Charities Act 1993 (repealed)

47 Public inspection of annual reports etc.E+W

(1)[F1Any document kept by the Commission] in pursuance of section 45(6) above shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times—

(a)during the period for which it is so kept; or

(b)if [F2the Commission so determines], during such lesser period as [F3it may] specify.

(2)Where any person—

(a)requests the charity trustees of a charity in writing to provide him with a copy of the charity’s most recent accounts [F4or (if subsection (4) below applies) of its most recent annual report], and

(b)pays them such reasonable fee (if any) as they may require in respect of the costs of complying with the request,

those trustees shall comply with the request within the period of two months beginning with the date on which it is made.

(3)In subsection (2) above the reference to a charity’s most recent accounts is—

F5(a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)in the case of [F6a charity other than one falling within paragraph (c) or (d) below], a reference to the statement of accounts or account and statement prepared in pursuance of section 42(1) or (3) above in respect of the last financial year of the charity in respect of which a statement of accounts or account and statement has or have been so prepared;

[F7(c)in the case of a charity which is a company, a reference to the most recent annual accounts of the company prepared under Part VII of the Companies Act 1985 in relation to which any of the following conditions is satisfied—

(i)they have been audited

[F8(ii)they have been examined by an independent examiner under section 43(3)(a) above;]

(iii)they relate to a year in respect of which the company is exempt from audit [F9under [F10Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006] and neither section 43(2) nor section 43(3) above applied to them;] and]

(d)in the case of an exempt charity, a reference to the accounts of the charity most recently audited in pursuance of any statutory or other requirement or, if its accounts are not required to be audited, the accounts most recently prepared in respect of the charity.

[F11(4)This subsection applies if an annual report has been prepared in respect of any financial year of a charity in pursuance of section 45(1) or 46(5) above.

(5)In subsection (2) above the reference to a charity's most recent annual report is a reference to the annual report prepared in pursuance of section 45(1) or 46(5) in respect of the last financial year of the charity in respect of which an annual report has been so prepared.]

Textual Amendments

F1Words in s. 47(1) substituted (27.2.2007) by Charities Act 2006 (c. 50), s. 79(2), Sch. 8 para. 140(2)(a); S.I. 2007/309, art. 2, Sch.

F2Words in s. 47(1) substituted (27.2.2007) by Charities Act 2006 (c. 50), s. 79(2), Sch. 8 para. 140(2)(b); S.I. 2007/309, art. 2, Sch.

F3Words in s. 47(1) substituted (27.2.2007) by Charities Act 2006 (c. 50), s. 79(2), Sch. 8 para. 140(2)(c); S.I. 2007/309, art. 2, Sch.

F4Words in s. 47(2)(a) inserted (27.2.2007) by Charities Act 2006 (c. 50), s. 79(2), Sch. 8 para. 140(3); S.I. 2007/309, art. 2, Sch.

F5S. 47(3)(a) repealed (3.11.1994) by 1994 c. 40, ss. 39, 81, 82(3)(b), Sch. 11, para. 12(a), Sch. 17

F6Words in s. 47(3)(b) substituted (3.11.1994) by ss. 39, 82(3)(b), Sch. 11 para. 12(b)

F7S. 47(3)(c) substituted (11.8.1994) by S.I. 1994/1935, reg. 4, Sch. 1 Pt. II para. 7

F8S. 47(3)(c)(ii) substituted (with effect in accordance with art. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Charities Act 2006 (Charitable Companies Audit and Group Accounts Provisions) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/527), arts. 1(1), 5(a)

F9Words in s. 47(3)(c)(iii) substituted (with effect in accordance with art. 1(3) of the amending S.I.) by The Charities Act 2006 (Charitable Companies Audit and Group Accounts Provisions) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/527), arts. 1(1), 5(b)