# The Higher Education (Registration Fees) (England) Regulations 2019, Regulation 4: Exemption for micro-entities

Extent: E+W

(1) Where this regulation applies to an institution in relation to—
(a) its initial registration, no initial fee is payable by that institution;
(b) an ongoing registration year, no ongoing fee is payable by that institution for that ongoing registration year.
(2) This regulation applies to an institution in relation to its initial registration or in relation to an ongoing registration year if, at the time when an initial fee or ongoing fee (as the case may be) is determined—
(a) its number of full time equivalent students is 300 or less; and
(b) the OfS is satisfied that either—
(i) the institution was a micro-entity in the most recent financial year for which audited accounts are available; or
(ii) if audited accounts are not available, the institution is likely to be, or to have been, a micro-entity in the first financial year for which audited accounts are expected to become available.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), an institution is a micro-entity in a financial year if it qualifies as a micro-entity in relation to that financial year under section 384A(1) or (2) of the Companies Act 2006 .
(4) For the purposes of determining whether an institution qualifies as a micro-entity under section 384A(1) or (2) of the Companies Act 2006, section 384B(1)(f) of that Act is to be disregarded .
(5) In this regulation—
“annual accounts” has the meaning in section 471 of the Companies Act 2006 ;
“audited accounts” means annual accounts that have been audited by a person—
(a)who is eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor under section 1211 of the Companies Act 2006; and
(b)who, in relation to an institution, meets the independence requirement in section 1214 of the Companies Act 2006;
“financial year” has the meaning in section 390 of the Companies Act 2006.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/543/regulation/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/higher-education-registration-fees-england-regulations-2019/regulation-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.