Update on Companies House filing changes under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

Planned changes to filing requirements for companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) trailed in June by Companies House are now the subject of further engagement with stakeholders.

In late June, Companies House communicated key planned changes to its filing requirements directly to stakeholders with the intention of making a formal announcement in early July. 

About the planned changes

From 1 April 2027, all companies and LLPs would be required to file iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) tagged accounts using third party commercial software. 

Also, from that date, accounts filing concessions for small and micro-entity companies would be withdrawn as provided for under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023. 

We reported these planned changes following Companies House stakeholder communications. 

It's worth noting that mandatory tagging would also apply to the filing of directors’ reports, as required, strategic reports, and to other non-financial elements of the ‘annual report and accounts’ package. For charitable companies, tagging requirements would apply to the trustees’ annual report or equivalent. 

The changes were also intended to apply at a point in time and not to particular reporting periods. 

Formal announcement delayed 

Companies House didn’t proceed with its formal announcement in early July and has subsequently advised stakeholders, that: 

“Working with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), we are currently engaging with stakeholders on proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business. 

We will set out next steps in due course.” 

What next? 

We’ll provide an update on the substance and timing of these filing changes when we receive news from DBT or Companies House.