From Monday, a significant number of entities that were previously outside the scope for the PSC regime have been brought within it with a very narrow time frame to create their registers and provide details to Companies House.
The Information about People with Significant Control (Amendment) Regulations 2017 were published on 23 June and, as expected, took effect from 26 June 2017.
As anticipated, the Regulations amend and extend the PSC regime so that:
- The only UK companies not required to comply with the PSC regime are those with voting shares admitted to trading on:
- a regulated market in an EEA state; and
- specified markets in Switzerland, the USA, Japan and Israel.
- Companies with shares admitted to trading on AIM are no longer automatically exempt.
- Scottish limited partnerships and Scottish general partnerships (which only have corporate bodies as members) are no longer automatically exempt.
Entities that are now caught within the legislation have until 24 July to create PSC Registers and a further 14 days after that to send PSC details to Companies House.
From now on:
- any changes to PSC details for any entity caught by the PSC Regime must be updated in the PSC Registers within 14 days of the information being received (and where relating to individuals, confirmed); and
- Companies House must be notified of the change on forms PSC01 to PSC09 within a further 14 days.
Companies House has also been given new powers to release PSC information which is “protected information” not listed on the public register to credit institutions or financial institutions (on the grounds that they carry out customer due diligence).
In practice this means that a significant number of entities that were previously outside the scope for the PSC regime are now being brought within it with a very narrow time frame to create their registers and provide details to Companies House.
BEIS has published amended draft statutory guidance on the meaning of significant influence or control in the context of companies and amended versions of the non-statutory guidance for companies, SEs, LLPs and for people with significant control.
For more information on the PSC regime, start here.
