UK and International Tax news
Upcoming Deadline For Registration Of Overseas Entities
Thursday 5th January 2023
The deadline for registering overseas entities which own UK property with Companies House is 31 January 2023.
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.
The new Register is held by Companies House and requires overseas entities that own land or property in the UK to declare their beneficial owners and/or managing officers. There will be severe sanctions for those who do not comply, including restrictions on buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging their land or property in the UK.
An overseas entity is a legal entity, such as a company or other organisation, that has legal personality and is governed by the law of a country or territory outside the UK. The Republic of Ireland is an overseas jurisdiction for the Register of Overseas Entities.
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
A beneficial owner is one that holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares in the entity, more than 25% of the voting rights in the entity, the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of the entity, or has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the entity.
Overseas entities that want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK, must register with Companies House and confirm their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers.
Overseas entities which already own or lease land or property in the UK have until 31 January 2023 to register with Companies House and confirm their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers.
The new rules apply to overseas entities that have bought property or land on or after 1 January 1999 in England and Wales, and 8 December 2014 in Scotland. Overseas entities only need to register property or land bought in Northern Ireland on or after 1 August 2022. Entities that have disposed of property or land after 28 February 2022 will also need to give details of those dispositions.
If you would like more information on the above, please contact Keith Rushen on 0207 486 2378.
Contact Us