Charities Act 1994 - Singapore Statutes Online

Charities Act 1994

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to make provision for the registration of charities, the administration of charities and their affairs, the regulation of charities and institutions of a public character, the regulation of fund‑raising activities carried on in connection with charities and other institutions and the conduct of fund‑raising appeals, and for purposes connected therewith.

[1 January 1995: Except Part VII ]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Charities Act 1994.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“charitable company” means a charity which is a company or other body corporate;

“charitable purposes” means purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the law of Singapore;

“charity” means any institution, corporate or not, which is established for charitable purposes and is subject to the control of the General Division of the High Court in exercise of the jurisdiction of the General Division of the High Court with respect to charities;

“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Charities appointed under section 3;

“company” means a company incorporated or registered under any law in force in Singapore or elsewhere;

“Council” means the Charity Council established under section 5;

“document” includes information recorded in any form, and, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form —

(a)	any reference to its production is to be construed as a reference to the furnishing of a copy of it in legible form; and
(b)	any reference to the furnishing of a copy of, or extract from, it is to be accordingly construed as a reference to the furnishing of a copy of, or extract from, it in legible form;

“electronic record” has the meaning given by the Electronic Transactions Act 2010;

“exempt charity” means a charity specified in the Schedule;

“financial year” —

(a)	in relation to a charity which is a company, is to be construed in accordance with the Companies Act 1967; and
(b)	in relation to any other charity, is to be construed in accordance with regulations made under section 12(1);

“governing board members” means members of the governing body of a charity or trustees for a charity having the general control and management of the administration of the charity;

“governing instruments”, in relation to a charity, means the provisions establishing it as a charity and regulating its purposes and administration, whether or not those provisions take effect by way of trust or are set out in any document, and in relation to other institutions has a corresponding meaning;

“gross income”, in relation to a charity, means its gross recorded receipts from all sources;

“institution” includes any trust or undertaking;

“key officer”, in relation to —

(a)	a charity;
(b)	a person that is a governing board member of a charity; or
(c)	a person that is a member of a charity,

means an individual who, whether or not an employee of the charity or person (as the case may be) and by whatever name called, and whether acting alone or together with any other person —

(d)	has general control and management of all or any aspect (including the financial aspect) of the administration of the charity or person; or
(e)	provides advice to the charity or person on the control and management mentioned in paragraph (d), other than as a professional engaged or retained pursuant to a contract for service to provide such advice in that professional capacity;

“public accountant” means a person who is registered or deemed to be registered under the Accountants Act 2004 as a public accountant;

“public authority” means —

(a)	an Organ of State or a public officer of the Organ of State;
(b)	a ministry or department of the Government or a public officer of the ministry or department; or
(c)	a public authority established by or under any public Act for a public purpose or an officer or an employee of the public authority;

“trustee” has the meaning given by the Trustees Act 1967.

[34/2010; 2/2018; 40/2019]

(2) References in this Act to a charity whose income from all sources does not in aggregate amount to more than a specified amount are to be construed —

(a)	by reference to the gross receipts of the charity; or
(b)	if the Commissioner so determines, by reference to the amount which he or she estimates to be the likely amount of those receipts,

but without (in either case) bringing into account anything for the annual value of land occupied by the charity apart from the pecuniary income (if any) received from that land; and any question as to the application of any such reference to a charity is to be determined by the Commissioner, whose decision is final.

(3) The Commissioner may direct that, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, an institution established for any special purposes of or in connection with a charity (being charitable purposes) is to be treated as forming part of that charity or as forming a distinct charity.

(4) In this Act, a person’s conviction is treated as spent —

(a)	if the criminal record under the Registration of Criminals Act 1949 of the person’s conviction becomes spent under Part 2A of that Act;
(b)	if the person has received a free pardon for the offence; or
(c)	in the case of a conviction by a court of a country or territory outside Singapore, if circumstances in that country or territory similar to paragraph (a) or (b) occur. [2/2018]

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