Existing Scottish charitable companies will be able to apply to convert to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) from 1 January 2012
A SCIO is a new legal form for registered Scottish charities. The SCIO is a corporate body which is a legal entity able to enter into contracts, employ staff, incur debts, own property, sue and be sued. From the 1 January 2012, existing Scottish charitable companies registered at Companies House, can apply to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulators (OSCR) to convert from a Companies Act company to an SCIO. If the conversion is successful, their company record will be marked converted/closed and their entry on OSCR's charity register will be updated accordingly. They will then no longer be required to file documents with Companies House but will still need to meet OSCR's filing requirements for SCIOs.
To initiate a conversion to a SCIO a company will need to apply to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulators (OSCR).
Please see OSCR's web page on SCIOs for further information: (External) http://www.oscr.org.uk/about-scottish-charities/scio/