s grievance arises out of the peculiarities in the new FC-4 form, in which returns, regarding foreign contributions received by it are required to be filed.

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