Draft regulations under the Small Charitable Donations Bill were published last month for consultation. A technical note explaining the effect of the regulations has also been published.

The draft regulations set out the general administrative framework for the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS), which is due to be introduced from 6 April 2013. Most of the draft regulations will apply to the administrative provisions of the Taxes Acts that are used to administer Gift Aid claims.

By way of reminder, at Budget 2011 the Government announced that it was introducing the GASDS from next April, under which qualifying charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) will be able to claim a top-up payment equivalent to Gift Aid on small cash donations. The aim of the Scheme is to allow charities and CASCs to claim a Gift Aid-style payment on donations received in circumstances where it is difficult to collect donors’ details, or where donors may be reluctant to give them.

For example, when a charity has a bucket collection to raise funds, or where a religious group passes a plate around for its members to make donations during a service, it may be difficult or disproportionately burdensome to collect a declaration as the Gift Aid system requires.