The Bhat Sikh Gurdwara and Community Association Edinburgh SC042053
Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ending 31[st] March 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report For the Year Ended 31[st] March 2025
The trustees have the pleasure of presenting their report together with the financial statements and the independent examiner’s report for the Year Ended 31[st] March 2025.
Reference & Administration Information
Charity Name
The Bhat Sikh Gurdwara and Community Association Edinburgh
Charity Number
SC042053
Address
1 Sheriff Brae, Edinburgh, EH6 6EQ
Current Trustees
Constitution
The Charity is an unincorporated association. It is governed by its constitution and was adopted when the Gurdwara was first moved to the current building in 1976 and was last amended 20[th] January 2011. Association was granted charitable status by OSCR on 28[th] January 2011.
Appointment of Trustees
The Gurdwara Management committee, which meet on a minimum of a monthly basis, are the charity’s Trustees. Membership is available to all ‘Chanday’ (subscription) paying members of the ‘Sangat’ (Congregation) and there must be a minimum of six Trustees. Trustees are elected by the Sangat at the Annual general meeting which is normally held in the last week of July.
Management
The Trustees are responsible for the governance and day-to-day running of the Gurdwara.
There are also several Jathedars (Head Volunteer) and Sevadars (Volunteers) who are involved with the running of the weekly Divans (services) at the Gurdwara.
All Trustees and members of the Management Committee are unpaid.
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Objectives and Activities
Charitable Purpose
The objective of the charity is to advance the Sikh Religion in accordance with the teachings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the 9 Successor Guru’s and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (Sacred Scriptures) and in doing so provide and run a place of worship for the Sikh Sangat (Congregation) in Edinburgh in accordance with Sikh law.
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To celebrate the principal Sikh religious festivals
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Promote the study of the Sikh religion.
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The Gurdwara will also be the centre point of all the Sikh rites ceremonies for members of the Sangat, Wedding, Birth, and Death & Initiation (baptism).
Activities
The main Divan (service) takes place on a Sunday which is when the majority of Sangat attend. However, the Gurdwara is available for worship everyday of the week, 24 hours a day with the Resident Giani (priest) always on hand. In addition, there are daily recitations of the morning and evening prayers in the Gurdwara. There is also a youth Divan that takes place each Friday night, run under the supervision of the Giani, conducted entirely by the youth. At the end of 2014, a new initiative was also started, Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen, where Langar (vegetarian meal) is prepared at the Gurdwara and then distributed free in the streets in the City Centre. There are two main objectives; to provide a free hot meal to any homeless or needy person in the area, or anyone passing by who wishes to partake and secondly to help promote and distinguish Sikh’s and Sikhism in the wider community.
Achievements and Performance
The community attendance has continued to grow, especially all through the week. We also noted a large number of students and national and international visitors attending the Gurdwara Sahib Ji. With this demand we started preparing tea and a small langer daily to support everyone attending ensure they leave the gurdwara with some food.
In celebration of Vaisakhi (most important religious celebration of the Sikh calendar) in line with the success of the 2023 Vaisakhi Jorh Mela, the Committee and Sewadar decided to do a more traditional precession throughout the local neighbourhood. Working closely with our community stakeholders and Edinburgh City Council we managed to hold a successful event. We welcome guests from all parts of Scotland and England, the feedback from this event was exceptional as they all felt this was a superb event. We proud to welcome the many visitors from the local government, who joined in our celebrations.
We also held our annual Reinsabhayee, in which we invited preachers from far and wide to take part 6-8 hours of continue meditation.
Throughout the year the Gurdwara has hosted many wedding ceremonies for Sangat members as well as special services for births and deaths in the community.
We have ensured that all the Gurpurbs (Birthdays of the Sikh Guru’s) have been celebrated more traditionally with an Akhand Paath/Sehej Paath – continuous three day ready of the entire Sikh Scriptures. As well as the Bandi Choor Divas (Diwali), which included a fireworks display.
The Gurdwara website was maintained on a real time basis. We continued to stream programs live online for vulnerable Sangat members, who could not attend the Gurdwara Sahib.
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Financial Review
Our main source of income is donations from the congregation, from the money placed in the collection box in the Divan (Worship) Hall, these increased by £27,335.00. It was agreed in the AGM that the monthly subscription from the 1[st] January 2024 would increase from £5.00 to £10.00. We continued to keep this are the monthly subscription. With this adjustment we noted an increase in the total monthly subscription fee (Chanday) for over 16-year-old males in the Sangat, this is optional for all members but the vast majority of the community desire to pay this. We also continue to receive income from weddings that take place at the Gurdwara and from donations given by Sangat member’s family announcements (Ardasay). One additional source of income this year was amounts given to the Gurdwara to be donated to worthy causes.
Donations in the Golak, Donations for announcements, Golak from house programs all increased compared to the previous year. This was due to the increased number of members attending the Gurdwara Sahib throughout the year.
For expenditure during the year, we noticed an increase in gas and electricity costs, this was mainly due to the increasing in the price cap. Furthermore, the building was being used more throughout the year.
We has a flood in the stairwell and the large community hall, we received insurance funds, which were used to repair all damages incurred.
We commenced our lift project in this period and incurred initial deposit costs of £13,878.00.
There was an increase in income and expenditure compared to the previous year, resulting in a surplus position of £32,421.00 for the year ending 31[st] March 2025.
Approved by the Trustees on 29[th] December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
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Independent Examiner’s Report For the Year Ending 31[st] March 2025
Independent examiner’s report to the Trustees of The Bhat Sikh Gurdwara and Community Association Edinburgh
I report on the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2025, which are set out on pages 7 to 11.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the accounts.
Independent examiner’s statement
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention: -
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which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
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a. to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
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b. to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations have not been met, or
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to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Accounting Business Consultants 2 Anderson Place Edinburgh EH6 5NP
Signed on the 29[th of] December 2025
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Statement of Receipts and Payments - for the Year Ended 31st March 2025
| Receipts Voluntary Receipts Donations Bank Interest Receipts from Charitable Activities Membership Fees Announcements Wedding Service Fees Miscellaneous Income Gift Aid Total Receipts Payments Children's Gurmat Camp Gas and Electricity Giani's (Priests) Remuneration Insurance Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen Council Tax Donations to other Charities New Catering Equipment Maintenance Cleaning Costs of Religious/Cultural Activities Office and Administration Expenses Telephone & Internet Lift Project Other expenses Security fees Total Payments (Deficit)/Surplus for the year Transfer between funds (Deficit)/Surplus for the year |
Notes 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds 2025 2024 83,061 7,009 90,070 65,512 2,029 - 2,029 1,684 38,983 - 38,983 32,180 16,339 - 16,339 22,292 7,696 - 7,696 7,690 37,511 - 37,511 3,306 - - - - 185,619 7,009 192,628 132,664 - - - - 33,947 - 33,947 31,580 51,152 - 51,152 32,948 8,278 - 8,278 8,051 - - - - 1,329 - 1,329 1,420 1,242 - 1,242 1,732 550 - 550 8,297 10,687 5,566 16,253 19,799 9,161 - 9,161 9,941 21,201 - 21,201 31,241 151 - 151 129 1,564 - 1,564 1,413 13,878 13,878 - 1,501 - 1,501 1,099 - - - - 154,641 5,566 160,207 147,650 30,978 1,443 32,421 (14,986) - - - - 30,978 1,443 32,421 (14,986) |
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Statement of Balances - As at 31st March 2025
| Unrestricted Restricted Funds Reconciliation Funds Funds Cash at Bank & in Hand - 01/04/2023 138,177 38,562 (Deficit)/Surplus for year 30,978 1,443 Cash at Bank & in Hand - 31/03/2024 169,155 40,005 Bank & Cash Balances Reserve Bank Account Current Bank Account GNFK Bank Account Cash in Hand PayPal Expenses control account Creditors HM Revenue and Customs Other creditors Net assets Other Assets (Unrestricted Funds) 1 Sheriff Brae, Building (Insured value, Ansvar Insurance) Equipment and Building Contents (Insured value, Ansvar Insurance) Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen Seva Van (Scrap Value) |
Total 2025 123,469 32,421 155,890 49,557 106,766 492 500 4,209 161,525 988 4,646 5,634 155,890 8,486,826 241,689 - 8,728,515 |
Total 2024 138,455 (14,986) 123,469 73,782 50,495 854 1,994 1,015 128,140 533 4,138 4,671 123,469 8,279,831 235,795 - 8,515,626 |
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All funds are unrestricted
Approved by the trustees on 29th December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:-
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Notes to the Accounts - For the Year Ended 31st March 2025
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1 Basis of Accounting
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These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts & Payments basis in accordance with the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
2 Nature and purpose of funds
All funds are unrestricted unless otherwise stated. Donations received for the Gurdwara's Building and Maintenance should be used for this purpose only. There are also specific donations towards the Children's Gurmat Camp which are to be used for this purpose only. This year there was also a new initiative, Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen, donations made for this purpose are restricted.
- 3 Related Party Transactions
No Remuneration was paid to the trustees or to any connected persons during the period.
| 4 Donations Golak in Gurdwara (collection box in front of the Sacred Scriptures) Donations given for the Gurdwara Building and Maintenance Donations for Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen Donations for Children's Gurmat Camp Donations Given for other Charities Golak from homes (collection box in front of the Sacred Scriptures when taken to a congregation members home) 5 Announcements Ardasay - Donations given for Family announcements to be made during Divan's for Births, Marriages, Engagements, Birthdays, New House etc. Gurpurb Ardasay - Donations given for announcements celebrating Sikh Religious Occasions Online Ardasay Ardasay from homes (announcements during home visits) |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds 2025 2024 82,122 - 82,122 54,787 - 7,009 7,009 10,165 - - - - - - - - - - - 197 939 - 939 363 83,061 7,009 90,070 65,512 Unrestricted Restricted Total Total Funds Funds 2025 2024 7,587 - 7,587 9,193 8,752 - 8,752 12,781 - - 318 - - - - 16,339 - 16,339 22,292 |
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Notes to the Accounts - For the Year Ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
| 6 Miscellaneous Income Sale of old equipment and van Hire of Gurdwara's Tables & Chairs Use of the Gurdwara Kitchen Darshan Bhate - Donations given for reading of Sacred Scriptures Other collections Maya for home visits - Donations given when taking Sacred Scriptures to a congregation members home Maya for Langer - Donations given for Langer shopping Sukhmani Sahib Paath & Sehej Paath - Donations given for reading of Sacred Scriptures Saroop Sewa - Donations given for new sacred Scriptures from London Insurance reimbursement 7 Giani's (Priests) Remuneration Resident Giani's Wages Employee Pension Costs Remuneration for Tabla Players Visiting Giani's payments 8 Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen Langar Supplies for GNFK Insurance for GNFK Van Van repairs and fuel |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 - - - 65 - 65 306 - 306 925 - 925 467 467 1,459 1,459 613 - 613 465 - 465 1,481 1,481 31,730 - 31,730 37,511 - 37,511 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 28,304 - 28,304 655 - 655 19,586 - 19,586 2,607 - 2,607 51,152 - 51,152 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 - - - - - - - - - - |
Total 2024 - 151 121 595 - 1,412 848 179 - 3,306 Total 2024 18,897 213 13,838 - 32,948 Total 2024 - - - - |
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Notes to the Accounts - For the Year Ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
| 9 Donations to other Charities Other charities Red Cross Marie Curie Interfaith association Sikh helpline Sikh aid Scotland Sikh council 10 New Catering Equipment New gas burners New hotpots fitting and commissioning New kitchen equipment 11 Maintenance Bathroom renovation Building maintenance (height works) General maintenance around Gurdwara Electrical maintenance Joinery maintenance Plumbing maintenance New chairs Alarm monitoring & CCTV Fire extinguishers replacement and service New beds Flood damage New Mats New hoovers TV Licence Health and safety inspections Gate fabrication Clock repair Audio system repairs New beds and mattresses Chair Lift Service/Repairs |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 - - - 120 - 120 120 - 120 - - - 501 501 501 - 501 - - - 1,242 - 1,242 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 - - - - - 550 550 550 - 550 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 - - - - 500 500 759 - 759 - 1,643 1,643 - - - 3,423 3,423 - - - 631 - 631 1,063 - 1,063 - - 6,399 - 6,399 - - - - - 170 170 - - - - - - - 629 629 541 541 495 - 495 10,687 5,566 16,253 |
Total 2024 300 110 120 300 300 602 1,732 Total 2024 4,462 3,198 637 8,297 Total 2024 6,820 - 514 1,272 - 526 636 216 - - 3,572 896 199 159 - 3,700 144 650 - 495 19,799 |
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Notes to the Accounts - For the Year Ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
| 12 Cleaning Washroom Supplies Cleaning Materials Cleaner's Remuneration Launderette for cleaning of Divan hall Sheets kitchen canopy (Deep clean) 13 Costs of Religious/Cultural Activities Fire works display's Food Stuff's for Langar (Community Meal) Expenses for Sikhi Camp Expenses for Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan (Religious procession) Reinsabhayee Travel Containers Sangat langer kirtan bhate Wedding register and lava readers remuneration Panjabi teachers remuneration Bheta for visiting Ragi's 14 Other Expenses Bank charges New brief cases New vajay Sponsor Licence Fee Flowers for bereavements New cones Bedding for guests Architects fee Gifts |
Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 - - - 2,214 - 2,214 5,998 - 5,998 - - - 949 949 9,161 - 9,161 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 1,500 - 1,500 9,134 - 9,134 - - 5,447 - 5,447 2,025 2,025 557 557 - - - 586 - 586 300 300 360 360 1,292 - 1,292 21,201 - 21,201 Unrestricted Restricted Total Funds Funds 2025 255 - 255 - - - 653 653 - - - - - - - - - 306 - 306 260 - 260 27 - 27 1,501 - 1,501 |
Total 2024 - 1,260 6,610 - 2,071 9,941 Total 2024 1,500 7,568 - 13,840 3,667 220 1,352 116 429 2,549 31,241 Total 2024 59 70 - - - 50 20 900 - 1,099 |
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