My Civil Service career began in September 2018 when I joined HMRC as a Compliance Officer. I came from a background in retail and hospitality. At that point, I couldn’t imagine that the Civil Service would provide me with such incredible opportunities and career progression.
Once I got comfortable in my first office-based role, I looked for learning opportunities to progress my career. I wanted to build my skills and experience outside of my compliance role. After only a few months, I began to gain the skills that I needed. I earned an Operational Delivery Professional qualification, was more confident in my abilities, and I was ready for the next step in my career. This is where Companies House came in.
I joined Companies House as Operations Manager in January 2020. With my combination of management skills and compliance casework experience, I felt I was the ideal fit for this varied and fast-paced role. In March 2020 I was asked to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I still had a lot of training to complete, but the support from my manager and colleagues helped me progress in my role. The people here at Companies House are its biggest asset.
As with any challenge, opportunity arises. I was working on various projects, including updating and improving our services for customers in the wake of the pandemic. Two years later I gained promotion to Intelligence, Integrity, Compliance and Enforcement Senior Manager. This was a very challenging but incredibly rewarding role where I gained experience in new areas of work.
So, where am I now? In May 2023, another opportunity arose to become the temporary Head of Operations at Companies House, Northern Ireland. I love the varied nature of the work and the responsibility of leading the Northern Ireland team through significant changes to UK company law. Managing such a strong, friendly, multi-skilled team is a privilege and one that I’ll appreciate throughout my career.
My career so far has been a reward in itself. However, I was very fortunate and humbled to be nominated for a Civil Service Award in the Rising Star Category last year. Being nominated was a great acknowledgement of my work during the year. This year the Civil Service Awards received an unprecedented 1,962 nominations across 12 categories. This is the highest number of nominations received in the Awards’ 18-year history. You can imagine my surprise when I was shortlisted in the top 3 and invited to the awards ceremony at Lancaster House in London!
My category was one of the last to be announced. This gave me just enough time to practise my “I’m disappointed not to have won, but the award could not have gone to a nicer person” face. I modelled mine off Joey from Friends (season 7, episode 18 for reference).
Surprisingly, I didn’t get to use that face because I was announced as the winner. I really had not thought about winning as it seemed too far-fetched. I was delighted to get to the final 3 and winning the award was unexpected. As I stood on stage, blinded by the light, I remembered the most important piece of information given to us – “don't fall off the back of the stage”. Fortunately for me I have a dog-like obedience and listen to instructions intently, so I avoided being the night’s embarrassment.
It was a great night for me, both personally and professionally. It was also a great night for Companies House. In recent years, Companies House has produced a culture of challenging set ways of working and promoting innovative thinking. This is all while maintaining our brilliant culture as we transform from a passive recipient of information to an active gatekeeper of the data on our register.
My time at Companies House has been a journey of constant growth and learning. There have been lots of opportunities to build my career and skills. I'm grateful for the experience, and the continuous support that’s allowed me to build a meaningful career here.
If you’re interested in starting a career in the civil service, visit our careers hub to find more information on the sort of career you could build here, as well as tips and advice on applying for a job.
You can also keep an eye on civil service jobs for all our latest opportunities.
Our careers hub will give you an idea of the culture and working environment in our Cardiff office, plus the additional benefits you’ll receive as part of your contract. This includes a generous pension contribution and flexible working.
You can also find out more about our brilliant people and networks. Our networks offer opportunities to meet like-minded people in a supportive and friendly environment, giving you the chance to raise and talk about issues important to you. Making sure everyone can bring their full authentic selves to work is a key part of our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy.
We have several directorates (departments) at Companies House, and each one focuses on a different area of the business. The careers hub provides more detail on the careers and roles available in each directorate, as well as helping you find where your skills best fit.
You can visit Civil Service Jobs to see the vacancies we currently have. We've got lots of roles across the organisation coming up, so watch this space!
We’re working on big legislative changes at Companies House, with lots of innovative and wide-reaching projects underway. So it’s an exciting time to join us. You could be contributing to initiatives that positively affect the lives of thousands of people. We’re a friendly, supportive organisation where work-life balance is prioritised, but with challenging and fulfilling work.
Building your career with us means starting a journey where you can be part of something bigger.
Have you seen a job you’d like to apply for but not quite sure where to start with your application?
For those that are new to the Civil Service, the application and interview process can be a little daunting. On our careers hub you’ll find:
We want to make sure that applicants know they can be themselves right from the start of their Companies House journey.
We really believe in the value of working collaboratively across teams to produce excellent work. Our careers hub is a great example of this, with multiple teams and one brilliant intern using their collective skills and experience to deliver a much-needed product.
A job at Companies House is a gateway to a diverse and exciting career in the Civil Service. There are a range of internal and external job and development opportunities available to give you the chance to shape your career path on your terms.
As we continue working on the implementation of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, we’ll be busy recruiting to help us deliver this vital work. Keep an eye on Civil Service Jobs and our LinkedIn profile for all the latest opportunities.
If you see a role that matches your skills, check out our careers hub to find out more about us and get help applying. We’d love to hear from you!
In our last blog post, we shared more information about new rules for registered office addresses, the registered email address, and the new lawful purpose statements.
This time, we’re focusing on our new and enhanced powers to query information and request supporting evidence.
We expect these powers to come into effect on 4 March 2024. The introduction of these changes needs secondary legislation so this date is still dependent on parliamentary timetables.
Our powers to query information and request supporting evidence are strongly linked to the new objectives introduced by the act for the 3 company registrars:
These new objectives will help shape our decisions when we receive information, and our new and enhanced powers will give us the tools we need to act on these decisions. Over time this will improve the accuracy and integrity of the information on the register and safeguard against misleading or unlawful activity.
Companies House currently has limited powers to correct or query information. From 4 March 2024, we’ll take a more robust approach to dealing with information that’s provided to us:
We’ll also be able to query information that was already on the register before these measures come into effect.
Queries may arise from our own investigations or because we’ve had information from elsewhere which raises questions about the accuracy of the information.
A ‘query’ will start with a request for more information and supporting evidence. For example, we could ask more questions about a share capital figure that seems too high or the age of a director that seems unusual.
Our powers to query information will not necessarily stop false, misleading or incorrect information being accepted and published on the register, as this type of activity is not always obvious. However, we can still ask for more information and supporting evidence after the information has been published.
Once we identify false, misleading or incorrect information, we’ll be able to remove it more quickly than we can at the moment. We’ll also have more powers to share information with law enforcement agencies and other government departments from 4 March 2024. This will make a big difference to the integrity of the information of the register – and to individuals and companies who have been impacted by false, misleading or incorrect information.
We will not be able to act on all the information we receive, and we’ll prioritise those cases that pose the biggest risk to the integrity of the register – using the registrars’ objectives to help us to prioritise.
Additional changes, such as identity verification, will come into effect later and will strengthen these earlier measures.
It’s important that you respond quickly when we ask you for more information so that we can decide the next steps. If your case escalates to a formal query for information and you still do not respond, this is a criminal offence and there could be serious consequences including:
We’ll give you 14 days to respond to a formal query.
This is a brand new approach for Companies House which will grow and evolve as we introduce new processes and ways of working. We’ve already spent 24,000 hours training 730 colleagues to make sure we’re ready to deal with the opportunities ahead. We're confident that, over time, these new powers will make a difference to the accuracy and integrity of the information on the register.
Read the GOV.UK factsheet about the role and powers of the registrar of companies.
We're not able to provide answers to complex queries or comment on individual cases on our blog. Read our comments and moderation policy.
We're aiming to introduce the first set of changes on 4 March 2024. The introduction of these changes needs secondary legislation so this date is still dependent on parliamentary timetables. It will not be earlier than 4 March 2024. These changes include:
We know companies, intermediaries and other stakeholders want to make sure they’re ready for the changes so that they can take action at the right time. Anyone thinking about incorporating a company should also be keeping a keen eye on developments.
We’ve summarised 3 of the changes in this blog post to help you to prepare:
For more information on the other changes brought in by the act, visit our new website.
From 4 March 2024, there’ll be new rules for registered office addresses which mean companies must have an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times. An appropriate address is one where:
These changes mean you will not be able to use a PO Box as your registered office address from 4 March 2024. You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.
If you’re currently using a PO Box as your registered office address, you’ll need to change it by 4 March 2024. You can change your company’s registered office address online, using your company’s authentication code.
Companies that do not have an appropriate registered office address could be struck off the register. When we identify an inappropriate registered office address, we’ll change it to a default address held at Companies House. The company must then provide an appropriate address, with evidence of a link to that address, within 28 days. If we do not receive this evidence, we’ll start the process to strike the company off the register.
From 4 March 2024, there’ll be a new requirement for all companies to give a registered email address to Companies House. This email address will not be published on the public register.
From 4 March 2024, new companies will need to give a registered email address when they incorporate. Existing companies will need to give a registered email address when they file their next confirmation statement with a statement date from 5 March 2024. Our online services will prompt you to supply a registered email address when you file your next eligible confirmation statement.
We’ll use this email address to communicate with you about your company, so it's important that you choose an appropriate email address. You can register the same email address for more than one company.
You’ll be able to change your registered email address through our new ‘update a registered email address’ service. You’ll need to be signed in and authenticated to do this.
Companies will have a duty to maintain an appropriate registered email address, in the same way as their registered office address. Any company that does not do this will be committing an offence.
When you incorporate a company from 4 March 2024, the subscribers (shareholders) will need to confirm they’re forming the company for a lawful purpose.
You’ll also need to confirm the company’s intended future activities are lawful on the confirmation statement.
The intention of these new statements is to make it clear that all companies on the register, new and existing, have a duty to operate in a lawful way. We may take action against your company if we receive information that confirms you’re not operating lawfully.
We will not accept your documents if these statements have not been confirmed.
Existing companies will need to make a lawful purpose statement when they file their next confirmation statement with a statement date from 5 March 2024. Our online services will prompt you to do this when you file your next eligible confirmation statement.
These measures will all contribute towards meeting the new registrars’ objectives, and we’ll make all our decisions based on these objectives.
We’ll share more information in the coming weeks. Keep up to date on all the latest updates on our new website, and by signing up for our email newsletters.
Thank you for your interest in this blog post. We are not able to provide answers to complex queries or comment on individual cases on our blog. See the comments section below for responses that have already been provided by Companies House.
As we start the new year, I want to reflect on our successes in 2023 and share more information about what’s happening over the coming months.
We’re coming to the end of the fourth year of our corporate strategy for 2020 to 2025, and we continue to transform at pace to achieve our vision to be the most innovative, open and trusted registry in the world.
2023 was a busy year with lots of highlights, but I’ve focused on my top 3.
The Register of Overseas Entities has been a great success so far since its launch in August 2022. We acted incredibly quickly to build this register which forms a key part of the government’s strategy to tackle global economic crime. We saw the end of the transition period in January 2023, and there are now more than 30,000 entities on the register. More than 9,000 update statements have been filed so far, and we’ve started issuing penalties to those who have not complied with the legislation. We won an Innovation (Excellence) Award from the Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) for our work on implementing the new register, and this international recognition was a particularly proud moment for me after such a busy year.
In September 2023, I’m so proud that we retained our Investors in People (IiP) platinum status. It’s testament to the brilliant people and leaders in Companies House that we retained our status during a period of significant change. It’s our people that make our culture, and our culture makes Companies House a great place to work.
Thirdly, in October 2023, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill gained royal assent and became an act. This marked a pivotal moment for Companies House, and all the hard work from colleagues right across government made this happen. We’re grateful to all our stakeholders for their constructive challenges and the support provided during the parliamentary process.
This landmark legislation introduces a series of positive changes that will not only strengthen our powers, but also contribute to a fairer and more transparent business environment. It will mean real improvements for the UK economy, for businesses, and for individuals.
As part of the act, the company registrars for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will have new objectives and new and enhanced powers. The new objectives give us a clear sense of our priorities, and the powers in the act give us the tools to deliver our future activities against these objectives.
Some changes will be introduced from March 2024. These include:
These early changes will not necessarily stop fraudulent information being accepted and published on the register. We know there’s more to do. We’re working towards additional changes, such as identity verification, which will come in later. We’re also already acting behind the scenes to disrupt crime through our intelligence functions and will soon be able to help victims of fraud in new ways.
Look out for a blog post over the next few weeks with more information about these early changes and what you’ll need to do differently.
Our job is to make it easy for law-abiding companies to do business and to register their information with Companies House. We want this ease of doing business to continue throughout the implementation of these changes.
We’re working really hard to facilitate a smooth transition. This will continue over the coming months and years as we implement further changes such as identity verification, streamlining accounts filing options for small and micro entity companies, and transitioning towards filing accounts by software only. We’ll let you know when all these changes will come into effect as soon as we can.
Keep up to date on all the latest updates on our new website, and by signing up for our email newsletters.
I’m looking forward to embracing the opportunities that lie ahead in 2024 with my Companies House and cross-government colleagues. Happy new year!
]]>Every entity must file an update statement, even if there are no changes, and so every entity should familiarise themselves with the rules and allocate appropriate time frames. Some are already finding they do not have as much time as they first thought.
Here we share some practical tips to consider alongside the latest guidance.
Every entity should get in touch with their Registered Beneficial Owners (RBO) or Managing Officers (MO) to verify the information filed is still accurate. This is officially called a section 12 notice for an RBO.
Respondents have up to a month to reply. Overseas entities should allow for this as part of their time frames. Failure to comply with this obligation is a criminal offence, even if the overseas entity believes they already know the information on the RBO.
Your statement date is within a year of the date the overseas entity was registered, or within a year of your last update statement. Overseas entities have 14 days to file the update statement.
What this means in practice is that even for the simplest entity ownership structures where there are no changes, the entity will need to have carried out the necessary due diligence to declare that:
Entities that wait until their renewal date may find that 14 days does not allow enough time to put a robust process in place to carry out the necessary checks to file the statement. For example, a change of address for a managing officer can be easily missed. Allowing enough time to complete a section 12 notice will help, but also never underestimate the power of a good checklist.
Entities that are aware of changes or that have trusts will want to build in even more time.
Where there are changes to information, these changes must be verified by a UK regulated agent. These include changes to details such as:
UK regulated agents will be very busy during the winter period. Last year around half of all Register of Overseas Entities filings were filed in January and February. It's likely that many will experience a peak in demand.
If you have changes, allow enough time to engage your UK regulated agent and follow any internal processes you may have to appoint them.
Overseas entities with trust information must also file their update statement online. This includes trusts that the entity has already informed Companies House about, and trusts that need to be highlighted as part of the update statement.
You must file an update statement even where there are no changes to trust information.
The secret to a smooth update process is preparation. Overseas entities should not mistake their renewal date as the point when they should act. For many, this point may be too late. Instead, they should familiarise themselves with the requirements to identify the steps they will go through.
Overseas entities should ask themselves the following questions:
If the answer to any of the above questions is ‘yes’, they will want to start sooner.
We’re already working with clients who are not due for renewal until next year. Some are keen to just lay the groundwork, others are keen to file earlier to align with other reporting deadlines. A UK regulated agent can assist and advise with all elements of the update process - from the initial information notice to filing the update statement, whether there are changes or not.
Finally, this is an evolving area of law. Overseas entities should stay up to date with the latest guidance from Companies House to make sure they continue to meet the latest requirements.
Future reforms to the process have been legislated for in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 but are not yet in force. When these provisions come into force overseas entities will need to make sure that they take appropriate action.
]]>I’m delighted that we can now play a much greater role in disrupting economic crime and preventing abuse of the register, while supporting economic growth and ease of doing business in the UK.
The measures set out in the act will give us new and enhanced powers to improve the quality and reliability of our data.
We’ll also be able to act more quickly if people tell us their personal information has been used on the register without their consent. This will make a real difference to individuals and it’s something I’m particularly passionate about.
The measures include:
The act has introduced 4 new objectives for me as the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales. Alongside my colleagues, I’ll promote these objectives while carrying out my duties:
As an organisation, we’ll base our decisions on these objectives. Our new and enhanced powers will give us the tools we need to act on those decisions.
These objectives also apply to the Registrar of Companies for Scotland and the Registrar of Companies for Northern Ireland.
Although the Bill has received royal assent and is now an act, you do not need to do anything differently just yet.
Some of the measures in the act, such as identity verification, will not be introduced straight away. Many of these changes need system development and secondary legislation before they're introduced.
However, other measures will come into force sooner. Over time, they’ll lead to improved transparency and more accurate and trusted information on our registers.
These early measures include:
We expect these measures to come into force in early 2024.
We will not be able to identify every piece of information or document on the register that could be incorrect or inconsistent. However, we’ll base all our decisions on our new objectives to make sure we’re making best use of our new and enhanced powers.
We’ll be increasing some of our fees from early 2024. Companies House fees are set on a cost recovery basis. This means our fees must cover the cost of the services we deliver.
We review our fees every year to make sure they’re set at the right level. Even after the increase, our fees will remain some of the lowest in the world.
We’ll share more information over the coming weeks and months about the introduction of these changes. It’s important that you understand what you need to do differently when you file information with Companies House, and when you need to do it.
There are lots of different ways you can keep up to date:
Teams across Companies House have been working incredibly hard to prepare for the upcoming changes while the Bill made its way through Parliament, and I couldn’t be prouder of my colleagues.
This work will continue at pace as we enter the next exciting stage of the legislative process. We can’t wait to make these changes a reality and to make a real difference in disrupting economic crime and supporting economic growth.
]]>Often the first thing I’ll do when I start work is to read the latest news and tech blogs to see if there’s any new or interesting articles. It’s good to have that little bit of extra knowledge, so that when colleagues come to you with ideas or issues, you’ve got the most up to date information to guide you.
Before the pandemic we worked mostly in the office. Now that our organisation has moved to a flexible hybrid approach, combining both home and office-based working, I work mostly from home. It’s still great to get together in the office for workshops, team or project meetings where you've got a purpose for doing so. You come in, catch up with people and get things done.
One of my favourite things about working as a technical architect is the autonomy. I know what projects I'm on and what the timelines are, but I can decide what I’m going to work on that day and that’s great. It could be something for my career development, something I think is worth investigating for the organisation, or something specifically related to a particular project.
Previously where I've worked for private companies, you had objectives and worked on them until they were done. So, to come in and start work thinking ‘right, I’m going to prioritise this because I've been waiting to do that for a while’ - that’s a big thing to me.
There are currently 4 technical architects in the team and we tend to specialise in different areas.
Our role as architects is not just to have all the knowledge of what's going on in our services and how they’re put together, but to be able to communicate that to other colleagues and stakeholders. They won’t all have the same level of understanding, so it’s our job to translate technical concepts so that they can be understood by everyone.
When a new project kicks-off, we help define what the scope of that project will be. We then start our discovery work, where we look at what the system currently does and what it will have to do with any new changes coming in, sketching out what it might look like.
As we move into the alpha phase, we create a formal design and start communicating those designs out to the project team.
Once we have a plan for how the system will work, we carry out threat modelling. We consider how someone might try to find vulnerabilities in the system. We do this as a team because everyone's got a different perspective of the system - someone might think of something that hasn’t occurred to you.
We currently have opportunities to join our architecture team – find out more and apply.
When we have all the documentation, designs, data flow diagrams and have identified the users and full requirements of the system, we get everything signed off by a panel. This includes other technical architects and colleagues from across the business. The panel can give different perspectives on the system and how it might work, and they need to approve the design for it to move to the next phase. If it’s not approved, the panel will give recommendations on the things that will need to be reassessed.
Approved designs are then passed on to the teams of developers who build the systems.
Through the various stages of a project, requirements change. It’s important to stay aware and be able to adapt and react to those sorts of things. It could be that suddenly you've lost some budget, or that the law has changed, and you’ll have to make changes to the designs and work closely with the developers to make sure those new designs can be implemented.
We always design with change in mind so that we’re not locking down our services in such a way that they cannot adapt to revisions.
We’re still involved even as a service goes live. There will be issues that come up and if front-end support teams need help, they'll often contact us to resolve any issues.
Sometimes issues need to be dealt with immediately because they’re impacting live services and our users. There could also be legal implications or impact to our service level availability targets so we act as quickly as we can to resolve them.
When you do find the issue, work out the solution and everything then works, you think ‘brilliant that's something good I've done today’ – it’s really rewarding.
We have such a vast array of technology in Companies House, lots of different languages and frameworks. It’s almost impossible for one person to know all of that. So, although we’re all assigned to projects, we also work together and collaborate on a lot of our work. We'll be pulled into project meetings or areas of discussion that do not necessarily come under our remit, but might be part of a system that we have greater expertise in.
As a group of architects, we'll get together to discuss each other’s work and build our understanding of the broader systems. Cross-communication is important. It gives us a chance to see the common themes that are coming up and we might have a solution that will make a difference to more than just one area. We do not want to have a blinkered approach, so if we can produce things more efficiently and for less money, that's the dream.
We'll often get called into workshops for other areas of the business. For example, I was in the Cardiff office recently to discuss ways to aggregate data which might inform how our data science teams are going to improve reporting and data use. That's nothing to do with the projects that I'm on at the moment but the lead analyst wanted some consultation with some senior technical colleagues - there was a few of us and we spent some time trying to work that out – so that's also a nice area of the job.
Outside of the projects, it’s important that we have a future strategy. We spend time trying to think about what our future systems might look like. This makes sure that we’re developing and designing systems with a goal in mind and that the services we're making today are fit for the future.
I guess it's a bit of blue sky thinking, you get to investigate the technologies that you'd like to be applying in the future.
We’re also working on improving the requirements and governance around technical architecture at Companies House and the ways that we deliver that for projects. That's exciting because it gives us the opportunity to influence decision making and make sure that everyone across the organisation knows what's expected of the architecture team.
Companies House will be participating in Wales Tech Week as a silver partner. The event will showcase Welsh technology and champion the industry on a global stage. The event is taking place at the International Convention Centre between 16 to 18 October. Register for a free ticket for the event.
Selling overseas can yield huge benefits to your business, including:
Take time to create an export action plan that identifies your business strengths as well as any areas of weakness where you need to improve. Determining whether your business is export-ready or not can have a marked difference in your future global success.
With so many potential customers across the globe, it can be tempting to target them all at once. However, by undertaking research and choosing key markets for your product or service, you could save your business valuable time and money. Use your international research as a guide for future marketing decisions and be prepared to adapt your approach when expanding to a different customer demographic or country.
All exporters have a legal responsibility for the products and services they sell. HMRC require key information before goods can leave the UK, along with requiring you to submit an export customs declaration. Check the requirements in advance, make sure you know what documentation you must produce, and keep up to date on UK customs procedures.
British companies often under-price their goods and services, without considering local market conditions. The market research you conducted at the start of your strategy will help determine your export price. Also consider the length of your supply chain and the best route to market and gain as much information as possible before negotiating with a possible representative such as an in-market agent.
Different methods of payment comes with different levels of risk depending on whether you’re the exporter or importer. With international payments, there are also different exchange rates and currencies to consider. Explore options such as:
Incoterms® (International Commercial Terms) clarify functions and cost and risk between the buyer and the seller, as required by the sales contract. By having a clear understanding of responsibility before purchase, they can help form a contract that benefits both parties.
Take time to review the different terms and fully explore the benefits and risks of each one. It’s worth noting that Incoterms® do not replace insurance policies but do indicate where the responsibility lies.
Some goods, software, and technologies are restricted or prohibited by international export controls, to align with security, policy and other obligations.
You may require an export license or permit to approve the sale of your product or service. This includes ‘dual-use goods’, which may not be designed for military use, but is capable of doing so, including electronics, chemicals, and marine equipment.
The UK Export Academy launched in 2020 and is a free online training programme, brought to you by expert international trade specialists. It's designed to give UK businesses of all sizes the confidence and know-how to grow sales of their goods and services around the world.
Visit the website to sign up for free today and book your first event. For more information, email the UK Export Academy team.
The register forms an important part of the government’s strategy to tackle global economic crime and strengthen the UK’s reputation as a place where legitimate businesses can thrive.
It requires overseas entities that own UK property or land to declare their beneficial owners or managing officers. Overseas entities cannot buy, sell, transfer, lease, or raise a charge against land in the UK unless they’ve registered with Companies House.
The register has had a significant impact since it was launched at pace in August 2022.
Here are some of the highlights so far:
The aim of the Register of Overseas Entities is to increase transparency and reveal the beneficial owners of overseas entities that own property or land in the UK, and it’s clear from these figures that the register is meeting that aim and adding value.
Our enforcement action to encourage an even higher compliance rate is well underway. We’re issuing warning notices and penalties to entities that have failed to register or failed to file an update statement.
Overseas entities that have not registered with Companies House already face restrictions on selling, transferring, leasing or raising charges against their property or land. Overseas entities also cannot buy any new UK property or land without an Overseas Entity ID. This means the register is already having a real impact on stopping the flow of illegal activity through this property or land.
We’ve published guidance on GOV.UK to explain our approach to financial penalties and other enforcement measures.
The data on the register can be accessed free of charge on the Find and update company information service, using our advanced search function.
We know there’s been some media coverage about the register in recent weeks, and it’s great to see that the data on the new register is being widely used, shared and investigated.
We understand there are concerns about data on the register that's not publicly available, specifically information about trustees of trusts who are registrable beneficial owners. The government has committed to publishing a consultation by the end of this year to invite people to share and discuss these concerns.
Along with our colleagues at the Department for Business and Trade, we’re also working closely with stakeholders on new secondary legislation. This secondary legislation will set out which third parties can apply for information about trusts and under what circumstances. This will be the first step in making trust information more transparent.
In the meantime, we’re continuing to capture information about trustees and trusts and we’re sharing this data with HMRC. We're fully committed to sharing this information with the appropriate organisations, and it’s being acted on quickly where appropriate.
All entities on the register need to file an update statement every year to confirm that the information we hold is correct and up to date, unless they’ve successfully applied to be removed from the register. They must file an update statement even if nothing has changed.
It’s a criminal offence not to file the update statement, and entities may face prosecution or a financial penalty if they do not file. Overseas Entity IDs will become invalid if an entity does not file the update statement on time. They will not become valid again until they bring their record up to date and file their update statement.
Entities will not be able to buy, sell, transfer, lease or raise charges against property or land in the UK if they miss their filing deadline and their Overseas Entity ID is invalid.
The update statement is an important step in making sure the data on the register is as accurate and transparent as possible, and to make sure overseas entities continue to comply with their responsibilities.
Entities that must supply information about a related trust can file their update statement online. We're making some improvements to the online service for entities with trust information, and these will be introduced soon.
We’re also working on an online service for those who wish to apply to be removed from the Register of Overseas Entities. An overseas entity will be able to apply to be removed from the register if it's no longer registered as the proprietor (owner) of land or property in the UK. We’ll reject the application if the overseas entity is still listed on any of the UK’s three land registers as being the registered owner of land or property in the UK. The fee will not be refunded if we reject the application.
We’ll be supporting the government consultation on transparency later in the year, and we’ll be working closely with our colleagues at the Department for Business and Trade to implement any agreed outcomes.
]]>