The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (“ECCTA”): Companies House and Corporate Reform

On 26 October 2023, the ECCTA received Royal Assent in a further bid by the Government to tackle financial and economic crime. The changes to be anticipated by the ECCTA are extensive and will inevitably require companies and other legal structures within the UK to become more transparent.  This article provides a helpful reminder of some of those key legislative changes that we expect to be implemented throughout 2024:

E) ENHANCED POWERS FOR THE REGISTRAR: The Registrar will possess new enhanced powers, possessing the ability to question and reject Companies House filings, request additional information and remove information from the Companies House.  

C) COMPANIES HOUSE IDENTITY VERIFICATION: All new and existing directors, persons with significant control (PSCs) and those delivering documents to the Registrar will be required to formally verify their identification. 

C) COMPANY NAME: The ECCTA expands those circumstances where the use of a company name can be prohibited.

T) TRANSPARENT STATUTORY REGISTERS: Companies will no longer be required to maintain local registers of directors or PSCs.  All registers (save for registers of members) will be held at Companies House.

A) APPROPRIATE REGISTERED OFFICE AND EMAIL ADDRESS: The ECCTA introduces a new requirement to ensure that a company’s registered office is an ‘appropriate address’ and all companies will also be required to have a registered email address.

DO YOU NEED HELP CONCERNING THE ECCTA?

Please get in touch with us today by either calling 0330 123 1229, send an email via info@smithpartnership.co.uk or complete our contact form.