All estate agents will pay the £300 premises fee when they renew. However, if their turnover is less than £5,000 they can apply for a reduction. Information on how to do this is available here. The charge for fit and proper (F&P) testing is increasing to £150. The approval check fee will remain at £40.
HMRC States
In continuing to strengthen HMRC's contribution to the UK’s fight against the threat of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, they are introducing significant enhancements to its supervision and taking a more robust approach to tackling non-compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations.
Key improvements include plans aiming to help registered businesses getting things right first time: increasing the number of staff available for more face-to-face and desk-based interventions with registered and unregistered businesses and providing more educational products and activity, including webinars and online-learning.
While we welcome the increased resources from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to tackle the issues around anti-money laundering, we are somewhat surprised at the significant uplift in fees in the region of 250%, particularly at a time when the industry is beleaguered by additional legislation. However, we look forward to seeing more enforcement activity as a result of the increase.
Further information
Treasury Committee release report on Economic Crime
On 8 March 2019, the House of Commons Treasury Committee released its report on Economic Crime. Mark Hayward Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark gave evidence as part of the inquiry in June 2018 and is quoted throughout the report.
Unannounced inspections from HMRC in money laundering crackdown
Details have been published of businesses who have received penalties from HMRC for not complying with the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.
Anti-Money Laundering Toolkit
A toolkit to help firms communicate to and engage employees in identifying and preventing money laundering in the UK
