{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/friendly-societies-general-charge-and-fees-amendment-regulations-1994/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/friendly-societies-general-charge-and-fees-amendment-regulations-1994/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1994/657",
  "legislation_title": "The Friendly Societies (General Charge and Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 1994",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/friendly-societies-general-charge-and-fees-amendment-regulations-1994",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations amend the Friendly Societies (General Charge and Fees) Regulations 1993, which provide for the general charge to be paid by a friendly society towards the expenses of the Friendly Societies Commission, by raising the maximum charge payable from £14,000 to £16,000 and imposing a charge of £16,000 for a society which incorporated during 1993. The charge is levied with respect to the Commission’s accounting year beginning on 1st April of each year and for the year 1994-95 is expected to raise £0.55 million. A friendly society (subject to a requirement to pay a minimum of £150 or a maximum of £16,000) is required to pay a sum equal to 0.22% of its specified income, as indicated by its contributions from members and interest on investments reported in its annual return submitted for the previous year. Those societies which incorporated during 1993 would on the basis of this formula have to pay the maximum. The annual return forms are prescribed by the Chief Registrar under section 43(6) of the 1974 Act and are available from the Registry of Friendly Societies at 15 Great Marlborough St., London, W1V 2AX.\nThese Regulations also replace Schedules 2 and 3, the effect of which is to increase generally by about 3% the fees to be paid for matters transacted under the Friendly Societies Act 1974 or the Friendly Societies Act 1992. Fees for the inspection or copying of documents held by the Central Office have been increased to a rounded figure. They were not increased last year. New fees are introduced for certain functions (numbered 6(d), 6(e) and 16 to 18 in the new Schedule 2) to be performed under the Friendly Societies Act 1992.\nA review of the cost of compliance with these Regulations has been undertaken and the resulting compliance cost assessment may be purchased from the Secretary, Friendly Societies Commission, 15 Great Marlborough Street, London W1V 2AX.\nCOMPLIANCE COST ASSESSMENT\nThe Friendly Societies (General Charge and Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 1994\nThe purpose and benefit of the Regulations\n1 The activities of friendly societies are supervised by the Friendly Societies Commission under the Friendly Societies Act 1974 and the Friendly Societies Act 1992. The general charge and fees for particular functions are levied so that the annual revenue of the Commission should be sufficient to meet its expenses taking one year with another. The Central Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies charges fees for registration and associated changes. It also charges the public for inspection and copying of documents.\n2 These regulations amend the basis and amounts of the charges and fees levied.\nSocieties Affected\n3 Friendly soieties are supervised by the Friendly Societies Commission and are required to pay a general charge. They and other societies registered under the friendly societies legislation are liable to pay a fee for registration and for changes in rules, registered offices etc.\nCompliance Cost\n4 These regulations, in themselves, do not put any significant administrative burden on friendly societies. Compliance simply requires the charges and fees to be paid, normally by making out a cheque.\n5 Fees and the general charge are reviewed annually and regulations are made to amend those for the previous year.\n6 The burden of compliance with the new regulations is therefore the increase in the fees and general charge:\n(a) The minimum general charge of 150 is the same as in 1993-94 financial year.\n(b) The maximum general charge payable by a society has been increased from £14,000 to £16,000.\n(c) The remaining societies pay a charge of 0.22% of their total income (i.e. the same percentage as last year).\n7 During a transitional period of a number of years, the general charge will be gradually increased in order to fully recover costs. In 1994-95 total charges of about £550,000 are to be collected (i.e. about 10% more than 1993-94). The impact of the increased charges depends on the level of income of societies. Societies paying the minimum charge will pay the same as last year.\n8 The fees for Commission and Central Office functions have been increased by about 3%. Inspection and copying fees have been increased to a rounded figure (e.g. from £4.00 to £4.50 (an increase of 12.5%)). The inspection/copying fees were not increased last year (i.e. 1st April 1993).\nMonitoring Costs\n9 Annual accounts showing the costs of the Friendly Societies Commission and the amounts received as fees and charges will be published in its annual report to Parliament.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1994/657/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T13:37:50.995321+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}