During September there has been a lot of email communication from the directorship of the National RREC including a two and a half hour Zoom session. Andrew Whittaker, the new chair of the directors, was made aware that the National RREC might be investigated by HMRC to determine if we should have been paying VAT on all our activities including those run by the Sections over the years. Legal advice was to look at our agreements/license between RREC, RRMC, BM over the use of Rolls Royce & Bentley logos and merchandise. The main concern was to clarify the relationship between Hunt House and Sections on several levels. It was found that for many years this has not been legally reviewed. It was agreed by the directorship that they should draw up a clear working document explaining the relationship between Hunt House and the Sections. This review includes a revised constitution for Sections in line with current HMRC regulation. Sections are the beating heart of our Club and detailed discussions with all Section Chairs and Secretaries have resulted in an Affiliate Agreement whereby Sections will receive a percentage of all membership funds.
To meet the requirement for both financial and constitutional independence, the Club’s Board has proposed that Sections enter into the Affiliate Agreement with the Club to clarify the relationship between the two. Miles Barnes, legal advisor for RREC, reviewed the proposed agreement on behalf of the Club and are satisfied that it meets the criteria for independence set out by HMRC. It is therefore for the Section Committee Members to decide whether they will sign up to the Affiliate Agreement with the Club to clarify their status and ensure both the Club and the Section are compliant with the HMRC requirements.
If the Section Committee Members have concerns about signing up to the Agreement, they could also investigate incorporating their Section as a limited liability company to establish constitutional independence another way. This would have benefits for Sections in terms of limiting members’ liability but would necessitate some additional work on their part to maintain the company including preparation and filing of annual accounts and membership returns with Companies House.
5 May 2024 - From the committee announcement
A new initiative has been proposed by RREC Central Southern Section and RREC Southeastern Section to work collaboratively with RREC Surrey Section to encourage more RREC members to join in events held by all sections. Surrey Section have always been welcoming of any RREC members from any Section at our events. This initiative is a request between our Southern neighbours to make this a more formal agreement. All the the sections have agreed to host at least one annual event open to all three sections. The first will be hosted by the Southeastern Section on the 22nd of March 2025 at Horsted Place Hotel near Uckfield in East Sussex. RREC Surrey Section will host our joint event at our summer charity classic show and barbecue at Woldingham School, Caterham, Surrey in July 2025.