A reminder of imminent changes at Companies House

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (ECCT) achieved royal assent recently, and as we have reported previously, this will have an impact on the data that is held and required on the Companies House register.

Many of the changes – including the requirement to file profit and loss details – will require secondary legislation and may be some months away from implementation.

Other changes are more imminent. The following changes should be actioned Spring 2024, and we have summarised below some of these early reporting objectives that will apply to UK registered companies.

These early measures include:

• Greater powers to query information

Companies House have confirmed that will be able to scrutinise and reject information that seems incorrect or inconsistent with information already on the register. In some cases, they will be able to remove information.

• Stronger checks on company names

This is likely to mean that Individuals setting up new companies or wanting to change the name of an existing company, can expect a more rigorous vetting process.

• New rules for registered office addresses

They will mean all companies must have an appropriate address at all times. Companies will not be able to use a PO Box as their registered office address.

• A requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address

At present, you may, in certain circumstances, volunteer your email address when using Companies House online facilities. The new changes now include a requirement that you register an email address with Companies House.

• A requirement for all companies to confirm they are forming the company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate.

Every year, companies will need to confirm that its future activities will be lawful on their confirmation statement.

• Sharing data

Companies House will have more freedom to share your company data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies.

The ECCT bill, when fully implemented, will oblige all UK companies to be more transparent about the data they are obliged to share. We will post details as and when the fine print becomes available.