CITM2020 | Accreditation of community development finance institutions (CDFIs): Criteria for accreditation

ITA/s340; SI2003/96 Regulation 3

The key criteria against which applications for accreditation of a body as a CDFI are considered are specified at Section 340 of Income Tax Act 2007.

A body is only 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 and Trade (DBT).

The material published by the Secretary of State can be accessed on the DBT website at Gov.uk (under First-enterprise, Business loans).