Perhaps something that has been under the radar is that from 6th April 2016 pretty much every company and LLP has a new legal requirement to comply with.
All companies must keep and publish on Companies House a register of the personal details of all ‘People with Significant Control’(PSC) within the business. This extends the current requirement to record the shareholders and directors to anyone who through their connections, other business interests and relationships are able to exert ‘significant control’ over the affairs of a business.
This includes shareholders with a holding of over 25% but also looking through however many layers of control that it is necessary to uncover the actual sources of control in a business. This could be through a personal relationship, through a shareholder agreement, through controlling interests in other companies, the list
This requirement is part of UK commitment to disclose the true controlling ownership within UK businesses.
No Company’s PSC register should be blank, it must exist and must state either the details of the indivduals, that there are no PSCs or that further information is being sort. There are detailed provisions as to the steps a company must make to identify these interests which could be very complicated to unravel.
The register must be maintained from 6th April 2016 and must be published on Companies House from 30th June 2016.
Non-compliance with this requirement is a criminal offence with sanctions of fines or even imprisonment.
Individuals who receive enquiries from a company are required to respond appropriately with the necessary information. Failure to do so is also an offence.
For further guidance or information on this change please contact Richard Ashmore on richard@altusbusinessconsulting.co.uk
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