Commentary on Provisions The schedule Paragraph 10 – Provision of documents: period for compliance
169.Section 23 of the 2005 Act imposes an obligation on charities to provide a copy of their constitution and latest statement of account to any person who reasonably requests it, and the documents must be supplied in such form as the person reasonably requests. Charities can charge a fee for complying with this obligation, but that fee is capped at the cost of supplying the document or, if lower, any maximum fee set by the Scottish Ministers by order. This obligation to supply these documents when reasonably requested is subject to a possible exception: the Scottish Ministers can under subsection (3) make an order exempting charities which meet particular criteria. However, to date no such order has been made.
170.There was originally no provision as to how quickly a request under section 23 of the 2005 Act had to be dealt with. This paragraph of the Act changes that, specifying that if someone has a right to receive the document, they have the right to be given it within 28 days of the date on which the charity receives the request. As such, it does not change who is entitled to request a document or when a request might be unreasonable; it simply imposes a timescale. The existing right to be given the documents in the form that the person reasonably requests is moved and restated as part of the new subsection, but is unchanged.