In a relief to TTD, FCRA renews its registration

Tirupati: Giving a big relief to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), its registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) has been renewed by the FCRA wing of the ministry of home affairs, Government of India late in the night of March 28. The renewal is valid for a period of five years with effect from January 22, 2020.

The TTD has been struggling for its renewal since 2019 and was facing much difficulty with the foreign currency which was lying idle with it as the banks refused to receive the amount on the ground that the source was not known. It was said that TTD has nearly Rs 26 crore of various denominations piled up with it which includes US Dollars worth Rs 11.50 crore, Malaysia Ringgit worth Rs5.93 crore, UAE Dirhams Rs 1.75 crore, Singapore's SGD Rs 4.06 crore, British Pounds Rs 97 lakh, Euros worth Rs 63 lakh, Australia dollars Rs 74 lakh, Canada dollars Rs 40 lakh and other currencies Rs 85 lakh and was looking for a way out during all these years.

It may be recalled that TTD used to deposit various foreign currencies it received in its foreign currency account with the SBI, Tirumala branch, before the FCRA was amended in 2020. Under the guidelines of the new Act, TTD has to physically deposit the foreign currency into its newly opened bank account at a specific SBI branch in New Delhi which is difficult as it involves logistics and security related concerns.

It caused difficulties to the TTD as it had to clearly declare the complete description of the sources and usage of the funds obtained through foreign donations. TTD argued that it cannot establish the source of funds in the case of any offerings received through Hundi that are treated as corpus investments. However, it was not considered by the FCRA wing of the MHA. Needless to say that TTD receives around Rs 10-15 crore in the form of foreign currencies annually. Its earlier registration obtained in 2012 had lapsed in 2019 after which it has been seeking for renewal but in vain.

Meanwhile, the FCRA wing wrote to TTD informing that their Annual Returns were in the 'incorrect' format and imposed a penalty of Rs 3.18 crore which is in addition to Rs 1.14 crore penalty it already paid after the non-renewal of its FCRA registration at the end of 2019.

Also, it has paid Rs 3.18 crore on March 3, 2022 by way of a compounding penalty for the renewal of its registration. Reacting to the media recently, TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy said that they were hopeful of getting the registration renewed soon.

Finally, TTD heaved a sigh of relief after it got the much-awaited renewal of FCRA registration. Now, it is the only temple trust in the country to have its FCRA registration restored after MHA suspended it on technical grounds in 2019. With this, TTD can deposit the piled up foreign currencies at its newly opened account at SBI branch in New Delhi.