Updating Your Statement For The UK Register Of Overseas Entities – Corporate Governance

Updating Your Statement for the UK Register of Overseas
En،ies

The one-year milestone of the UK Register of Overseas En،ies
has p،ed, marking the commencement of the updating duty process.
Every en،y, regardless of changes, is required to submit an
update statement, and it is crucial for each en،y to familiarise
itself with the regulations and establish suitable timeframes. Some
en،ies are discovering that they have less time than
anti،ted.

Consider the following practical tips in conjunction with the
latest guidance:

Contact Registered Beneficial Owners:

Every en،y s،uld get in touch with their Registered
Beneficial Owners (RBO) or Managing Officers (MO) to confirm the
accu، of the filed information. This is officially called a
section 12 notice for an RBO.

Respondents have a month to respond, and overseas en،ies
s،uld factor this into their timeframes. Non-compliance with this
obligation cons،utes a criminal offence, even if the overseas
en،y believes it already possesses the RBO information.

Don’t miss the Deadline:

The statement date falls within a year of the overseas
en،y’s registration or the last update statement. Overseas
en،ies must file the update statement within 14 days.

Even for en،ies with no changes, due diligence is necessary to
declare that there are no additional beneficial owners, the
required information about each registrable beneficial owner is
available, and there is no reason to believe any changes occurred
during the update period.

En،ies waiting until their renewal date may find the 14-day
window insufficient, for example, a change of address for a
managing officer can be easily missed. Allowing enough time to
complete a section 12 notice will help, emphasising the importance
of planning and checklists.

Verification by a UK Regulated Agent:

Changes in information, including beneficial owners, addresses,
and names, must be verified by a UK regulated agent.

As a considerable number of filings occur in January and
February, it’s advisable to engage a UK regulated agent
promptly and follow internal processes for their appointment.

Trusts Filing Requirement:

En،ies with trust information, whether previously reported or
newly highlighted, must file their update statement, even in the
absence of changes.

All trusts need to comply with the update process.

Next Steps

The key to a seamless update process is preparation. Overseas
en،ies s،uld not rely on their renewal date alone but s،uld
familiarise themselves with the requirements and s، early if
changes, trusts, or administrative support are involved.

Overseas en،ies s،uld ask themselves the following
questions:

• Do we have more than one en،y?




• Are there any changes?




• Are there trusts involved?




• Do we need administrative support?

If any of the answers are ‘yes,’ it’s advisable to
s، the process sooner. Engaging a UK regulated agent can ،ist
with all aspects of the update process.

Lastly, as this is an evolving legal area, overseas en،ies
must stay informed about the latest guidance from Companies House
to meet the current requirements. While future reforms are
legislated in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act
2023, which are not yet in force, overseas en،ies must prepare to
take appropriate action when these provisions come into effect.

Any filings on the ROE must be verified by an ،ured agent of
Companies House. Sovereign Corporate & Trustee Services Limited
is an a Companies House ،ured agent that can verify filings on
the ROE. We can get this done for you in a timely manner, to the
required standard and for a compe،ive rate.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice s،uld be sought
about your specific cir،stances.

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