War Charities Act 1940

5 Powers of Charity Commissioners

(1) If—

(a) representations are made to the Charity Commissioners, as respects any war charity registered or exempted from registration under this Act, that grounds exist which would under the provisions of this Act justify the registration authority in removing the charity from the register or, as the case may be, in withdrawing the exemption; and

(b) the Commissioners, after giving the registration authority and the management committee or person responsible for the administration of the charity a full opportunity of making representations, are satisfied that grounds exist as aforesaid;

the Commissioners may direct the registration authority to remove the charity from the register or, as the case may be, withdraw the exemption, and the registration authority shall comply with the direction and, in the case of a removal, forthwith give the notice required by subsection (4) of section two of this Act.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, where—

(a) any war charity is removed from the register ;

(b) an application for the registration of any war charity is refused;

(c) the Charity Commissioners are satisfied, as respects any war charity which is not for the time being registered or exempted from registration under this Act, that if an application for the registration of the charity were made, there would be grounds for refusing the application; or

(d) the Charity Commissioners are satisfied that the objects of any war charity have failed altogether or have become obsolete or useless;

the Charity Commissioners may—

(i) order any bank or other person who holds money or securities on behalf of the charity not to part with the money or securities without the authority of the Commissioners;

(ii) order any money or securities held on behalf of the charity to be paid or transferred to the Official Trustees of Charitable Funds and for that purpose may make, without the necessity of any application being made to them for the purpose, any such order as they are authorised under section two of the [23 & 24 Vict. c. 136.] Charitable Trusts Act, 1860, to make;

(iii) establish a scheme for the regulation of the charity in accordance with their ordinary jurisdiction under the Charitable Trusts Acts, 1853 to 1939, as if the charity were a charity within the jurisdiction of the Commissioners under those Acts, but without the necessity of any application being made to them for the purpose.

(3) If any person fails to comply with any such order as is mentioned in paragraph (i) or paragraph (ii) of the last foregoing subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) The Charity Commissioners may exercise their powers under subsection (2) of this section in the cases mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) thereof, notwithstanding that an appeal is pending, but shall not exercise their power of establishing such a scheme as aforesaid—

(a) in a case where an appeal is pending, until the appeal has been determined; or

(b) in the cases mentioned in paragraphs (c) and (d) of the said subsection, without giving the management committee or person responsible for the administration of the charity a full opportunity for making representations.

(5) The Charity Commissioners shall, for the purposes of their functions under this section and for the purposes of any appeal to them under this Act, have in relation to war charities all such powers with respect to requiring accounts, statements, written answers to inquiries, the attendance of persons for examination on oath or otherwise, the production of documents, the furnishing of copies and extracts from documents, the examination of registers and records, and the transmission of documents for examination, as are exercisable by them under the Charitable Trusts Acts, 1853 to 1939, in relation to charities within the jurisdiction of the Commissioners under those Acts, and those Acts shall apply accordingly.