Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
An incorporated charity created by, and registered only with, the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). It is not registered at Companies House and has legal personality.
- Entiva fee to form
- $2,129
- Government fees to form
- £52
- Run plan
- $49 a month
- Steps to form
- 6
- Ongoing filings
- 3
- Ways to close
- 2
Who it suits, and what defines it.
Governed by the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.
Who it suits
- Scottish charities that want legal personality and limited trustee liability.
- Charitable companies and societies that want to convert.
Key facts
- Regulator
- OSCR only
- Companies House
- Not registered
- Legal personality
- Yes, so it can contract and employ
- Trustees
- At least three
- Charity test
- Charitable purposes and public benefit
- Annual return
- Within 9 months of year end
- Accounts
- Published by OSCR
- Law
- Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005
What the law requires.
7 rules, each in plain words.
An application to OSCR
It is made online with a SCIO constitution and a signed declaration from each proposed trustee.
At least three charity trustees
The charity test
The SCIO must have charitable purposes and provide public benefit.
An annual return to OSCR within 9 months
It comes with accounts, the trustees' annual report and an external scrutiny report, and OSCR publishes the accounts of all SCIOs.
OSCR consent for some constitution changes
Section 63 of the 2005 Act sets this out.
No registration at Companies House
The SCIO is registered only with OSCR.
Applications must be completed
Inactive applications are deleted after 3 months.
How Entiva forms it.
6 steps. Entiva prepares and files each one, and collects every signature the law needs.
The steps
6 steps- 1Register the SCIO with OSCR
Online application with a SCIO constitution and a signed declaration from each proposed trustee. The charity test must be met.
- 2Register with HMRC for charity tax reliefs
Before claiming Gift Aid or other relief.
- 3Register for VAT
Needed once taxable turnover passes £90,000. Voluntary before that.
- 4Register as an employer for PAYE
Once the SCIO employs staff.
- 5Pay the data protection fee
Paid to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) before processing personal data, unless exempt.
- 6File the workplace pension declaration
Within 5 months of the duties start date.
Documents
4- SCIO constitution (draft)
- Signed trustee declaration, one per proposed trustee
- Application summary for the applicants to review
- OSCR confirmation and copy of the register entry
Who takes part
3- Every trustee is identified, and at least three are needed
- First members who are not trustees are recorded and screened
- The authorised contact who instructs Entiva is identified
What has to be filed, and when.
Entiva tracks every deadline from the day it is formed, and files before each one.
Every year, and as things happen
3 filings- File the OSCR annual return
Within 9 months of the financial year end
- Pay the data protection fee
Every 12 months, unless exempt
- Report and publish the gender pay gap
By 4 April each year, with 250 or more employees
The changes Entiva handles.
Each change is prepared, approved, signed and filed.
The most common changes
3 changes- Amend the SCIO's constitution
- Convert a charitable company or society into a SCIO
- Cancel the VAT registration
How it closes.
2 routes. The right one depends on whether it can pay its debts, and who starts it.
Solvent dissolution
When the SCIO is solvent and the members agree.
- 1
Members pass the winding-up resolution (at least two-thirds voting)
- 2
The trustees certify the resolution
- 3
Apply to OSCR to dissolve the SCIO
- 4
Wind up under the constitution and tell OSCR within 3 months
- 5
OSCR removes the SCIO from the register
- 6
Cancel the VAT registration
- 7
Close the PAYE scheme
Insolvent dissolution
When the SCIO has outstanding debts of at least £1,500.
- 1
Members pass a resolution on sequestration and surplus assets
- 2
Apply to OSCR to dissolve the SCIO
- 3
The SCIO's estate is sequestrated
- 4
OSCR removes the SCIO from the register
What Entiva does for you.
From the first filing to the last.
Scottish charitable incorporated organisation
- Prepares and submits the OSCR application with the applicants' mandate.Formation
- Applies to HMRC so the charity can claim Gift Aid and other tax reliefs.Formation
- Prepares the OSCR annual return and files it through a named OSCR Online user.Ongoing
- Prepares the constitution change, with OSCR consent where needed, for a trustee.Changes
- Prepares the dissolution application for a trustee to sign and submit.Closing
Build it with the API.
Every step on this page is an action in the Entiva API, with its documents, signatures and filing.
What it costs, item by item.
Every Entiva fee and every government fee, from forming it to closing it.
Forming it
$2,129one-off
- Government fees
- £52
Closing it
From $129
- Entiva fee
- Fixed, quoted first
- Government fees
- At cost
Included in the Run plan
- File the OSCR annual return
- Routine changes
- Every deadline tracked
Extra, at a fixed fee
- Pay the data protection fee
- File the workplace pension declaration
- Report and publish the gender pay gap
- Amend the SCIO's constitution
- Convert a charitable company or society into a SCIO
- Cancel the VAT registration
Each extra is quoted before it starts, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Forming it
Entiva's formation fee is $2,129, one-off. Government fees are passed through at cost.
The registration threshold is £90,000.
Tier 1 £52; tier 2 £78; tier 3 £3,763; £5 off by direct debit.
Excludes steps marked only if needed.
Every year
The Run plan costs $49 a month ($588 a year).
Tier 1 £52; tier 2 £78; tier 3 £3,763; £5 off by direct debit.
Changes
Routine changes are included in the Run plan.
Closing it
Closing is a fixed-fee project, quoted before it starts.
Insolvent route only: an Accountant in Bankruptcy debtor application fee, which the OSCR guide gives as £200 and £150; not charged on the solvent route.
Entiva fees are in US dollars. Government fees are in the currency each authority charges, passed through at cost when the filing is made. Taxes are separate.
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