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Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: Objectives, Changes, and Compliance Requirements
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The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act aims to enhance data accuracy on company registers to combat economic crime and boost confidence in the UK economy. It introduces new objectives and powers for the Registrar of Companies, including ensuring document compliance, accurate register information, and preventing unlawful activities
Purpose of the Act:
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act aims to improve data accuracy on company registers, combat economic crime, and increase confidence in the UK economy.
Registrar’s New Objectives:
- Ensure all required documents are submitted and properly delivered.
- Maintain accurate and complete information on the register.
- Prevent misleading public records.
- Prevent companies from engaging in or facilitating unlawful activities.
Key Changes:
- Registered Office Addresses:
- Companies must have an “appropriate address” as their registered office, ensuring documents reach the company and can be acknowledged.
- Non-compliance could lead to the address being changed to a default address at Companies House, with potential strike-off if not rectified within 28 days.
- PO Boxes and equivalent services cannot be used as registered office addresses.
- Statement of Lawful Purpose:
- New companies must confirm they are formed for a lawful purpose.
- Companies must confirm their intended activities are lawful in their annual confirmation statement.
- Registrar’s Enhanced Powers:
- Ability to query and remove incorrect or fraudulent information more quickly.
- Stronger checks on company names to prevent misleading impressions.
- Use of annotations and data matching to clean up the register.
- Introduction of a new identity verification process.
Enforcement and Sanctions:
- Failure to comply with requests for information may result in financial penalties, annotations on records, or prosecution.
- Companies with inappropriate registered office addresses face similar consequences, including potential removal from the register.
Read more about the new statutory objectives for the Registrar of Companies here: https://changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk/improving-the-quality-of-data-on-our-registers/?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=