The Government has introduced an economic crime levy (ECL) to fund the fight against economic crime.
The levy will be collected for the Government by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the FCA and the Gambling Commission.
The ECL will apply to AML regulated businesses including:
- credit institutions
- financial institutions
- auditors, insolvency practitioners, external accountants, and tax advisers
- independent legal professionals
- trust or company service providers
- estate and lettings agents
- high value dealers, casinos, auction platforms and art market participants
- crypto asset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers
The FCA are responsible for collecting the levy from those firms that sit within their regulated population or are registered with them.
Impacted firms (those who were subject to the money laundering regulations between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2023) will see the new levy appear on invoices from July 2023.
The levy will be paid annually and determined by a firm’s UK revenue.
To ensure firms are charged the right amount, all impacted firms must submit their data via new Reg Data Report (FIN074) from 1 April. A failure to submit in time may result in a £250 administrative fee.
Those firms registered as an Annex 1 financial institutions only will receive a letter to report their data.
