As the eleventh hour for continuing under the new Canada
Not-for-profit Corporations Act ("CNCA") quickly
approaches, the Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") has stepped
up its efforts to remind those charities that may be lagging behind
\u2013 or not! \u2013 to continue by the October 17, 2014
deadline.
Many organizations, including those that have already continued
and those newly incorporated under the CNCA, have reported
receiving a letter from the CRA with the subject line "Keeping
your status as a registered charity". Among other
things, the letter indicates that the recipient charity is
"currently incorporated under Part II of the Canada
Corporations Act (CCA)" and that registered charities
established under the CCA need to apply for a certificate of
continuance with Corporations Canada by the October 17, 2014
deadline. The letter goes on to provide that registered
charities established under the CCA that do not continue under the
CNCA may have their corporate status dissolved, which may result in
revocation of the charity's registration with the CRA.
While these letter will certainly be a helpful reminder to those
charities that have not yet continued under the CNCA and were not
aware of the requirement to do so, for charities that have already
continued, or who have always been incorporated under the CNCA, the
letters may be surprising, confusing and\u002for a cause of
concern. Our recent discussion with the Charities Directorate
indicates that the letters are being generated automatically for
any registered charity that has been incorporated federally \u2013
whether that be under the CCA or the CNCA. As such, charities
that have already continued or that are incorporated under the CNCA
do not need to take any additional action because of the letter,
though remember that charities that have continued under the CNCA
are required to advise the CRA that the continuance process has
been completed and file certain documents with the CRA evidencing
that. For further information on the CRA's reporting and
filing process in this regard, you can check out the CRA's CNCA
transition guide, available at:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/chrts/prtng/nfpc/menu-eng.html
Still confused or concerned? BLG's Charities and Not-For-Profit Group is happy to help!
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
