26.The C(AICE) Act 2004 came fully into force on 1 July 2005. Part 2 of that Act created a new company vehicle, the “community interest company” or “c.i.c.”, which is designed for use by social enterprises.
27.This section provides a signpost to the provisions in the C(AICE) Act, which enable a company to be formed as or become a community interest company. Such companies are registered under the same legislation as other registered companies, but have to complete certain additional formalities and are subject to certain additional elements of regulation. Subsection (2) of this section highlights the fact that in some respects the requirements imposed on community interest companies are different from the requirements imposed on other registered companies.