Registered societies operating in the country and have not filed their annual returns with the Office of the Attorney General as per the law now risk losing their licenses.
In a move aimed at ensuring compliance, the Registrar of Societies has issued a notice granting a 60 day period for all registered societies who failed to submit their annual returns by March 31 as required by the law.
“All registered societies that have not filed their annual returns as required are hereby granted a grace period of sixty (60) days from the date of publication of this notice to comply,” read the notice.
Under the Societies Act every registered society is required to submit annual returns, accounts and other documents to the registrar.
Additionally, Rule 13 of the Societies Rules, 1968 provides that the annual return shall be furnished on or before the 31st March in each year, in respect of the immediately preceding calendar year, and shall be submitted in Form I set out in the Schedule to the Rules and signed by three officers of the society.
However, it appear some societies failed to meet this deadline, prompting the Registrar to grant the extension.
“Societies that fail to submit the required annual returns within the stated period shall be liable to enforcement action in accordance with Section 12(1)(e) of the Societies Act, which includes issuance of a notice to show cause and may result in the cancellation or suspension of registration. All societies are therefore urged to take immediate steps to comply with the law within the stipulated period,” the office advised.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, Kenya currently has 224 registered societies.
