FCA to collect Treasury’s economic crime levy from July
Summary
The government’s new economic crime levy (ECL) will be jointly collected by 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 has said it will be responsible for collecting the levy from firms that sit within its regulated population or who are FCA-registered. Affected firms (i.e. those who were subject to the money laundering regulations between 6 April 2022 and 5 April 2023) will start seeing the new levy appearing on invoices from July 2023.
The levy will be paid annually, based on firms’ UK revenue. From 1 April, all affected firms are required to submit their data via the new Reg Data Report (FIN074) to ensure they are charged the correct amount. Failing to submit data in time may result in a £250 administrative fee.