Corporation Tax Act 2010

Basic concepts

658 Meaning of “community amateur sports club” and “registered club”

(1) A club is entitled to be registered as a community amateur sports club if it is, and is required by its constitution to be, a club which—

(a) is open to the whole community (see section 659),

(b) is organised on an amateur basis (see section 660), and

(c) has as its main purpose the provision of facilities for, and the promotion of participation in, one or more eligible sports (see section 661).

(2) A club may apply to an officer of Revenue and Customs to be registered as a community amateur sports club.

(3) The officer must register the club as a community amateur sports club if satisfied that the club is entitled to be registered.

(4) The officer—

(a) may register the club with effect from such date as the officer may specify (which may be before the date of the application), and

(b) may cancel the club’s registration with effect from such date as the officer may specify (which may be before the date of the decision to cancel it) if no longer satisfied that the club is entitled to be registered.

(5) Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs may publish the names and addresses of registered clubs.

(6) In this Chapter a “registered club” means a club which is for the time being registered as a community amateur sports club under this section.

659 Meaning of “open to the whole community”

(1) A club is “open to the whole community” for the purposes of section 658 if—

(a) its membership is open to all without discrimination,

(b) its facilities are available to members without discrimination, and

(c) its fees (if any) do not represent a significant obstacle to membership or use of its facilities.

(2) For the purposes of this section “discrimination” includes indirect discrimination and (in particular) includes discrimination on the grounds of—

(a) ethnicity or nationality,

(b) religion or beliefs,

(c) sexual orientation, or

(d) sex, age or disability (except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of a particular sport).

(3) A club is not prevented from being “open to the whole community” for the purposes of section 658 merely because it has different classes of membership depending on—

(a) the age of the member,

(b) whether the member is a student,

(c) whether the member is waged,

(d) whether the member is a playing member, or

(e) how far from the club the member lives,

or merely because it has restrictions on the days or times when different classes of membership have access to its facilities.

660 Meaning of “organised on an amateur basis”

(1) A club is “organised on an amateur basis” for the purposes of section 658 if—

(a) it is non-profit making (see subsections (2) and (3)),

(b) it provides for members and their guests only the ordinary benefits of an amateur sports club (see subsections (4) and (5)), and

(c) its constitution provides for any net assets on its dissolution to be applied for approved sporting or charitable purposes (see subsections (6) and (7)).

(2) A club is “non-profit making” for the purposes of subsection (1) if its constitution —

(a) requires any surplus income or surplus gains to be reinvested in the club, and

(b) does not allow the distribution of any of its assets (in cash or in kind) to members or third parties.

(3) A club is not prevented from being “non-profit making” for those purposes merely because it makes donations to charities or registered clubs.

(4) The following are “ordinary benefits of an amateur sports club” for the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a) the provision of sporting facilities,

(b) the reasonable provision and maintenance of club-owned sports equipment,

(c) the provision of suitably qualified coaches,

(d) the provision, or reimbursement of the costs, of coaching courses,

(e) the provision of insurance cover,

(f) the provision of medical treatment,

(g) the reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred by players and officials travelling to away matches,

(h) the reasonable provision of post-match refreshments for players and match officials, and

(i) the sale or supply of food or drink as a social benefit which arises incidentally from the sporting purposes of the club.

(5) A club is not prevented from providing for members and their guests only the ordinary benefits of an amateur sports club for the purposes of subsection (1) merely because—

(a) a member supplies goods or services to the club on an arm’s length basis, or

(b) the club employs members of the club on an arm’s length basis.

(6) In relation to any club, the following are “sporting or charitable purposes” for the purposes of subsection (1)—

(a) the purposes of the governing body of an eligible sport for the purposes of which the club existed, for use in related community sport,

(b) the purposes of another registered club, and

(c) the purposes of a charity.

(7) Purposes of a club are “approved” sporting or charitable purposes for the purposes of subsection (1) if they are approved by—

(a) the members of the club in general meeting, or

(b) the members of the club’s governing body.

661 Meaning of “eligible sport”, “qualifying purposes” etc

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter “eligible sport” means a sport which is designated for those purposes by an order made by the Treasury.

(2) An order under this section may designate a sport by reference to its inclusion in a list maintained by a body specified in the order.

(3) For the purposes of this Chapter “qualifying purposes” means—

(a) the purpose of providing facilities for one or more eligible sports, and

(b) the purpose of promoting participation in one or more eligible sports.

(4) For the purposes of this Chapter “non-qualifying purposes” means purposes which are not qualifying purposes.

(5) For the purposes of this Chapter “non-qualifying expenditure” means expenditure which is incurred for non-qualifying purposes.