The charities law of the island of Jersey was updated in 2014
with a phased introduction of various statutory provisions under
the Charities (Jersey) Law 2014 (the Charities Law) and related
regulations, the last of which took effect on 1 January 2019.
Amongst other things the Charities Law sets out the test to
determine what qualifies as a charity (see the Appendix for
additional information about the island charity test), it
established an office of the Jersey Charity Commissioner (the
Commissioner) and provides for a registration process by which an
entity (be it a trust, foundation, a company or otherwise) may
apply to be registered as a charity.
If any entity undertaking charitable activities concludes that
the benefits gained by registering under the Charities Law are not
sufficient to warrant registration the entity may choose not to
register but there are practical and tax consequences which flow
from that decision (as to which, please see below).
