Charities (Institutions of A Public Character) Regulations

immediately notify the Sector Administrator of the occurrence of that fact; and

no later than 6 months from the occurrence of that fact, or such later time as may be approved by the Sector Administrator, take such measures as are necessary to increase the number of its governing board members to not fewer than 10.

it is a registered charity or an exempt charity in Singapore;

its governing instruments are approved by the Sector Administrator;

its activities are exclusively beneficial to the community in Singapore as a whole and are not confined to sectional interests or groups of persons based on race, belief or religion;

its activities meet its objectives under its governing instruments and the objectives of the Sector Administrator;

its governing board satisfies the independence requirement in paragraph (4);

its governing board members are accountable for the management of donations received;

the appointment of its auditor is approved by the Sector Administrator;

the approval of the institution or fund as an institution of a public character is not contrary to the public interest.

an employee of the applicant;

related to any individual or entity (except the Government) that established the applicant, or be such an individual or entity;

related to any individual who is involved in the general control and management of the administration of any entity (except the Government) that established the applicant; or

one of a number of governing board members of the applicant who are related (directly or indirectly) to each other and who collectively constitute at least half of the total number of governing board members of the applicant.

child or grandchild;

sibling;

parent or grandparent;

spouse; or

spouse’s parent or sibling.

a director or senior executive of —

the entity; or

a holding company or subsidiary of the entity,where the entity is a company or corporation within the meaning of the Companies Act 1967;

an officer of the entity, where the entity is a society registered under the Societies Act 1966;

a trustee of the entity, where the entity is a trust; or

involved in the general control and management of the administration of the entity, in any other case.

the applicant has at any time failed to comply with the Act or any regulations made under the Act (whether or not as a registered charity or an exempt charity);

there is or has been any mismanagement, misconduct, incompetence or negligence in the administration of the applicant;

an audit report on the applicant has been qualified in any way, and whether appropriate action has been taken to address the concerns raised;

whether the persons who are to perform the functions of governing board members of the applicant are likely to act independently and exercise proper control and management of the applicant as an institution of a public character;

whether the governing instruments and policies and plans of the applicant are likely to ensure proper control and management of the administration of the applicant as an institution of a public character;

whether the activities planned by the applicant are likely to further the charitable purposes of the applicant as an institution of a public character.

at least 2 months before the expiry of the current approval; or

within such time as may be specified by the Sector Administrator.

whether the institution of a public character meets the applicable conditions;

whether the institution of a public character has at any time failed to comply with the Act or any regulations made under the Act (whether or not as an institution of a public character, a registered charity or an exempt charity);

any of the considerations mentioned in regulation 4(2)(b) to (f);

the amount of tax deductible donations received during the current period of approval;

the activity level of the institution of a public character during the current period of approval.

the institution of a public character has ceased to operate; or

the institution of a public character no longer serves a purpose for the benefit of the community in Singapore.

the institution of a public character has failed to comply (whether or not as an institution of a public character, a registered charity or an exempt charity) with the Act or any regulations made under the Act at any time during its period of approval;

there is or has been any mismanagement, misconduct, incompetence or negligence in the administration of the institution of a public character; or

such action is necessary or desirable in the public interest.

any donation made to the institution of a public character during the period of the suspension, or after the revocation, does not qualify as a tax deductible donation;

the Sector Administrator must take reasonable steps to inform the general public of the suspension or revocation, and of the matter specified in sub-paragraph (a); and

any donation made to the institution of a public character, during the period of the suspension or after revocation, but before the general public has been informed of the suspension or revocation by the Sector Administrator, must (on the donor’s request) be refunded to the donor without any deduction.

any information provided to donors or to the general public is accurate and not misleading;

the following information is disclosed to every person from whom a donation is solicited —

the name of the institution of a public character to which the donation will be given;

the purpose for which the donation will be used; and

whether any commercial fund-raiser has been engaged in soliciting the donation;

all information relating to every donor is kept confidential, and is not disclosed to any other person except as authorised by or under any law or with the consent of the donor; and

any arrangement to solicit donations has adequate control measures and safeguards to ensure proper accountability and to prevent any loss or theft of donations.

the commercial fund-raiser must pay directly to the institution of a public character the whole amount of donations collected for the institution of a public character, without any deduction or set-off; and

the institution of a public character must not allow the commercial fund-raiser to deduct, from any donations collected for the institution of a public character, any payment due to the commercial fund-raiser from the institution of a public character.

[Deleted by S 122/2019 wef 01/03/2019]

incorporate the following statement:“This receipt is for your retention. This donation is tax deductible and the deduction will be automatically included in your tax assessment as you have provided your Tax Reference number (e.g. NRIC/FIN/UEN). You do not need to claim the deduction in your tax form.”;

state the name of the Sector Administrator, where applicable; (ba)state the amount or value of the donation received;

be serially numbered; and

in the case of a donation that qualifies for tax deduction under section 37AB of the Income Tax Act 1947, state that the donation is made under the Overseas Humanitarian Assistance Tax Deduction Scheme.

after its approval as an institution of a public character has expired;

during the period of suspension of its approval as an institution of a public character under regulation 6; or

after its approval as an institution of a public character has been revoked under regulation 6.

the receipt number (in numerical sequence);

the name of the donor;

the identification number, or corporate or business registration number, of the donor;

the date on which the donation was received;

the type of donation received;

the amount or value of the donation received; and

any terms and conditions under which the donation was made.

the purpose or activity is within the objectives of the institution of a public character under its governing instruments; and

where a tax deduction receipt has been issued in respect of the donation, the donation satisfies the requirements of section 37(3C) of the Income Tax Act 1947 (including that provision as applied by section 37AB(6) of that Act).

refund the amount to the donor within 4 years after the receipt of the donation; or

use the amount for such other purpose as may be approved by the Sector Administrator.

all the donations received and disbursed;

details of all the income received and the expenses incurred; and (c)[Deleted by S 122/2019 wef 01/03/2019](d)the period during which the institution of a public character is approved to collect tax deductible donations.

shall at all times have full and free access to the donation records and accounting records of every institution of a public character approved by it; and

may, without fee or reward, inspect, copy or make extracts from any such records.

direct and material indirect expenses of any kind; and

payments made to commercial fund-raisers engaged by the institution of a public character,but excluding, in a case of the sale of goods by or on behalf of the institution of a public character for fund-raising (and not trading), the cost of the goods sold;R refers to —

in a case of the sale of goods by or on behalf of the institution of a public character for fund-raising (and not trading), the total receipts from such sale (after excluding only the cost of the goods sold); and

the total gross receipts from any other fund-raising for that financial year; andSrefers to —

the total amount of sponsorships in cash received by the institution of a public character relating to fund-raising for that financial year that is conditioned upon the provision of direct or indirect commercial benefit to the sponsors; and

the total cost or value of sponsored property, goods and services for which tax deduction receipts are issued relating to fund-raising for that financial year.

the fund-raising appeal has not been conducted in good faith for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes;

the fund-raising appeal has been improperly administered;

any provision of the Act or any regulations made under the Act or any condition imposed by the Commissioner, in connection with the fund-raising appeal, was not complied with by the institution of a public character or any person conducting the fund-raising appeal for the institution of a public character;

any proceeds from the fund-raising appeal have not been disbursed within the timeframe under the written agreement, required by regulation 14 of the Charities (Fund-raising Appeals for Local and Foreign Charitable Purposes) Regulations 2012 (G.N. No. S 530/2012), between the institution of a public character and the person conducting the fund-raising appeal for the institution of a public character;

it is desirable in the public interest on any other ground to give directions under paragraph (2).

to the institution of a public character —

to refund all or any part of the receipts from the fund-raising appeal to all or any of the donors; or

to use all or any part of the receipts from the fund-raising appeal for such other charitable purpose as may be approved by the Sector Administrator;

to any person conducting the fund-raising appeal for the institution of a public character — to refund all or any part of the receipts from the fund-raising appeal to all or any of the donors.

the audited financial statements of the institution of a public character for that financial year;

the auditor’s report on the financial statements for that financial year;

the auditor’s report on the use of donation moneys during that financial year and whether such use is in accordance with the objectives of the institution of a public character;

the fund-raising and expenditure plans of the institution of a public character for the following financial year; and

the annual report of the institution of a public character for that financial year.

give to the Comptroller of Income Tax, in a form specified by the Comptroller, the details of all tax deductible donations for which the institution has issued tax deduction receipts in the preceding year; and

give to the Sector Administrator, in a form specified by the Commissioner, the institution’s annual return of donations received in the preceding year.

the respective amounts of donations that qualify for tax deduction under each of the following sections of the Income Tax Act 1947, received for the period to which the financial statements relate:

section 37;

section 37AB; and

any transaction with any related party, as defined in the applicable accounting standards made or formulated, or deemed to be made or formulated, by the Accounting Standards Committee under Part 3 of the Accounting Standards Act 2007.

to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; and

in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.