Your Company Secretarial module should support the changes – are you ready? Join us on Tuesday 13th of February at 1 pm to find out more.
In October 2023, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act became a legal cornerstone, ushering in a new era of regulatory changes in the United Kingdom. As Companies House gears up for these changes and measures, they would also like to focus on introducing the first wave of reforms on the 4th of March 2024.
While this date hinges on parliamentary timetables, it will not be earlier than the specified date.
The forthcoming changes encompass a spectrum of enhancements, including:
- Empowering authorities with greater capabilities to query information and request supporting evidence.
- Rigorous checks on company names to ensure transparency and accuracy.
- New regulations for registered office addresses.
- All companies are to provide a registered email address.
- Requiring companies to confirm their lawful purpose upon incorporation and affirm that their intended future activities align with legality in their confirmation statements.
- Enhancing the ability to annotate the register to address confusing or misleading information.
- Initiating a data-driven cleanup of the register, utilising data matching to identify and rectify inaccurate information.
- Facilitating data sharing with other government departments and law enforcement agencies.
For a comprehensive overview of the changes introduced by the act, please visit the Companies House dedicated website.
What early changes mean for you
Understanding that companies, intermediaries, and stakeholders seek preparedness, we have distilled three pivotal changes.
New rules for registered office addresses
Commencing 4th March 2024, companies must maintain an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times. An appropriate address is one where documents sent to the registered office are expected to reach a person acting on behalf of the company, and these documents can be acknowledged upon delivery. The use of PO Boxes as registered office addresses will be prohibited from this date.
Registered email address requirement
Effective 4 March 2024, all companies must provide a registered email address to Companies House. This email address will remain private and will be used for official communication regarding the company. New companies must furnish a registered email address upon incorporation, while existing companies must provide one in their next confirmation statement filed from 5th March 2024.
Lawful purpose statements
From 4th March 2024, subscribers (shareholders) during incorporation must confirm that they are forming the company for a lawful purpose. Additionally, companies must confirm the lawfulness of their intended future activities in the confirmation statement. Failure to confirm these statements will result in the rejection of documents.
These measures align with the new registrars’ objectives, ensuring a framework that promotes lawful operations for all registered companies. All decisions will be grounded in these objectives, contributing to a more transparent and accountable corporate landscape.
Need to understand this more? Join our webinar!
Capium is offering a Free webinar this Tuesday the 13th of February at 1 pm to help you understand these changes in more detail.
Click here to register and book your spot today.
If you don’t have time to attend but would like to understand it more – register for the webinar anyway so that you can receive the recording after the session.
