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.
