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 FAQs CICs
General Matters
What are they?
CICs are a special optional corporate legal form for social and community enterprise activities. They must provide suitable “community benefit”. A social enterprise is an organisation that undertakes some form of trading or business activity but its overriding purpose is not the commercial benefit of the owners. Rather the overriding purpose is a social objective, which benefits the community.
What other corporate vehicles could we use?
Depending on the circumstances, you may have a choice between any or all of a company limited by guarantee, a company limited by shares, a CIC.
What types of private CIC are there?
Private CICs can be limited by shares or by guarantee.
Can they be charities?
No, the CIC legal form is not able to be used for a charity.
Regulation and restrictions
Who regulates them?
They are subject to Companies House in normal company matters and also to the CIC Regulator in matters specific to their CIC status.
What restrictions are they subject to?
CICs are subject to normal company law and also special rules and restrictions that apply only to CICs. These cover a wide range of matters.
Do they need the CIC Regulator’s permission to do things?
In some circumstances yes, for example to change their purposes (ie objects) or their name or to make transfers to certain other bodies in some situations. Fees apply in some cases.
What public filing obligations are they subject to?
All the usual “event” (eg change of director) and annual public filing obligations of companies and also they must file an annual community interest report, to accompany their annual accounts, and pay a statutory filing fee.
Oswalds fees
What do you charge?
Our fees are time charged, with some additional fixed and minimum elements (such as the statutory incorporation fee if a company incorporation is required) and printing costs plus fees for goods (for example the appropriate form of statutory registers in the case of an incorporation). All time is chargeable and fees apply whether or not the matter reaches its final conclusion and are subject to VAT.
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