Deadline Extended to register with Charities Regulatory Authority

April 17 2015, 11:02am

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Charities established before the 16th of October 2014 now have until the 16th of April 2016 to apply to be included in the Register of Charities

Minister for Justice and Equality, Ms. Frances Fitzgerald, TD, announced a one year extension to the period within which charities established before the 16th of October 2014 must apply to the Charities Regulatory Authority for inclusion in the Register of Charities.

These charities now have until the 16th of April 2016 to make their applications.

The Minister said, “It is important that all charities operating here meet their obligation to register on the new public Register of Charities. This Register is intended to provide much needed additional transparency about our charity sector. I have taken the decision to extend the registration period in consultation with the Charities Regulatory Authority. I encourage any charity that was established before last October and that has not yet begun the registration process to do so now. ”

Applications for inclusion on the Register of Charities can be made through the website of the Charities Regulatory Authority at www.charitiesregulatoryauthority.ie

Notes

· Any charity established before the 16th of October 2014 and not

automatically registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority

(CRA) under section 40 of the Charities Act 2009 must apply directly

to the CRA to register.

· The Charities Act 2009 provided for a period of six months from the

date of commencement of section 39 for these applications to be made.

· As section 39 was commenced on the 16th of October 2014, this period

was due to expire on the 16th of April 2015.

· Section 39(4)(b) of the Charities Act provides that the Minister for

Justice and Equality may specify a longer period.

· The Minister has today specified that the period will expire on the

16th of April 2016.

Why is this extension needed

· The extension has been put in place in consultation with the

Charities Regulatory Authority.

· The Authority has advised that, to date, approximately 200

organisations have initiated the registration process under section

39 of the Charities Act.

· This represents a small proportion of the cohort of charities

estimated to be affected by the deadline. Estimates vary but are

generally above 4,000.

· The extension is intended to give these charities more time to come

forward for registration.

What charities are affected by this change?

· This deadline only applies to charities established before the 16th

of October 2014 and not automatically registered with the CRA by

virtue of their charitable tax status (i.e. because they had a valid

charitable tax exemption – CHY number – from Revenue on that date).

· The approximately 8,500 charities automatically registered under

section 40 are not bound by this deadline or affected by its

extension.

How to Register

Applications for inclusion on the Register of Charities can be made through the website of the Charities Regulatory Authority www.charitiesregulatoryauthority.ie