PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING

The YCB is aware that some Clubs have had very unhelpful contact with local Inland Revenue Officials when trying to register for CASC purposes.

If this is the case with you, please submit a written report of the conversations/ exchanges etc to the YCB Office

This information MUST come in written form so that a file of complaints can be submitted to the appropriate authorities so that pressure can be placed as necessary to alleviate and hopefully solve these problems.

WEBSITES AND CONTACT ADDRESSES

Frank Kemp at Lords - frank.kemp@ecb.co.uk or call 020 7432 1216.

Inland Revenue - www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

Type CASC into the search box and look through the CASC documents that are presented. All forms are now available below in PDF format.

CASC - Form 4

CASC - Gift Aid

CASC - Model Declaration

CASC - Official Authorisation Form

CASC - R68

CASC - Registration Details

CASC - Repayment Claim

CASC - Repayment Claim Notes

CASC - Sponsorship Declaration

To download these documents

1)You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

2) If you do not have this programme installed, click here.

When you are taken to the Adobe page, be sure to set it to the “English” version
(a drop-down menu at the top of the page)

3) Then simply print off the documents.

Central Council for Physical Recreation - www.ccpr.org.uk

The Play Cricket web-site - www.play-cricket.com

Sports Consulting - www.sportsconsulting.co.uk. (go to “Publications”)
 

Please also see the notes below from ECB

Time For Action!

Just before Christmas, the good news about the tax relief available to clubs who register with the Inland Revenue as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) got even better when the Chancellor announced increases in the exemption limits on profits derived from trading activities and from property income. This is in addition to the 80% mandatory rate relief available from April 2004 and the other reliefs, particularly those relating to Gift Aid, that had already been announced.

However, none of these tax benefits can be obtained unless clubs register with the Inland Revenue as a CASC, and so far only a small number of cricket clubs have done so!

Clubs that have registered are already reaping the benefits. One rugby club has already reclaimed £30,000 from the taxman and the CASC initiative has the potential to make a real difference to club finances.

We realise that there have been some problems with the registration process and with the requirements and we have discussed these with the relevant people. We believe that for many clubs the problems can now be resolved and clubs should take action urgently in order to claim rate relief from April 2004.

On the following pages you will find information on those CASC requirements that clubs have asked questions about recently. Clubs will also find useful information on the web sites of the Inland Revenue and of the CCPR. The Inland Revenue site in particular has detailed guidance notes and the relevant application forms.

More information on the tax benefits from registering as a CASC and the options available to clubs is contained in the Deloitte & Touche booklet "Community Amateur Sports Clubs The Tax Options" which is available on www.playcricket.com (Note by Howard Clayton - I have not been able to find this on Play-Cricket) or in hard copy via Sports Consulting (Note by Howard Clayton - it will cost you £5.00)

If you have any questions please contact the ECB Cricket Department email Frank Kemp (as above) or call 020 7432 1216. This is a great opportunity to improve your club's finances and we strongly suggest that you take action now!

Community Amateur Sports Clubs

Additional Guidance for Cricket Clubs

What needs to be in the Club's Constitution?

There are four particular areas that the Inland Revenue need to see in the club's Constitution. These are:

Purpose to promote the amateur sport of cricket

Membership open to anyone interested in the sport

Property and Funds operating on a nonprofit basis

Winding Up a Dissolution Clause acceptable to the Inland Revenue.

It is also recommended that the Constitution contains a clause to ensure that the Rules relating to these areas have priority over any other Rules. CCPR and solicitors Bates, Wells & Braithwaite have produced Model Clauses covering each of these areas which are available on the CCPR web site.

There are two particular areas that have given rise to questions from clubs, relating to membership and to dissolution:

Membership: The Inland Revenue require that the majority of members are active that is, they are not purely social members. This does not mean that they are necessarily playing members but it does mean that they have an active involvement. This would include coaches, junior team managers and assistant managers, club administrators and other volunteers helping, for example, by preparing teas. Each club will need to look at their membership profile and see if they can demonstrate that the majority are active within the club.

Please note that Form CASC4 asks for "(a) number of members and (b) number of playing members" it is this second number that should show the 'active' members and these need to be more than 50% of the total membership in order to qualify as a CASC.

Dissolution: A number of clubs have found that the 'standard' dissolution clause which is acceptable to Sport England for Clubmark purposes is not acceptable to the Inland Revenue for CASC purposes. The CASC requirement is that any net assets remaining after settling all liabilities must be given to:

Another club with similar sports purposes which is a charity and/or

Another club with similar sports purposes which is a registered CASC and/or

The club's governing body for use by them for related community sports.

The Model Clauses currently refer to "the club's national governing body" but the Inland Revenue have confirmed that the word 'national' is not required and it would be acceptable to pass the assets to the local County Cricket Board who represent ECB (the governing body) in their county. The Model Clauses also suggest that a majority of not less than three quarters of the members present and voting is required. This is not required by the Inland Revenue and clubs should adopt the same majority requirements as they have in their existing Constitution for other Rule changes, which is usually a two thirds majority.

What else should clubs consider ?

Rate relief : Mandatory rate relief of 80% will be available to CASCs from April 2004. Councils will retain the ability to give additional discretionary relief up to 100% and clubs should seek to obtain this discretionary relief, particularly in situations where Councils had given discretionary relief in 200304. The ECB would like to be made aware of any situations where discretionary relief is withdrawn or reduced.

Payments to club members: It is clear that the payment of players is not allowable under the legislation but it is acceptable for clubs to "employ members (though not for playing) and remunerate them for providing goods and services..." (extract from the Model Clauses). This means that the payment of coaches, bar and groundstaff and similar positions is allowable, although clubs will need to exercise their own judgement to ensure compliance in this area.

Membership: The ECB strongly recommends that clubs include the following sentence in their Constitution:

"Membership shall be open to all, irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, creed, colour, social status or sexual orientation" Such a statement meets the Inland Revenue requirement for open membership.

Timing of Applications: It is recognised that clubs will, in many cases, need to make changes to their Constitutions and that this will require an AGM or EGM. Although there are obvious advantages in registering by P' April 2004 if the club will become eligible for mandatory rate relief, clubs should register as soon as is practical. It is expected that relief will be available, on a prorata basis, once the club is registered, although this cannot be guaranteed at this point in time.

Delays in the Registration process: The Inland Revenue has experienced some delays in processing applications, partly because a number of applications were not acceptable, and clubs should be aware that some delay may occur. Clubs that do experience a delay in their registration may wish to apply for mandatory rate relief from the date that their Constitutional changes were passed by the members rather than from the date of registration if this is after 1 April and the changes were approved before 1 April.

Clubs whose Application has been rejected: It is hoped that the information provided in this paper and from the Inland Revenue and CCPR will allow clubs to identify the reasons for rejection and, if appropriate, submit a new application in due course. The ECB would like to be informed of clubs in this situation.