The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023. The new Act provides Companies House with more power to reduce the abuse of corporate structures whilst at the same time tackling economic crime.
As part of the measures that will be introduced, Companies House will be streamlining the accounts filing options available to small and micro companies. At present, small businesses are able to file what are known as filleted accounts with Companies House. This means that these small or micro companies can choose not to submit a profit & loss account and/or director’s report to Companies House; accordingly, this information won’t be made public. Filleted accounts can be submitted whether or not a company has prepared full or abridged accounts. At a future date, the option to file filleted accounts will be removed. No date has yet been announced for the implementation of this change.
Other changes as a result of the Act include the following:
- Improving the quality of data on Companies House registers.
- New identity verification requirements for anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK.
- Transitioning towards filing accounts by software only.
- Confirmation statement changes introducing new requirements to provide a registered email address and to confirm that the future activities of the company will be lawful.
- Changes to Companies House fees.
- Changes to limited partnerships.
- More effective investigation and enforcement powers for Companies House, and new powers to share data with law enforcement agencies and other government departments.