The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (the Commission) has now commenced compulsory charity registration. This is different from registration with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for charitable tax exemptions, so even if you have an HMRC registration number, you must still apply for registration with the Commission.
Benefits from Registration include being able to apply for charitable tax relief for organisations not yet recognised by HMRC and access to funding streams only available to registered charities.
It is compulsory to apply to register with the Commission IF your organisation is or could be; charitable(has exclusively charitablepurposes). Public benefit is at the heart of what it means to be a charity. More information on is available in the Commission’s statutory guidance, The public benefit requirement.There are no exceptions or exemptions