Associations Registration Act

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Associations Registration Act, 2034 (1977)
Date of Authe ntica tion

2034-5-27 (Sept. 12, 1977)
Amendments

1. Judicial Administration Reform
(Fourth Amendment) Act, 2043 (1986) 2043-7-24 (N ov. 10, 1986)
2. Administration of Just ice Act, 2048 (1991) 2048 -2-16 (May 30, 1991)
3. Some Nepal Acts Amendment Act, 2048 (1991) 2049 -1-8 (April 20, 1992)

Act Number 10 of the year 2034 (1977)
An Act made to make provision s on e stablishment an d

re gistration of associations

Preamble
: Whereas, it is expedient to make provisions on es ta blishment and re gistra tion
of soc ial, re ligious, literary, cultura l, scie ntifi c, educa tional, intellectual, physical,
econom ica l, vocationa l a nd philanthropic a ssocia tio ns;
Now, there fore, be it enacte d by H is Ma je sty the K ing Bire ndra Bir Bikram Shah
De v with the advice a nd c onsent of the Rastriya Panchayat.

1. Short Title, Extension an d Commencement : (1) This Act ma y be called the
“Assoc iations Re gistration Act, 2034” (1977). (2) This Act shall exte nd all over the Nepa l.
(3) This Act shall come into force immediate ly.
2. Definitions
: Unle ss the subject or the context otherw ise requi re s, in this Act,-
(a) “Assoc iation” mea ns an association, institution , club, c irc le, c ouncil, study
centre e tc. established for the purpose of de velopi ng a nd e xte nding soc ial,
religious, literary, cultura l, sc ientific, educatio na l, intellectual,

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philosophical, physica l, econom ica l, voca tional and philanthropic activities,
and also inc ludes the friendship assoc ia tion.
(b) “Local Authority” means the authority spec ified by Go ve rnment of Nepal
by a Notification published in the Nepal Gazette, a nd if the authority has
not bee n so specified, it means the Chie f D istrict Officer.
(c) “Ma na geme nt Comm ittee” me ans the ma na gement com m ittee c onstituted
pursua nt to the statute of the Assoc iation.
(d) “Pre scribed” or “a s prescribed” means prescribe d or a s prescribed in the
Rule s framed under this Act.
3. Prohibition on Establishment of Association With out Registration
: No person
sha ll e sta blish or cause to be esta blished any Asso cia tion w ithout ha ving it
registere d pursuant to this Ac t.
4. Registration of Association
: (1) Any seve n or m ore tha n seve n persons willing to
esta blish a n Assoc iation sha ll ha ve to submit to th e Local Authority a n applica tion
setting out the follow ing details on the Assoc ia tio n, acc ompa nie d by one copy of
the Sta tute of the Association, and with the prescr ibed fee:-
(a) Name of the Assoc ia tion,
(b) Objectives,
(c) Name, address a nd occupation of the members of the
Manageme nt Committee,
(d) Fina nc ia l sources,
(e) Address of the office.
(2) Upon rece ipt of the application re ferre d to in Sub-section (1), the Local
Authority sha ll make nece ssary inquiry, and re giste r the Assoc iation, if he/she
deems it appropria te to register the Assoc iation, a nd shall issue the certificate of
registra tion.

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(3) If the Loca l Authority makes a dec ision not to re gister the Assoc iation,
a notice of suc h decision sha ll have to be give n to the applicant; a nd the applica nt
may make a complaint to the Authority spec ifie d by Go vernm ent of Nepal a ga inst
suc h dec ision within thirty five days of receipt of such a notice.
(4) Upon rece ipt of a complaint pursuant to Sub-sec tion (3), the authority
spec ifie d by Gove rnme nt of Nepa l may, if he /she dee ms rea sonable to re gister
suc h Assoc ia tion upon ma king necessary inquiry, giv e an order to the Local
Authority to re gister the Assoc ia tion; and upon rec e ipt of such an order, the Local
Authority sha ll ha ve to re gister the Assoc ia tion. (5) The format of the certificate, va lidity period, renewa l a nd re newa l fee to
be paid pursua nt to this Section sha ll be as prescr ibed.
5. To Be a Corporate Body
: (1) Each Assoc iation re gistered pursuant to this Act
sha ll be a n autonomous body corporate w ith perpe tua l succession. The
Association shall ha ve a separates sea l of its own for a ll activities of the
Association. (2) The Assoc iation ma y, like an individua l, obta in , use and dispose of
movable a nd immovable property.
(3) The Assoc iation may sue by its own name and may be sued by the same
name as an individua l.
6. Property of the Association
: (1) If any person including the member or employe e
of an Associa tion misuses, posse ss or holds up any property of the Assoc ia tion
contrary to the sta tute of the Association, the Loc a l Authority may obtain such
property from such person who ha s m isused, possesse d or he ld up it, and return it
to the Associa tion.

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(2) A person who is not satisfied with the action take n by the Local
Authority to return the property of the Associa tion pursuant to Sub-section (1)
may appea l to the
‽Court of Appea l .
(3) If a ny person inc luding the member or employee of the Assoc iation
commits any crime or wrong a gainst the property or doc ument or reputation of the
Association, the Assoc iation, any mem ber of the Ass ocia tion or the Local
Authority may institute a case pursuant to the pre v a iling laws.
7. Registration of Associations Established Pre viou sly Without Registration
:
Eve n the Associa tions e stablished pre viously w ithou t registra tion pursua nt to the
the n pre va ilin g laws prior to the c ommencement of t his Ac t shall also be re quired
to be re gistere d pursuant to this Ac t w ithin three months of the commencement of
this Act.
8. Alte rations in O bjectives of Associ ation
: (1) If it deem s necessary to a lter the
objectives of the Association or deems it appropria te to ama lgama te the
Association w ith any other Association, the Mana gem e nt Comm ittee of the
Association sha ll prepare a proposal there for and s hall ha ve to ca ll an
extra ordinary genera l meeting pursuant to the statu te of the Assoc iation to discuss
the proposa l. (2) If more tha n two-thirds members out of the tota l number of members
prese nt at the extraordinary general mee ting suppor t the proposal, the proposal
sha ll be deeme d to ha ve been a dopted by the e xtra-o rdinary genera l meeting.
Provide d that, in order to implement the sa id propo sa l, prior appro va l of the
Loca l Authority shall ha ve to be ta ken.
‽ Amended by the Ad mi nistration of J ustice Act, 2048 ( 1991)

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9. Submission of Statements of Acc ounts : The Mana gement Committe e sha ll ha ve
to subm it each year the statements of accounts of i ts Assoc iation to the Local
Authority, a long w ith the report of the auditor.
10. Examination of Accounts
: (1) The Loca l Authority may, if it deems necessar y,
cause the acc ounts of the Assoc iation to be exa mine d by a n officer a ppointed by
him /her. (2) For the e xam ina tion of the accounts pursua nt to Sub-section (1), the
Loca l Authority may collec t the fee in such a sum a s may be de termined by
him /her not excee ding three per cent of the balance of the Assoc ia tion as shown
upon the exam ination.
(3) It sha ll be the duty of the offic ia l, mem ber an d employee of the
Association to subm it the stateme nt a nd documents o r to answer the que stions
aske d by the officer e xam ining the acc ounts. (4) The officer exam ining the acc ounts shall ha ve t o submit the re port of
the e xamination to the Local Authority within the p eriod a s prescribe d by the
Loca l Authority; a nd on the basis of such report, i f the Loca l Authority deems that
any property of the Associa tion is embezz led, de str oye d or misused by any office-
bearer, member or employee of the Assoc ia tion, he/s he ma y take action pursua nt
to the pre vailing laws to reco ver suc h loss or dama ge from suc h office- bearer,
member or em ployee. Provide d tha t, if a crime punishable under the pre v ailing laws is a lso
committed, he /she shall cause a case to be institut e d in accordance with the
pre vailing law.
11. Direction To Be Given
: Go vernment of Nepal ma y give necessary directions to
the Assoc iation, and it sha ll be the duty of the As soc iation to follow such
direc tions.

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12. Punishment : If an Assoc ia tion is esta blished without ha ving it re gistere d pursua nt
to Section 3 or if an Assoc iation is operated witho ut ha ving it re gistere d pursua nt
to Sec tion 7, the Loca l Authority ma y impose a fine of up to Two Thousa nd
Rupees on each mem ber of the Management Committee o f suc h an Assoc iation.
(2) If the stateme nt of accounts is not submitted p ursuant to Sec tion 9, the
Loca l Authority may impose a fine of up to Five Hun dre d Rupees on eac h member
of the Mana ge ment Committee.
Provide d that, if a member produce s a satisfac tory e vide nce tha t he/she had
trie d his/her be st not to violate Section 9, such a member shall not be lia ble to
punishment.
(3) The Local Authority may impose a fine of up to Five Hundre d Rupees
on the concerned office-bearer, member or employee of the Assoc ia tion who does
not submit suc h sta tement a nd documents or a nswer s uc h que stions as may be
required or asked by the concerne d officer examinin g accounts pursua nt to Sub-
section (3) of Sec tion 10. (4) If cha nges are made in the objec tives of the As soc ia tion or the
Association is amalgama ted with another Assoc iation without obtaining appro val
of the Loca l Authority pursua nt to Section 8, or if the Assoc iation perform s any
acts contrary to the objectives of the Assoc ia tion or fa ils to follow the directions
give n by Government of Nepa l, the Loca l Authority m a y suspe nd or termina te the
registra tion of such an Assoc ia tion.
(5)
……………
13. Appeal
: An appea l may be made in the Court of Appea l within 35 days a ga inst
the fina l decision made by the Loca l Authority unde r Section 12.
 Deleted by Some Nepal Acts Amend ment Act, 2048 (1991) . Amended by the Ad mi nistration of J ustice Act, 2048 ( 1991).

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14. Dissolution of Association an d Con se quences Thereof : If an Assoc iation is
dissolved due to its fa ilure to carry out the func t ions pursuant to its Statute or for
any other reasons whatsoe ver, a ll the assets of suc h Assoc iation sha ll de volve on
Governme nt of Nepa l. (2) In the case of the liabilitie s of the Associati on dissolved pursuant to
Sub-section (1), Governme nt of Nepa l shall bear suc h liability to the extent that
the asse ts of the Association co ver.
15. Powers to Frame Rules
: Governme nt of Nepa l may, in order to carry out th e
objectives of this Ac t, frame the Rules.
16. Requirement of Regi stration or Establishment Pu rsuan t to Othe r Ne pal La w
:
If a ny other Ne pa l Act conta ins separa te pro visions on registration a nd
esta blishment of a ny Assoc iation, notwithsta nding a nything c onta ined in this Act,
suc h an Assoc iation sha ll ha ve to be registered or e sta blished in acc ordance w ith
suc h Ac t.
17. Repeal an d Saving
: (1) The Assoc iation Re gistra tion Act, 2016 (1959) is, here by,
repeale d. (2) The Assoc iation re gistere d unde r the Associa tio n Re gistration Act, 2016
(1959) sha ll be deeme d to ha ve been re gistere d unde r this Act.