9
Application Form
&
Guidelines
Provisional Certification of
Not for profit Organisations (NPOs)
Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy
No. 95-A, Street 59, F-10/3, Islamabad
Tel: 051- 2112980-3, Fax: 051- 2112984
, www.pcp.org.pk
Application for provisional NPOs Certification
1. Name, Legal Status and Organisational Details
1.1 Organisational information
Full name of organisationLegal name (if different from above)
Acronym [1]
Address
Telephone (with city code) / Fax
Email / Website
1.2 Contact information
Main Contact(Executive Head) / Focal Person[2]
Name
Designation
Telephone (with city code)
Mobile phone
1.3 Registration information
Law(s) under which the NPO is registered / Registration No. / Place and date of registration1.4 How did you learn/hear about PCP Certification Programme?
PCP Website / Newsletter / PCP SeminarPCP Certified NPO if YES, please give the name
FBR / Income Tax Authorities
Other
1.5 Purpose for which provisional certification is required from PCP
Purpose / ResponseFor grant of tax benefits / Yes / No
Under section 2(36) read with section 61 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 / Approval / Renewal
Others – Please specify
2. Internal Governance and Organisational Capacity
2.1 No. of Governing Body Members?
(Board of Directors, Trustees, Governors, Executive Committee etc)
Human resources
2.3 Personnel
Male / FemaleNumber of paid workers in the organisation [3]
Full Time
Part Time
Number of volunteers (Not paid)
Total
3. Financial Management
3.1 Which system of accounting does your organisation follow? Cash based / Accrual based
3.2 Please provide the following details about the two largest donors of your organisation.
Donor 1 / Donor 2Name
Address
Type / International Aid Agency / National Donor Organisation / Corporate / Government / Individual / International Aid Agency / National Donor Organisation / Corporate / Government / Individual
Phone number
Duration/year(s) of grant
Amount
Purpose of grant
4. Programme Delivery
4.1 Mission Statement
4.2 Does your organisation prepare/publish Annual or Progress/Programme reports? Yes /No
If YES, please attach copies of all available reports undertaken in the preceding year.
4.3 Please provide a list of all beneficiary outlets or branch offices, if any, managed by your organisation.
Name and address of Facility/Outlet/Branch / Major activities undertaken / Operational since when / No. of staff working at the facility / No. of Beneficiaries5. References
Please provide two references of people (or organisations[4]) who know your work and would be willing to answer questions about the organisation
Reference 1 / Reference 2Name
Position held
Type / International Aid Agency / National Donor Organisation / Corporate / Government / Individual / International Aid Agency / National Donor Organisation / Corporate / Government / Individual
Postal address
Telephone (with code)
5.1 If there is any additional information that you wish to present about your organisation, please use the following space or attach additional sheets[5].
5.2 Declaration
It is hereby declared, certified and undertaken that:
ü I have read the attached guidelines for certification and this application is submitted accordingly
ü All information provided in this application is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
ü All attached documents are presented without any unauthorised alteration/modification.
ü PCP, or any of its employees, shall not be held liable for damage or loss, if any, arising out of any of the actions taken in good faith in delivering the certification regime.
ü The NPO indemnifies PCP from any liabilities arising out of error or wilful default in regard to the organisation’s legal obligations with regard to any laws, rules or regulations as may apply to the NPO, including, but not limited to, reporting requirements of any of the government departments.
ü The NPO shall extend maximum co-operation to PCP during the process of evaluation and certification.
(Name, designation and signature of the Executive Head of the applicant organisation)
Date: (Official seal of the organisation)
6. Check List
Please attach copies of the following documents.
S. No / Name of Document / Remarks / Annexed(Yes/no) / Not Applicable
1. / The governing document / Duly attested[6] Charter, Articles of Association, Trust Deed, Constitution etc.
2. / Registration certificate / Duly attested
3. / List of members of governing body and senior management (Executive Director, CEO, Managers etc) / List of Governing Body members/Executive Committee and Senior management
4. / Minutes of governing body’s meetings / Duly attested copies for the one year or two years, as the case may be
5. / Audit report / Duly attested external audit report for the one year or two years, as the case may be
6. / A certificate by the NPO on its official letter head stating the following;
a) that the organisation does not propagate the views of any political party and/or religious sect
b) that no adverse decree has been passed against the organisation in any of the civil courts in Pakistan on grounds of fraud or breach of trust. / Duly Attested
7. / Demand Draft/Pay order/Crossed Cheque in favour of PCP / As payment of evaluation and certification fee[7] /
8. / Any other document /
Attachment
Guidelines for Provisional Certification of Non- Profit Organisations (NPOs)
Context
Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy is a nonprofit organisation registered u/s 42 of Companies Ordinance 1984, and has been notified as a certification agency by the Government of Pakistan vide Revenue Division’s notification no. 1116(1)/2003 dated December 18, 2003. As a certification agency, it evaluates an applicant NPO against objective parameters in the areas of internal governance, financial management and programme delivery.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also statutorily linked grant of income tax benefits to NPOs with certification by a duly notified certification agency.
This new and simplified application[8] contains basic questions regarding internal governance, financial management, and programme delivery. Timely and proper filling of the application and furnishing of required documents (as per the attached checklist) will enable us to complete the evaluation of your organisation in time.
Extensive footnotes have been added to most of the questions in the application to explain various questions and to assist and guide you about how to fill in the application.
Instructions
1. Please read all instructions carefully before filling in the application.
How to determine the Size of your NPO and Certification Fee
Please use the following chart to assess the size and fee applicable on your organisation.
Size of NPO
/ Annual/bi-annual average financial receipts (income/grants/donations etc) of the preceding year/two years / Certification Fee (Rs.)(One year) / Certification Fee [9](Rs.)
(Two years)
Small / Up to 1 Million / 6,600 / 9,900
Medium 1 / 1-5 Million / 20,000 / 30,000
Medium 2 / 5 - 10 Million / 44,000 / 66,000
Large 1 / 10 - 50 Million / 76,000 / 114,000
Large 2 / 50 - 100 Million / 100,000 / 150,000
Large 3 / 100 Million and above / 144,000 / 216,000
Incase of difficulty / confusion in calculation of the size of NPO or Fee, please contact certification unit, PCP at the given contact details at the start of this application form.
2. Accordingly, please include with your application a bank-draft / pay-order/ Crossed Cheque in the name of Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy in the appropriate amount.
3. Extensive sets of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on certification concept and process are available on PCP’s website (www.pcp.org.pk). These may answer many of your queries. Also available on the web site are a number of policy documents, which you may use as sample.
4. Please type or write your replies on the application form in a clear and legible manner. Please give all figures in Pak Rupees.
5. Please tick the appropriate box wherever an option is provided.
6. Please spell out the full name/title before using any acronyms/abbreviations.
7. The Executive Head of the organisation should sign each page of the filled in application.
8. Please mark the envelope containing this application alongwith the certification fee and documents as “Application for Provisional Certification” and send to the address given below.
Manager Certification, Pakistan Centre for PhilanthropyHouse 95-A, Street 59, F-10/3
Islamabad
Tel: 92-51-2112980-3
Facsimile: 92-51-2112984
Email:
Website: www.pcp.org.pk
The Pre-requisites of Provisional Certification
There are certain pre-requisites that an applicant NPO must fulfil before its performance is evaluated for certification. These mandatory requirements are listed below.
Provisional Certification Pre-requisites
1. The organisation is registered (under any of the registration laws[10]) and functional for the last (at least) one year or two years, as the case may be.
2. The organisation is established for religious, educational, health, environment, charitable, welfare or development purposes or for the promotion of amateur sport or for any other purpose of general public benefit.
3. The organisation does not propagate the views of any political party or religious sect.
4. The charter of the organisation prescribes that in case of its dissolution any assets, remaining after the settlement of debts and liabilities, shall be transferred to a body or bodies in accordance with the applicable laws[11].
5. The charter or other policy documents of the organisation state that it is a non-profit-distributing organisation and that all its income, commodities, property and other assets shall be applied solely towards the promotion of its objectives. Further it prohibits that funds or property of the organisation or any part thereof are paid or transferred directly or indirectly to any of the directors/ staff of organisation or their relatives.
6. All assets of the organisation (fixed as well as investments) are held in the name of or are legally assigned to the organisation or its Governing Body[12].
7. The organisation has a functional governing body[13].
8. The organisation maintains its accounts with a scheduled bank, savings centre or post office. These accounts are in the name of the organisation.
9. An external auditor has audited the accounts of the organisation for the last one year or two years, as the case may be.[14]
10. No adverse decree has been passed* since inception against the NPO in any of the civil courts in Pakistan on grounds of fraud or breach of trust.
Note:
* An adverse decree subsequently reviewed by the court itself or set aside by a higher court will not attract the application of this clause.
Pre-requisites for Income Tax
An NPO applying for Provisional certification for the purpose of availing tax benefits[15] is required to comply with the following requirements as contained in the Income Tax Rules, 2002.
Requirements of the Income Tax Ordinance and Rules
1. The charter of the NPO requires audit of the annual accounts of the organisation by a duly qualified auditor as prescribed by the IT Rules[16].
2. The charter of the NPO provides for maintenance of accounts of the organisation being kept in a scheduled bank or in a post office or national savings organisation, National Bank of Pakistan or nationalised commercial banks.
3. The charter of the NPO prohibits any changes therein without prior approval of the Commissioner of Income Tax or FBR, as the case may be.
4. The charter clearly states that the NPO does not propagate the views of any religious sect or political party.
5. The quorum of meetings of the governing body of the NPO, as provided by its charter is not less than four* members or 1/3rd of total membership of such body, whichever is greater**.
6. The charter of the NPO prescribes that in case of NPO’s dissolution for any reason whatsoever, its assets, after meeting all liabilities, if any, would be transferred to another NPO within three months of the dissolution under intimation to the Commissioner of Income Tax or FBR, as the case may be.
7. The charter of the NPO prescribes for restricting the surpluses or moneys validly set apart, excluding restricted funds, up-to twenty-five per cent of the total income of the year.
Provided that such surpluses or monies validly set apart are invested in Government securities, NIT units, a collective investment scheme authorized or registered under the Non-Banking Finance Companies (Establishment and Regulation) Rules, 2003, mutual fund, a real estate investment trust approved and authorized under the Real Estate Investment Trust Rules, 2006, or scheduled banks.
For the purpose of this rule, “restricted funds” means any fund received by the organisation but could not be spent and treated as revenue during year due to any obligation placed by the donor.
8. The charter of the NPO provides for the regular maintenance of books of accounts in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles and for their inspection by the interested members of the public, without any hindrance, at all reasonable times***.
9. Its area of operations is wholly in Pakistan***.
Note: * Three, if the applicant NPO is a Trust as defined in the Trust Act, 1882.
** This clause shall apply only if the NPO is applying for tax exemption under Section 2 (36) read with Section 61 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
*** This clause shall apply only if the NPO is applying for tax exemption under clause 58 of the IInd Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
Provisional Certification Application for NPOs
[1] An abbreviated name created by using initials of full name. For example, PCP is acronym for Pakistan Center for Philanthropy
[2] Please provide contact information of a person in your organisation who will be responsible for all communication with PCP in respect of Certification and will coordinate the proceedings of evaluation
[3] This includes all personnel who draw fixed monthly emoluments from the organisation in any capacity (permanent, contractual, consultancy, advisory etc.)
[4] References of already certified NPOs may be provided, if available
[5] The additional information may also constitute photographs of programmes/ beneficiaries, videocassettes or multi-media CDs, newspaper clippings etc.
[6] All attestations should be by the authorised signatory of the organisation
[7] Please see para 2 of instructions on the first page of this application for determination of exact amount of fee. Government taxes shall apply in accordance with tax laws as in force in Pakistan.