Company Law Changes Which Started From 4 March 2024

On 4 March 2023 company law changes landed due to the commencement of various provisions in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

With effect from 4 March 2024 certain sections of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 commenced in light of Section 2 of the The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024.

Statement As To Lawful Purposes (Section

Going forwards given Section 2 when you form a company or file a confirmation statement (Section 60) there is a duty to confirm the company is acting or will act for a lawful purpose.

It will therefore amount to a positive assertion that a company is acting lawfully and that the persons setting up the company and running the company are acting for a lawful purpose.

Registered Office

A company’s registered office needs to be what is referred at Section 28 of the Act as an “appropriate address”.

An appropriate address is one where a document issued to it by hand or post would come to the attention of the company. Delivery of a document needs to be able to be recorded and an acknowledgement of delivery obtainable if sought.  

Registered Email Address

Moving firmly into the 21st century a registered email address is required under Section 29. The registered email address needs to be an appropriate email address which means it is one that an email sent by Companies House would come to the attention of the company.

Changes To Small Company Filings

Going forward small companies will need to file a profit and loss account in the annual accounts. This is an effect brought in by Section 53 and Section 54.

Identity Verification

Consistent with being able to identify people for money laundering regulations, individuals who are company directors and persons with significant control will going forward be subject to verification procedures.

Companies House Fees

We could not possibly overlook to highlight the all important effects of the changes to company law arising from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 with the potential increase in fees.

If you scroll down to Regulation 2 of The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2024 it is perhaps no surprise to see Section 93 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 as one of the features listed for commencement.

Section 93 amends Section 1063 of the Companies Act 2006 which says that Companies House can take into account the effect of this new legislation when determining the fee levels. The UK government published a notice called Changes to Companies House fees coming into effect 1 May 2024. Notably to incorporate a company now rises from £10 to £50 and to file a Confirmation Statement online rises from £13 to £34.

So perhaps it is time to consider incorporating if you want to save £40 per company between now and 1 May 2024 or alternatively, it might be time to consider using a DS01 to strike off a company if you have a dormant company doing nothing that you wish to close and avoid incurring the new charges to file the Confirmation Statement each year.