Changes to the UK Company Law
International Associate
1. Introduction:
The UK government is undertaking a comprehensive reform of the country’s company laws, introducing a series of changes with the goal of enhancing transparency and fighting economic crime. Central to these reforms is a substantial increase in the fees charged by Companies House for a variety of registration, filing, and administrative activities.
2. Increased Incorporation and Registration Fees:
As part of the broader changes to UK company law, the government has announced that Companies House fees will increasing substantially from the 1st of May 2024. This includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Company incorporation fees rising from £12 to £50 for digital filings and £71 for paper filings.
- Confirmation statements fees rising from £13 to £34 for digital filings and £62 for paper filings.
- Various other company registration and transaction fees seeing hikes of 50% or more.
To see the full list of the new Companies House fees please visit: Changes to Companies House fees – Changes to UK company law
3. Key Changes and Amendments to the UK Company Law:
First, the UK government is introducing sweeping changes to company law through the Economic and Corporate Transparency Act. A key focus, is enhancing the quality of data on the UK’s company registers. From March 2024, Companies House will gain greater powers to verify information, implement stronger checks on company names, and introduce new rules for registered office addresses and lawful purpose statements.
Secondly, confirmation statement filed with Companies House will also experience significant changes. Companies will now be required to provide a registered email address and confirm that their intended future activities will be lawful. Moreover, identity verification will become mandatory for anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a UK company. This is aimed at increase transparency and cracking down on illicit activity. While the exact process is still to be determined, individuals will likely need to provide official identification documents and undergo verification checks.
Another key aspect of the UK’s company law reform is providing individuals with new rights to safeguard their personal data that is included in company records. Individuals will be granted new rights to suppress or protect their personal information on company records due to potential risk of harm. This new right is intended to enhance privacy and data protection for individuals who may be exposed to potential risks or harms due to the public availability of their personal details through the company registry. The exact criteria and evaluation process for these privacy protection applications has not yet been specified by the government. However, it is likely that individuals will need to provide evidence and justification to support their requests.
Finally, these wide-ranging reforms to UK company law represent significant shift in the regulatory landscape. Businesses and individuals will need to closely monitor the implementation of these changes in the coming years to ensure compliance with the new transparency regulations.
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