CITM2020 - Accreditation: Criteria for Accreditation

ITA/s340; SI2003/96 Regulation 3

The key criteria against which applications for accreditation of a body as a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) will be considered are specified at Section 340 of Income Tax Act 2007.

A body will only be accredited as a CDFI if the Secretary of State is satisfied that its principal objective is to provide finance (or finance and access to business advice) for enterprises for disadvantaged communities. Those enterprises include:

  • enterprises located in disadvantage areas, and
  • enterprises which are owned or operated by, or designed to serve, members of disadvantaged groups.

In addition, the Secretary of State must be satisfied that the body meets certain other criteria specified either in regulations made by the Treasury, see SI2003/96; or in material published by the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR).

The material published by the Secretary of State can be accessed on the BERR website at www.berr.gov.uk (‘Material Concerning the Accreditation of Community Development Finance Institutions’).