Charity Commission has Legislative Powers to Begin Registration

28 Jun 2013 Denise Copeland    Last updated: 12 Aug 2014

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland has been given the necessary legislative powers to begin registration of all charities in Northern Ireland.

The Commission will issue guidance on this and other aspects of the latest legislation in due course. The Charity Commission has welcomed the Charities (2008 Act) (Commencement No4) Order (NI) 2013 which brings various other sections of the 2008 Act into operation.

Provisions relating to the application of property cy-pres, charity mergers, and disclosure of charitable status are among some of the powers and requirements which have also come into effect. The Commission will issue guidance in due course on these.

Statutory Guidance on public benefit

The register of charities is to be established in the autumn following the publication of the Commission's statutory guidance on the public benefit requirement. NICVA will be among the first 20 charities to be registered as a charity proper in Northern Ireland, as we are participating in the Commission's pilot group to test the registration process.

The 'deemed' list

The Commission will then call charities on the 'deemed' list to register. If you are currently recognised as a charity for tax purposes you should make sure that you are on this list. We will be able to give you practical advice and guidance after we go through the registration process.

The Commission has also recently announced that it plans to consult on interim reporting requirements for charities' accounts and reports in the autumn. These requirements will be an interim measure until the Department for Social Development consults on its full accounting and reporting requirements for charities next year.

denise.copeland@nicva.org's picture
by Denise Copeland

Governance and Charity Advice Manager

[email protected]

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