Section 17 - Levy to pay expenses of bodies concerned with accounting standards etc
91.Section 17 gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations imposing a levy for meeting the costs of any body to whom the Secretary of State has paid or is proposing to pay a grant under section 16. The aim of the power is to ensure that the body to whom a grant is made under section 16 – expected to be the FRC - will have security of funding; and it is anticipated that a levy would only be imposed if the currently voluntary funding arrangement was no longer viable.
92.In determining the appropriate rate of the levy, the Secretary of State must take account of the level of the Government grant paid, or expected to be paid, under section 16(subsection (5)). An amount payable by a person as a result of the levy will constitute a debt owed by that person to the FRC and be recoverable by the FRC as a debt (subsection (6)).
93.It is anticipated that should a levy be necessary, it would be imposed on:
listed companies; and
the members of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA, ICAI, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy).
These bodies already contribute to the funding of the FRC under the voluntary funding arrangement.
94.The first regulations made in respect of the levy power - and any further regulations which change the persons or bodies by whom the levy is payable - will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure of both Houses of Parliament (subsections (10) and (11)). Any other subsequent regulations will be subject to the negative resolution procedure (subsection (12)).
.