To have the $300 application fee waived, and also to avoid issues caused by missing the registration deadline, charities and section 80 companies that meet the legal definition of non-profit organisations (NPOs) are encouraged to file their registration applications by 15 June.

Filing by 15 June will allow applications to be processed in time to meet the 31 July registration deadline.

Applications can be completed and filed via the Cayman Business Portal (CBP), General Registry’s online tool for local businesses. The CBP allows entities the flexibility of transacting business with the Registry – from any location, at any time.

An NPO register is in effect and it is publicly available for persons to identify registered charities.

The legal requirement for NPOs to be registered further aligns Cayman with global regulatory standards, which recognise that financial crimes, such as money laundering, can occur through non-profit organisations.

Therefore, if companies currently registered under section 80 of The Companies Law meet the NPO definition, and yet fail to be registered by 31 July, they will be struck off the Companies Register. The assets of companies that are struck from the register would be vested in the Crown, as per The Companies Law.

There are also penalties for charities if they do not register and continue to operate as an NPO after the 31 July registration deadline. They will face a $500 penalty fee for noncompliance, plus $10 for every day beyond 1 August 2018 that they fail to apply for registration, up to a maximum fine of $2,500. Additional criminal sanctions may apply to entities continuing to operate past the deadline without registering.

An entity is deemed to be an NPO if it is a company or body of persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated, or a trust, that is:
established, or which identifies itself, as established primarily for the promotion of charitable, philanthropic, religious, cultural, educational, social or fraternal objectives, or other activities or programmes for the public benefit or a section of the public within the Islands or elsewhere; and
which solicits contributions from the public or a section of the public within the Islands or elsewhere.

For more information on NPOs, email Paul Inniss, the Head of Compliance in General Registry, at [email protected].

IMAGE: White Stuff