REGISTER OF OVERSEAS ENTITIES
The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022 through the new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
Overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK, must register with Companies House and tell us who their registerable beneficial owners or managing officers are. Companies House are charging a registration fee of £100 in this respect.
This will also apply retrospectively to overseas entities who bought property or land on or after:
– 1 January 1999 in England and Wales
– 8 December 2014 in Scotland
These overseas entities will need to register with Companies House and tell them who their registerable beneficial owners or managing officers are by 31 January 2023.
Overseas entities that disposed of property or land after 28 February 2022 will also need to register and give details of that disposal.
After registering, the overseas entity will get a unique Overseas Entity ID to give to the land registry when it buys, sells, transfers, leases or charges UK property or land.
This will lead to more transparency, which will allow law enforcement agencies to investigate suspicious wealth more effectively.
If you do not comply with the Act, you could be fined up to £2,500 per day or get a prison sentence of up to 5 years. You’ll also face restrictions when buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging property or land in the UK.
BENEFICIAL OWNER
A beneficial owner is any individual or entity that has significant influence or control over the overseas entity. It can be:
– an individual person
– another legal entity, such as a company
– a government or public authority
– a trustee of a trust
– a member of a firm that is not a legal person under its governing law
Each beneficial owner must be verified for anti-money laundering purposes and registered with companies house.
UK-REGULATED AGENT
Haslers have UK-Regulated Status with Companies House. This means that we can undertake the registration on your behalf.
If you require assistance with your Overseas Entity registration, please contact Meg Abery who will be more than happy to assist.
