Extension of charity definition

The Finance Act 2010 is to extend the definition of a charity to include all UK charity tax reliefs and exemptions administered by HMRC, where previously only those claiming gift aid had been included in the definition.

This means that those charities which did not claim gift aid, but did receive other HMRC charitable reliefs and exemptions will now need to comply with the fit and proper persons test, which applies to all trustees and managers of a charity. The majority of charities however should already have procedures in place which meet this test, but it is important to note that some may not.

In addition, charities seeking to make a repayment claim to HMRC may now have to complete form ChA1 before the claim can be processed. Charities claiming other reliefs (i.e. non-repayment reliefs) do not need to fill out the form before claiming an exemption, although may still be asked to do so to ensure they meet the criteria for relief.

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