State makes it mandatory to obtain charity commissioner’s permission for fund collection
Mumbai : In a move that can affect the festival season across the state, the government has made it mandatory for the institutions to collect funds only after permission of charity commissioner.
Law and judiciary department has released guidelines for NGOs, private individuals and institutions on Monday regarding collection and utilisation of funds for celebrating religious festivals or for providing relief in natural calamity. According to the guidelines, it is now mandatory to take charity commissioner’s permission before collecting funds for these purposes.
The private individuals, private institutions and NGOs apart from public trusts will have to obtain a written consent from the charity commissioner’s office before collecting funds, the guidelines say. The guidelines also make it mandatory to give printed receipts while collecting funds. According to the guidelines, whoever collecting such funds should maintain the accounts and if the collected funds exceed Rs 5,000, the accounts need to be audited by chartered accountant. Such audit reports of the accounts should then be submitted to the charity commissioner. The funds should be spent primarily for the cause that they are collected for and then if some funds are still left, they can be spent for other purposes with prior permission of the charity commissioner, the guiding principles say.
