Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

56 Use or disclosure of profit and loss accounts for certain companies U.K.

(1) The Companies Act 2006 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 468 insert—

“468A Use or disclosure of profit and loss accounts for certain companies

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision requiring the registrar, on application or otherwise—

(a) not to make available for public inspection profit and loss accounts, or parts of them, delivered to the registrar under—

• section 443A (micro-entities), or

• section 444 (other small companies);

(b) to refrain from disclosing such accounts, or parts of them, except in specified circumstances.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) which provide for the making of an application may make provision as to—

(a) who may make an application;

(b) the grounds on which an application may be made;

(c) the information to be included in and documents to accompany an application;

(d) the notice to be given of an application and of its outcome;

(e) how an application is to be determined;

(f) the duration of, and procedures for revoking, any restrictions on the making of information available for public inspection or its disclosure.

(3) Provision under subsection (2)(e) or (f) may in particular provide for a question to be referred to a person other than the registrar for the purposes of determining the application or revoking the restrictions.

(4) The circumstances that may be specified under subsection (1)(b) by way of an exception to a restriction on disclosure include circumstances where the court has made an order, in accordance with the regulations, authorising disclosure.

(5) Regulations under subsection (1)(b) may not require the registrar to refrain from disclosing information under section 1110F (general powers of disclosure by the registrar).

(6) Regulations under this section may in particular confer a discretion on the registrar.

(7) Regulations under this section are subject to affirmative resolution procedure.”

(3) In section 1087 (material not available for public inspection), in subsection (1), after paragraph (bb) insert—

“(bba) the following—

(i) any application or other document delivered to the registrar under regulations under section 468A (regulations protecting profit and loss accounts for certain companies);

(ii) any information which regulations under section 468A require not to be made available for public inspection;”.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 56 in force at Royal Assent for specified purposes, see s. 219(1)(2)(b)