Explanatory note

These Regulations make provision relating to the register of overseas entities (“the register”) kept by the registrar of companies for England and Wales (“the registrar”) in accordance with Part 1 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (c. 10).

Part 2 of these Regulations amends the Register of Overseas Entities (Verification and Provision of Information) Regulations 2022 (“the Principal Regulations”), which make provision in respect of the verification by a relevant person of certain information before it can be submitted to the registrar.

Regulation 2(2) replaces regulation 5(1) of the Principal Regulations to exclude information about a government, public authority or beneficiaries of certain pension scheme trusts from needing to be verified. It also excludes from needing to be verified again information which has already been verified relating to updating the register and applications for removal from the register. Regulation 2(3) and (4) amends regulation 6(6) of the Principal Regulations to allow a relevant person to verify certain information relating to beneficial ownership differently from other information. Regulation 2(5) amends regulation 7(4) of the Principal Regulations to replace the term “close business relations” with a more precise phrase and regulation 2(6) amends regulation 8(1) of the Principal Regulations to expand the scope of the information which must be retained by a relevant person.

A full Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this instrument. A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that the overseas entities register will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET.