New legislation – like the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) – is imposing changes that are being implemented over the coming months and years, which, broadly, include:
- improving financial information available at Companies House so that it’s more accurate,
- introducing identity verification for directors, people with significant control and those who do company filings,
- providing Companies House with better investigation and enforcement powers and better, cross-checking of data with other bodies,
- enhancing the protection of personal information provided to Companies House,
- changing filing requirements for smaller companies, who will no longer have the option to file abridged ‘filleted’ accounts,
- reforms to give businesses more confidence to share information to tackle economic crime, and
- a new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ offence.
There’s also the Register of Overseas Entities, which has been required from 1 August 2022, to give greater transparency about company ownership. It’s a criminal offence not to file an updated statement, so entities may face prosecution and/or a financial penalty. Overseas entities that haven’t registered with Companies House face restrictions on dealing with their property / land.
Coming soon…. (March 2024)
Kudocs have pulled together the list below of new Companies House requirements that are going live soon (March 2024).
- Registered email address. This needs to be provided on incorporation or, for existing entities, in your next confirmation statement, which is filed annually.
- Registered address must be “appropriate”. PO Box addresses will not be permitted. Confirmation will be required when you incorporate and when you change your registered address.
- Confirmation that you are carrying out a “lawful purpose”. Again this needs to be provided on incorporation or, for existing entities, in your next confirmation statement.
One big question is about identity verification – what will be required to verify people, who will be able to do that, and how this relates to existing verification being carried out by professional advisers (KYC/ AML checks, etc). Companies House is still working on this so we will provide updates when this becomes clearer. This is unlikely to come into effect this year.
If you have any questions on the above or want to discuss how we can help with your own Co-Sec management get in touch on info@legaledge.co.uk
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