Filing of CSR-1 with MCA for CSR funding

The Government of India has come out with a new registration for NGOs who are undertaking or desirous of undertaking CSR activities on behalf of the companies. Such registration is to be taken by filing Form CSR-1 electronically on the MCA portal. This registration can be taken by NGOs with effect from April 1, 2021. Form CSR-1 shall be signed and submitted electronically and verified by a practicing CA or CS or Cost Accountant. On application, the MCA portal will automatically generate a unique CSR registration number.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has made available the Form CSR-1 on the MCA portal. As per the notification issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to the effect that with effect from April 1, 2021, CSR funding will be available only to those NGOs that are registered with MCA. The purpose of this registration is to ensure effective monitoring of the CSR activities conducted by the NGOs in the country. However, the above mandatory registration requirement will not affect the CSR projects already approved before April 1, 2021. In this article, we will discuss the filing procedure of Form CSR-1 with the corresponding provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

Who can undertake CSR activities

The Board of Directors shall ensure that the CSR activities are undertaken by the Company itself or through: -

• A company established u/s 8 of the Companies Act or a registered public trust or a registered society, registered under section 12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961, established by the company, either singly or along with any other company;
• A company established under section 8 of the Companies Act or a registered trust or a registered society, established by the Central Government or State Government;
• Any entity established under an Act of Parliament or a State legislature;
• A company established under section 8 of the Act, or a registered public trust or a registered society, registered under section 12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and having an established track record of at least 3 years in undertaking similar activities.

Is Filing of Form CSR-1 compulsory

• Every entity (NGO) as stated above, that intends to undertake any CSR activities, shall register with the Central Government by filing Form CSR-1 electronically with the Registrar, with effect from the 1^st day of April 2021.
• Thus, filing Form CSR-1 is compulsory. However, the above provision shall not affect the CSR projects approved before 1^st April 2021.
• Form CSR-1 shall be signed and submitted electronically by the entity and shall be verified digitally by a CA or CS or Cost Accountant in practice.
• On submission of Form CSR-1 on the MCA portal, a unique CSR registration number shall be generated by the system automatically.

Important points regarding the filing of Form CSR-1

1. Form CSR-1 can be filed on the MCA portal with effect from April 1, 2021
2. Where the entity (Trust/ Society/ Section 8 Company) is established by any company or group of companies: A Maximum of 5 CIN of such companies can be provided in the Form

3. Email ID of the entity shall be provided in Form CSR-1. The email-id shall be verified by One Time Password (OTP)
4. The facility of sending OTP shall be enabled only after successful pre-scrutiny of the Form CSR-1.
5. OTP can be sent to email ID against one form a maximum of 10 times a day. OTP shall be valid for 30 minutes. In case of failure, you need to download a fresh form on the same day or try OTP the next day.
6. Details of Directors/ Board of Trustees/ Chairman/ CEO/ Secretary/ Authorised representative (AR) of the entity need to be provided in the form. It should be ensured that the DIN or PAN of the above is valid and associated with the entity.
7. Maximum of 10 rows shall be available for entering the particulars of Directors/ Board of Trustees/ Chairman/ CEO/ Secretary/ AR of the entity.
8. Mandatory attachments:

• Copy of Registration Certificate of the entity and
• Copy of PAN of the entity

How to download Form CSR-1

Form CSR-1 may be downloaded from the MCA portal by following the steps as below: -

• Visit the MCA portal by clicking the above link: - http://www.mca.gov.in/MinistryV2/companyformsdownload.html
• Scroll down the page till you find “incorporation services”.
• Download the Form with or without instruction in zip format.
• Open the zip file.
• Form CSR-1 will be available in fillable PDF form.

Who shall sign the Form CSR-1

The Form CSR-1 shall be digitally signed by: -

• In case of Section 8 Company: - any director who is not disqualified under provisions of Companies Act, 2013
• In the case of Registered Public Trust: - One of the Trustee/ CEO
• In case of a Registered Society: - Chairman/ CEO/ Secretary
• In case of an entity established under an Act of Parliament or State Legislature: - Authorised representative on their behalf

It shall also be ensured that the Form is digitally verified by a Chartered Accountant/ Company Secretary/ Cost Accountant in full-time practice.

What are the documents required for CSR-1 registration

Only two documents are to be attached along with Form CSR-1: -

• Copy of Registration Certificate of the entity (NGO)
• Copy of PAN of NGO

But, the following further information/ documents should be kept ready in hand before filing Form CSR-1: -

• Email ID of the NGO
• Trust deed of Trust/ Registration Certificate of Society/ Registration Certificate of Section 8 Company
• Copy of letter granting exemption under section 12A of the Income Tax Act
• Copy of letter granting registration under section 80G of the Income Tax Act
• Audited Financial Statements of immediately preceding three financial years
• Project Report showing activities undertaken by the NGO in the earlier years
• DIN/PAN of the Director of section 8 company/ Board of Trustees of the trust/ Chairman or secretary of the society
• Email ID of above office bearers
• Copy of resolution authorizing the person by the entity to sign on behalf of the entity.
• Digital Signature of person authorized on behalf of the entity to sign the Form CSR-1
• Engagement Letter or Authorisation Letter in favour of CA or CS or Cost Accountant who shall verify the form.
• Digital Signature of CA/CS/Cost Accountant who shall verify the Form CSR-1.

Email and Immunity Certificate

When an e-form CSR-1 is successfully processed, an acknowledgment of the same is sent to the user in the form of an email to the email id of the entity. Further, a digitally signed approval letter along with a CSR Registration number with Format CSRXXXXXXXX where X represents a system-generated unique sequential number will be sent to the FO User as well as the email id of the entity as entered in the e-form.

Also Read the article on:- ITC on CSR activities

For Online CSR-1 filing Services connect at 9660630417