Simplified or detailed CIC report: which one to file
Short version. Form CIC34 comes in two versions. The simplified report covers activities, consultation, directors' remuneration and asset transfers. The detailed report is for a CIC with more complex financial arrangements: one that had, at any time in the year, a debt outstanding or a debenture in issue on which a performance-related rate of interest was payable, or a CIC limited by shares that declared or proposed a dividend for the year, or declared one in any of the four financial years before it. The regulator's guidance says the majority of CICs fit the simplified report, whether limited by shares or by guarantee. The choice is the directors'.
What both reports contain
- Part 1: a general description of the company's activities and impact.
- Part 2: whether stakeholders were consulted, and how.
- Part 3: whether the directors received remuneration.
- Part 4: whether any assets were transferred for less than full value.
- A director's signature and the date.
What the detailed report adds
- Part 5: whether dividends were declared for the financial year, and where they were, the dividend information the form asks for (share class, amount per share, total and the position against the dividend cap).
- Part 6: whether interest was actually paid at a performance-related rate, and, whenever such a rate was payable on a debt or debenture during the year, the rate, how it was calculated and the interest cap or why the cap does not apply.
These two parts exist because a CIC limited by shares can pay dividends and a CIC can borrow at a performance-related rate, and both are subject to caps the regulator polices. The regulator's guidance says that, where they apply, the report must show the dividend and performance-related debt information and compliance with the caps. A CIC that did neither has nothing to put in them.
How to choose
Pick the report your directors intend to sign. Use the detailed report if the company had a debt outstanding or a debenture in issue on which a performance-related rate of interest was payable at any time in the year, whether or not any interest was paid, or if it is limited by shares and declared or proposed a dividend for the year, or declared one in any of the four preceding financial years. If none of those applies, the simplified report is the usual choice. The full conditions are on the form CIC34 page. We do not choose for you and we do not check the answer against the accounts.
In SimpleCompanyTax
The first question in the CIC34 report section is “Which CIC34 report are you filing through us?” with None, Simplified and Detailed as the options. None, the starting position, means we file the CT600 only. Choosing Detailed shows two more Yes or No questions. Part 5 asks whether dividends were declared or proposed for this financial year: if the only dividend was in an earlier year, answer No and still file the detailed report. Part 6 asks whether interest was actually paid at a performance-related rate, and its details box is always available so you can describe a debt on which such a rate was payable even if nothing was paid. The detail boxes are not required by the software, because Companies House does not check them, but the regulator expects the information where it applies, so give it. See how to file your CIC accounts and CIC34 report.
Sources
This article is general guidance, not legal advice. The sources are the form CIC34 publication and the CIC regulator's guidance.