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Company Law

CSR Compliance for NGOs (Form CSR-1)

CSR eligibility for NGOs — Form CSR-1 registration on the MCA portal, Section 135 CSR entity onboarding, impact reporting, and CA utilisation certificate for CSR fund receipts.

Reviewed by CA Harun Raaj, ICAI Reg. No. 238303·Last reviewed:
Discuss with usTypical timelineCSR Compliance for NGOs (Form CSR-1)

CSR eligibility for NGOs — Form CSR-1 registration on the MCA portal, Section 135 CSR entity onboarding, impact reporting, and CA utilisation certificate for CSR fund receipts.

What is included
  • • Form CSR-1 registration on the MCA portal
  • • Section 135 eligibility mapping to corporate CSR partners
  • • Impact reporting framework for CSR projects
  • • CA utilisation certificate for CSR fund receipts
  • • Schedule VII activity alignment review
Documents required
  • • Certificate of Incorporation
  • • Entity PAN Card
  • • MOA & AOA
  • • Trust Deed / Society Rules / Memorandum
  • • Registration Certificate (12A / 80G / Section 8)
Government fees

See the fee table below for the statutory filing charge and common delay logic.

Legal basis
  • • Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013
  • • Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014
  • • Form CSR-1 (MCA portal registration)
  • • Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013
Not included in this service
  • ✕The corporate partner’s own CSR-2 filing — that is the company’s engagement
  • ✕Annual statutory audit of the NGO — separate
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Process

How the service works

The workflow is built to be predictable: document collection, legal review, filing, and post-filing follow-through.

Step 1Register

Register in Form CSR-1

We file Form CSR-1 on the MCA portal to put the NGO on the CSR implementer register.

Step 2Align

Map to Schedule VII

We align the NGO’s projects to Schedule VII activities so corporate partners can route CSR spend compliantly.

Step 3Report

Set up utilisation reporting

We set up project-wise utilisation tracking and the CA utilisation certificate for each CSR fund receipt.

Step 4Impact

Support impact reporting

We prepare the impact narrative corporate partners need for their own CSR disclosures.

AEO summary

An NGO that wants to receive corporate CSR funds registers on the MCA portal in Form CSR-1, then reports utilisation and impact for every project. We handle the registration, the utilisation certificates, and the reporting that keeps corporate partners compliant.

The NGO is the implementer

CSR under Section 135 is a corporate obligation, but the money lands with implementers — NGOs registered in Form CSR-1 on the MCA portal. The registration is the NGO’s entry ticket to corporate CSR budgets, and the utilisation certificate is its ongoing proof of delivery.

Companies under the CSR regime must spend on Schedule VII activities through eligible entities and disclose the spend in Form CSR-2. The NGO’s documentation is what makes the corporate disclosure possible.

  • • Form CSR-1 registration on the MCA portal
  • • Spend on Schedule VII activities
  • • CA utilisation certificate per fund receipt

Reporting that survives scrutiny

CSR money is now heavily scrutinised — both by the MCA and by the corporate partner’s own audit. The NGO that reports utilisation project-wise, with certificates and impact evidence, becomes a preferred implementer; the one that cannot document spend disappears from the panel.

We build the reporting into the project cycle — funds, utilisation, certificate, impact — so every rupee of CSR money has a paper trail.

  • • Project-wise utilisation tracking
  • • Impact reporting for CSR-2 disclosures
  • • Certificate-ready books through the year

Government fees

Fee breakdown

ItemFeeNotes
Form CSR-1 MCA filingAs per MCA scheduleThe MCA filing fee follows the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules 2014.

Timeline

Typical turnaround

Typical timeline usually means a 1–3 weeks turnaround, assuming documents are complete and any board or shareholder approvals are already in place.

Pricing note

There is no fixed government fee profile until the engagement scope is confirmed; the professional fee is quoted after the document review.

Related services

Keep the company moving

CSR Advisory & Form CSR-2

The corporate side — s.135 policy, Schedule VII spend, and CSR-2 filing

NGO Project Accounting

Fund-wise accounting and utilisation certificates for CSR receipts

12A & 80G Registration

The income tax approvals corporate donors check before funding

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why does an NGO need Form CSR-1?
Companies spending under Section 135 can route CSR funds to eligible implementing agencies. Form CSR-1 registration on the MCA portal puts the NGO on the register of eligible entities — without it, a corporate partner cannot compliantly route CSR funds to the NGO.
What is a CA utilisation certificate?
A utilisation certificate from a Chartered Accountant confirms that the CSR funds received were applied to the stated project within the period. It is the evidence trail corporate partners rely on for their own CSR-2 disclosures.
Which activities count as CSR?
CSR spend must be on activities listed in Schedule VII of the Companies Act 2013 — for example healthcare, education, environment, rural development, and poverty alleviation. We map the NGO’s projects to the Schedule before any fund is routed.
What should you send us before we start?
The entity registration documents (trust deed / society rules / MOA), PAN, the projects the NGO runs, and the profile of corporate partners or funds already received. That is enough for us to register and set up reporting.

Canonical reference: https://www.pvtltd.co/services/csr-ngo-compliance

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