The Department for Business and Trade has published a progress report on the implementation and operation of parts 1 to 3 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The act, which received Royal Assent in October 2023, seeks to address the threat of illicit finance while continuing to make it easy for legitimate commerce to do business.

Parts 1 to 3 of the act cover:

• reforms of Companies House processes and new statutory functions and objectives for the Registrars of Companies
• reforms of the laws that apply to limited partnerships
• new provisions relating to the Register of Overseas Entities, which was introduced by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022

Companies House delivered the first phase of reforms on 4 March 2024. This covered the systems, process and organisational change needed to operate the new registrars’ objectives and powers and new legal requirements for companies.

The Department for Business and Trade will make progress reports to Parliament on the implementation and operation of parts 1 to 3 of the ECCT Act every 12 months until 2030.