While new tax-paying trusts are already subject to time limits for registration under the Trusts Registration Service (TRS), under 5MLD, almost all non-tax paying trusts will also be required to register. Currently HMRC’s online system does not allow trustees to register such trusts, and the deadline by which all registrable trusts must be on the trust register has been set as 11 March 2022.
Following a meeting with HMRC and the CIOT and ATT, in which HMRC advised that the new TRS system that would allow registration of these trusts has been delayed until at least summer 2021, HMRC have now announced that the 11 March deadline will be extended to give trustees a full 12 months to register. HMRC said:
“As you are aware the Trust Registration Service will be extended to enable non-tax paying trusts to register in compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations. We are now able to provide more detail on the timescales and registration deadlines:
- We now expect the IT system to open for registrations in summer 2021 rather than the spring.
- We appreciate this will be a cause for concern in terms of the current registration deadline of March 2022.
- We therefore intend to extend that deadline within the legislation in order to provide trustees and agents of existing trusts with approximately 12 months in which to register from the date of IT delivery.
- We will provide further updates and clarification on this in due course.”
Claritas Tax will, of course, provide updates on the new deadline when available.
