I have written many pieces that have covered the time line of the PSC regime, from when it was introduced in April 2016, up until 26 June 2017 when the scope of the PSC Regime was broadened.

Each of these pieces have emphasised the seriousness of a company's failure to maintain and keep its PSC register up-to-date. However, it has been approximately 15 months and we have seen no action taken by Companies House against companies that have incomplete PSC information.

The statements that companies should provide are set out in Annex 2 of the BEIS guidance and are as follows:

Your company has no PSCs or registrable RLEs

a) The company knows or has reasonable cause to believe that there is no registrable person or registrable relevant legal entity in relation to the company.

Unidentified PSC

b) The company knows or has reasonable cause to believe that there is a registrable person in relation to the company but it has not identified the registrable person.

Unconfirmed particulars

c) The company has identified a registrable person in relation to the company but all of the required particulars of that person have not been confirmed.

Taking reasonable steps

d) The company has not yet completed taking reasonable steps to find out if there is anyone who is a registrable person or a registrable relevant legal entity in relation to the company

Notices

e) The company has given a notice under section 790D of the Act which has not been complied with.

f) The addressee has failed to comply with a notice given by the company under section 790E of the Act.

Where any of the statements (a)-(f) are no longer applicable, a company must enter that on its PSC register along with the date on which the statement ceased to be true. Where a notice given under section 790D or 790E of the Companies Act 2006 is complied with, the company should enter that on its PSC register, along with the date on which the notice was complied with.

The key question to be answered is "how long can companies keep these statements in their internal statutory registers and their annual Confirmation Statements?"

The answer will be given sooner rather than later, as we are now aware that Companies House have put in motion an action plan to contact these particular companies! It is therefore very possible that we will start seeing penalties brought against Companies that are in default.

Also, as I have pointed out in my previous articles, the Government's aim is to encourage a spirit of openness and transparency. It is likely that we may just see another naming and shaming list for those companies who have failed to provide the correct PSC information!

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