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Author: Steve O'neill

Register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)

Posted on by Steve O'neill

As part of the changes introduced in the Economic Crime Act for reforms to Companies House, all directors and beneficial owners of companies will need evidence of their identity to be submitted to Companies House, this can be done directly by the individuals or through an ACSP.

To verify the identity of clients for Companies House, agents must register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). This is also known as an authorised agent.

The agent must already be registered with an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory body. For example, this could include company formation agents, solicitors and accountants.

You’ll need to verify your identity for Companies House before you can use the online service to register an authorised agent.

You can verify your identity for Companies House from 25 February 2025.

Xmas Holidays opening

Posted on by Steve O'neill

We will close our telephone support at close of business Friday the 20th December, and will reopen on the second of January. We will behind the scenes continue answering emails, reviewing and processing incorporations, of course our software for company incorporations and AML searches never close. Continue reading “Xmas Holidays opening”

Scheduled Downtime for Companies House Systems

Posted on by Steve O'neill

We would like to inform you about an upcoming planned downtime that Companies House has scheduled for their systems. This will affect all fee-bearing forms, including CS01 and IN01, as well as associated services. Details of the downtime are as follows:

– Start of Downtime: Evening of Thursday, 5th December
– End of Downtime: Expected to resume some time on Monday, 9th December

During this period, the following will be affected:

All Companies House fee-bearing forms, including CS01 and IN01, will not be filed during this period. No forms will be processed or returned during this period. Please ensure any urgent filings are completed prior to the downtime.

This downtime has been mandated by Companies House and is necessary as Companies House will be updating the part of their system that handles charging. We are working closely with Companies House to ensure a smooth resumption of services once the updates are complete.

Companies House annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024

Posted on by Steve O'neill

The Chair states this Annual Report and Accounts for 2023 to 2024, concludes year 4 in the delivery of the strategy, and the planned programme of legislative reform passed its next major milestone with the Royal Assent of The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023 in October 2023. This marks a significant moment in the history of the UK companies register as the implementation of the new registrar’s powers, from 4 March 2024, brings about the biggest changes since 1844.

 

Performance highlights 2023 to 2024 are in the list below.

 

  • Total filings accepted digitally: 12.7 million
  • UK register size (as at 31 March 2024): 5.35 million
  • Incorporations: 890,684
  • Dissolved companies: 663,167
  • In liquidation: 109,352
  • Companies in course of dissolution: 365,033
  • Companies restored: 7,648
  • Register of Overseas Entities: 30,776
  • Paper purchase A4 ream equivalent: 3,174
  • Rate of confirmation statements filed by companies as at 31 March 2024: 97.3%
  • Number of times the register was accessed: 16 billion
  • Rate of annual accounts filed by companies as at 31 March 2024: 98.3%
  • Total filings accepted digitally: 13.1 million
  • Total filings accepted: 14.3 million
  • Digital take-up: 92%
  • Customer satisfaction: 82%

Companies House begins phased roll out of new powers to tackle fraud

Posted on by Steve O'neill

The first measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act) came into force on Monday 4 March 2024.

Changes introduced today include:

  • greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence
  • stronger checks on company names
  • new rules for registered office addresses (all companies must have an appropriate address at all times – they will not be able to use a PO Box as their registered office address)
  • a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address
  • a requirement for subscribers to confirm they’re forming a company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate, and for a company to confirm its intended future activities will be lawful on its confirmation statement
  • greater powers to tackle and remove factually inaccurate information
  • the ability to share data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies

New criminal offences and civil penalties will complement the measures introduced today.

First changes to UK company law expected on 4 March

Posted on by Steve O'neill

First changes to UK company law expected on 4 March

Companies House is aiming to introduce the first set of measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act on 4 March 2024.

They are aiming to introduce the first set of changes brought in by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act on 4 March. 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. Continue reading “First changes to UK company law expected on 4 March”

Registration of Overseas Entities on the UK Register of Overseas Entities

Posted on by Steve O'neill

Steve O’Neill on behalf of BTC is a Registered Agent for the registration process of overseas entities.

Action required prior to application for registration

Identification of registrable beneficial owners -Before making an application to register, an overseas entity must take reasonable steps to identify its registrable beneficial owner and obtain the required information. The steps that an overseas entity must take include giving an information notice to a person it knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a registrable beneficial owner. Continue reading “Registration of Overseas Entities on the UK Register of Overseas Entities”

Changes to Invoicing Policy

Posted on by Steve O'neill

For company formations and filings if the orders do not contain any further printed elements being despatched, we will not produce an invoice only for posting but will rely on the PDF generated version being given to your accounts department.

This brings these products into line with our invoicing policy for our company secretarial anti-money laundering products. This change will come into effect from 1 June 2022.

HMRC probes 153 people suspected of aiding tax evasion

Posted on by Steve O'neill

Tax Fraud Investigations

HMRC has confirmed it is investigating 153 suspected ‘enablers of tax evasion’, including both regulated and unregulated tax advisers.

Cracking down on ‘enablers of tax evasion’ has been a key area of focus for HMRC since it established its Fraud Investigation Service in 2015. Continue reading “HMRC probes 153 people suspected of aiding tax evasion”

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