The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) received Royal Assent today. The ECCTA introduces wide ranging reforms to Companies House, new corporate offences, identity verification requirements and a whole host of other provisions, all with the aim of furthering the fight against fraud and corruption. This is an ambitious piece of legislation that will have a material impact on companies and their directors, to the extent that the Chief Executive of Companies House has described it as “one of the most significant moments for Companies House in our long history”.

The provisions will not all become effective at the same time and many key elements of the ECCTA rely on secondary legislation or further guidance being published to give them teeth. However, this blog from Companies House indicates that some of the key reforms to Companies House and associated increases in Companies House fees could be in force from early 2024 so businesses need to be prepared and ready for the new year.

See here for our previous commentary on the new offence of failure to prevent fraud, and watch this space for further ECCTA updates on our website in the next few weeks.