If you operate under the umbrella of a limited company then you should be aware of changes that were introduced in June 2017 relating to “Persons of Significant Control” (PSCs).
There has been a requirement since April 2016 for companies to maintain a register of people or organisations who effectively have some significant control over them, generally through a shareholding of 25% or more, or by the exercise of voting rights. The purpose is to ensure that people who control a company cannot hide behind nominees or trustees.
Originally, there was a requirement to notify any changes when the “Confirmation Statement”, which replaced the Annual Return, was submitted. This needed to be submitted at least annually, but could be submitted more frequently if the company wished to do so.
From June 2017, however, any changes must be notified to Companies House within more stringent deadlines, and failure to do so is a criminal offence resulting in a fine or up to 2 years in prison. The current requirements are:
- If a company has “reasonable cause” to believe an “entity” (their term not mine), including an individual, has ceased to be a PSC or their details have changed then they must contact the entity to confirm the change within 14 days.
- On receiving the confirmation, the time-limit for which is a calendar month, the firm has 14 days to update its register
- The firm then has a further 14 days to notify the Registrar of the change
If control of your company has changed then you should contact us immediately to ensure that you do not fall foul of these new regulations.
For more information on our Accountancy Services.
If you need advice or if there is something specific you would like to discuss, please get in touch.