Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision about economic crime and corporate transparency; to make further provision about companies, limited partnerships and other kinds of corporate entity; and to make provision about the registration of overseas entities.
Citation	2023 c. 56
Introduced by	Suella Braverman, Secretary of State for the Home Department (Commons) The Lord Johnson of Lainston, Minister of State for Investment (Lords)
Dates
Royal assent	26 October 2023
Commencement	On royal assent and by regulations.
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ^[1] (c. 56) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. One of the act's main aims is to overhaul the companies registry in the United Kingdom to drive out foreign corrupt funds from the United Kingdom economy. The act is further aimed to counter fraud and money laundering. ^[2]

Contents

• Parliamentary passage
• Provisions
• Implementation
• Reception
• See also
• References

Parliamentary passage

The bill for the act was introduced to the House of Commons on 22 September 2022 and had its third reading in the House of Lords on 4 July 2023. The act was significantly amended when travelling through the Lords and there was a stand-off with both Houses during the wash-up period leading up to the 2023 prorogation of Parliament about the final form of the act. The act was finally agreed to on 25 October 2023 and received royal assent on 26 October 2023. ^[3]

Provisions

The act establishes a register of foreign owners of UK property, held by Companies House. ^[4]

Implementation

Companies House's implementation costs are being met by increased charges for company filing services, effective from 1 May 2024:

• the charge for changing a company's name online was increased from £8 to £20
• the charge for filing a confirmation statement online was increased from £13 to £34
• the charge for a same-day reduction of share capital was increased from £50 to £136. ^[5]

Reception

The act was supported by the campaign group Spotlight on Corruption, who described UK corporate structures as being the "vehicle of choice for fraudsters and money launderers all over the globe" due to weaknesses at Companies House. ^[6]

See also

• Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022

References