The deadline for PCCs to register with the Charity Commission has been extended from 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2014, writes diocesan accountant, Michael Kent.

This is good news for smaller PCCs which, arguably, have enough bureaucracy to deal with as it is!

Normally, any charity with an annual income of more than £5,000 must register with the Charity Commission. But, PCCs with annual incomes of more than £5,000 – but below £100,000 – have been specifically ‘excepted’ from this requirement.

It has always been the Government’s intention that all PCCs above the £5,000 threshold should eventually be required to register, but the deadline for doing so has been successively extended over the years.

The Charities (Exception from Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 has extended the deadline to 31 March 2014 – the fourth time since the regulations were first included in the Charities Act 1993.

Guidance on what PCCs will have to do to register will be provided nearer the time but, PCCs may voluntarily register sooner if they wish.

It should also be made clear, however, that the exception from registration regulations do not apply to PCCs with annual incomes greater than £100,000; where the requirement to register is already mandatory, unless the threshold is breached only temporarily (perhaps because of a one-off, major fund-raising appeal.