52.— (1) The charity trustees of a charitable organisation shall, not later than 10 months or such longer period as the Authority may specify, after the end of each financial year, prepare and submit to the Authority a report (in this section referred to as the “annual report”) in respect of its activities in that financial year.

(2) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of subsection (1).

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), regulations under that subsection may—

(a) contain different provisions in relation to different classes of information and different classes of charitable organisation,

(b) require that an annual report contain such information (other than information required to be provided in an annual report under subsection (1)) as may be specified in the regulations, and

(c) provide that a report referred to in that subsection shall be prepared in such manner as is specified in the regulations.

(4) Subject to section 48(6) and 50(13), the following shall be attached to an annual report submitted by a charitable organisation in accordance with this section:

(a) a copy of the annual statement of accounts prepared under subsection (1) of section 48 or the income and expenditure account and the statement of assets and liabilities prepared under subsection (3) of that section, as the case may be, in respect of the financial year concerned;

(b) where the accounts of the charitable organisation have been audited in accordance with section 50(1), a copy of the auditor’s report;

(c) where the accounts of the charitable organisation have been examined by an independent person in accordance with section 50(3), a copy of the independent person’s report.

(5) (a) A copy of the accounts prepared by a charitable organisation in accordance with the Companies Acts shall, in respect of the financial year concerned, be attached to an annual report submitted by that charitable organisation in accordance with this section.

(b) This subsection applies to a charitable organisation that—

(i) is a company, and

(ii) is not required to annex its accounts to the annual return made by it to the registrar of companies under the Companies Acts.

(6) An annual report submitted to the Authority under this section and any document attached thereto shall be kept by the Authority for such period as it thinks fit.

(7) A charitable organisation that is a body corporate that contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) Where, in relation to a charitable organisation, there is a contravention of this section, each of the charity trustees of the organisation shall be guilty of an offence.